Summary:
Forest fires are a natural phenomenon related to climate change as in recent years there has been an increase in fires globally. Forest fires can be either of natural or anthropogenic origin and their natural occurrence in several Mediterranean ecosystems is a permanent problem to be addressed.
The impacts of forest fires are significant on both the biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem, such as the soil. The effects observed on the soil are related to temperature, moisture, nutrient content, but also to leaching and erosion in secondary time.
The aim of this thesis was to collect and document, through a literature review, the effects of forest fires on soil physicochemical properties for the Mediterranean region. In particular, the selection criteria for the regions affected by forest fires (Greece, Algeria, Libya, Libya, Spain, Turkey and Portugal) included common geographical latitude, and/or same climatic conditions, and/or similar vegetation, and/or fire type. Among these, one area was selected where the forest fire was neither of natural origin nor human induced but belonged to the category of prescribed fires.
