FOREST FIRES AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR OF SCATTERING AND CONCENTRATION OF CHEMICAL ELEMENTS IN SIBERIA

B. L. Shcherbov, I. S. Zhurkova

The study of 25 forest fire objects in different regions of Siberia and Eastern Kazakhstan allowed us to separate chemical elements into two groups according to the nature of the forest fires behavior. The group of active air migrants included Hg, Cd, Pb, As, Sb, Se, Mn, Zn, U, 90Sr, 137Cs, 239, 240Pu, the group passively accumulating fire sites – Cr, Ni, Co, V, Th, Mg, K, Na, Ca, Al, and other elements. Such distribution is a cause of the change in the chemical composition of soil and vegetation cover not only in both burnt-out and adjacent areas.

Key words: forest fire, biogeocenosis components, chemical elements, artificial radionuclides, migration.

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