Black (pyrogenic) carbon: a synthesis of current knowledge and uncertainties with special consideration of boreal regions

Abstract. The carbon (C) cycle in boreal regions is strongly influenced by fire, which converts biomass and detrital C mainly to gaseous forms (CO2 and smaller proportions of CO and CH4), and some 1–3% of mass to pyrogenic C (PyC). PyC is mainly produced as solid charred residues, including visually-defined charcoal, and a black carbon (BC) fraction chemically defined by its resistance to laboratory oxidation, plus much lower proportions of volatile soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). All PyC is characterized by fused aromatic rings, but varying in cluster sizes, and presence of other elements (N, O) and functional groups. The range of PyC structures is often described as a continuum from…

• MU
  McGill University
• UZ
  Universität Zürich