The persistent danger after landscape fires

In samples from ten different fires, the researchers detected EPFR in concentrations that exceeded those typically found in soils by as much as ten to a thousand times. Stefan Doerr) - Carbonized plants contain harmful free radicals Every year, an estimated four percent of the world's vegetated land surface burns, leaving more than 250 megatons of carbonized plants behind. For the first time, a study by the University of Vienna has now recorded elevated concentrations of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFR) in these charcoals - in some cases even up to five years after the fire. These EPFR may generate reactive substances, which in turn harm plants and living organisms. The research team led by Gabriel Sigmund and Thilo Hofmann analyzed charcoal samples collected from forest, shrubland and grassland fires in different climatic zones. The study is published Earth & Environment. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause oxidative stress at the cellular level.