Student Major/Year in School
Wildlife Biology and Parks Management and Conservation, Third Year
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. David Pompeani, Department of Geography, Kansas State University
Abstract
In our lab, I am using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to measure the concentrations of metals in sediments from subalpine lakes. Our goal is to measure the biogeochemical consequences of wildfires over the last 2000 years. This study looks at the elemental composition of different lake cores, and vegetation samples from areas of the “Big Burn” fire of 1910. This fire burned across several states in the Rocky Mountain region. With our XRF data we are able to see how the fire impacted the soils and how long after the fire proper soil composition can occur. This study can be used to help understand the impacts of large scale fires on local ecosystems.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Darter, Dylan (2019). "Using X-ray Fluorescence to Analyze Fire Impacted Soil and Vegetation Composition," Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference. https://newprairiepress.org/ksuugradresearch/2019/posters/63
Included in
Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Geochemistry Commons, Mineral Physics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Paleobiology Commons, Sedimentology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Sustainability Commons
Using X-ray Fluorescence to Analyze Fire Impacted Soil and Vegetation Composition
In our lab, I am using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to measure the concentrations of metals in sediments from subalpine lakes. Our goal is to measure the biogeochemical consequences of wildfires over the last 2000 years. This study looks at the elemental composition of different lake cores, and vegetation samples from areas of the “Big Burn” fire of 1910. This fire burned across several states in the Rocky Mountain region. With our XRF data we are able to see how the fire impacted the soils and how long after the fire proper soil composition can occur. This study can be used to help understand the impacts of large scale fires on local ecosystems.
