American marine biologists from the University of California have found a connection between forest fires and the growth of phytoplankton. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (RSBP).
Previous research has shown that large fires produce large amounts of ash, which remains airborne for some time before falling with rainfall. When it falls to the ground, the ash turns into fertilizer for vegetation.
However, in the case of rivers and lakes, combustion products cause harm, not benefit. A sudden infusion of toxic metals contained in the ash can kill fish and other aquatic life. In larger bodies of water, fertilizers cause algal blooms that suck oxygen from the water, causing dead zones.
Researchers collected ash samples from the 2017 wildfire and examined them in the laboratory. The team mixed the ash with fresh seawater. Analysis showed that the resulting solution contained high levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and silicic acid. High amounts of metal were also found in the liquid.
It turned out that when microorganisms from the ocean were added to the container, the amount of phytoplankton in the sample doubled within a few days. The ash did not appear to have a toxic effect on these organisms, which may indicate that phytoplankton communities benefit from wildfires, biologists noted.
Previous climatologists warned A new record in greenhouse gas emissions is expected in 2023.