• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.443-450
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• 2015

The east coast of the Korean Peninsula is susceptible to fires because of the low rainfall in winter and spring, and large forest fires have occurred in this area. Lack of fresh water to combat fires has hampered efforts to prevent widespread forest fires in this region. Seawater has not been used as a suppressant because of possible detrimental effects of salt. We investigated the mobility of saline water in the forest soil and their effect on the microbial activity. Using a fire-fighting helicopter, seawater was sprayed over three plots (50 × 100 m) located on the eastern slope of the Baekdu mountain range in South Korea in April, 2011. We sampled the soil in April 4, May 20, and August 5 to determine the amount of salt that remained in the soil. The electrical conductivity value of the soil decreased to <400 μS/cm over a 1-month period. Approximately, four months after the application of seawater, the electrical conductivity value and Na⁺ content in all treatment plots did not significantly differ to those of the control plot, and total microbial activity also recovered to that of the control. Our results indicate that the amount of rainfall, soil physical-chemical properties, and topological factors may be a critical factor determining the mobility of saline water in forest soil.