Nutrient content of food from burned areas of the Central Region

Gueifão, Sandra; Moreira, Tiago; Ventura, Marta; Delgado, Inês; Coelho, Inês; Castanheira, Isabel; Silva, José Armando

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/6715

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Abstract(s)

Forest fires are usually unexpected events leading to dramatic changes in all kinds of forest ecosystems, and they have a significant impact on flora. Fire mineralizes soil nutrients and returns plant-locked nutrients to the soil. Nutrients are lost from the ecosystem through the release of particulates and volatile compounds during the fire, and later through surface transport and leaching by rains1. Wildfires can play an important role in the environmental distribution of major and trace elements, including through their mobilization by fire-induced runoff and associated transport of soil and ash particles2. This study aimed to evaluate the selenium (Se), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), lithium (Li) and zinc (Zn) content in cabbage, egg, potato and fruit samples in a total of 16 pools composed of 3 samples each at two different harvest periods. Cabbage samples from burnt zones were compared with a designated control sample from a non-burnt zone. Inductive Plasma Coupled Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) performed the determination of nutrient compounds. Previously, the samples underwent a heating block acid digestion with a validated time and temperature program. The analysis performed was under accordance with ISO 17025:20053 by analytical procedures. The lowest concentration founded in all nutrients was in fruits. The selenium and zinc content varied as follows: eggs> cabbage> potatoes> fruits. In the other hand, cabbage contained the highest cobalt and manganese content while eggs had lower values of copper. For lithium content, potatoes were the samples, which had lower values, than the eggs that contained higher values. The amount of the nutrients present in this study when compared to the control sample, the more pronounced increase recorded was for copper in the potato samples. Monitoring studies based on accredited methods are a powerful aid in assessing of exposure of affected populations.