Das Projekt "Reconstruction of fire frequency and landscape history in the Etna region using a combined methodological approach: evidences from charcoals, soils and dendrochronology" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Zürich, Geographisches Institut durchgeführt. The dry summers in Mediterranean areas already facilitate the occurrence of bush and forest fires, which exert a significant effect on landscape evolution and especially on soils. There is a poor understanding of how soil quality (including the mineral and organic part) relates to these climate and vegetation factors. This knowledge gap compromises our ability to predict the response of SOC storage and the mineral part of soils to global change. Results from an existing soil climosequence at the slopes of the Etna show that organic matter accumulation is highest at the lowest altitudes where there is a more intense fire activity. It is so far unknown which effect has had the fire frequency on the different fractions and nature of soil organic matter in these soils. The proposed project will focus on the investigation of labile and stable organic matter fractions in the soils. On the one hand, the fractions will be quantified and characterised. On the other hand, these fractions will be dated using the radiocarbon technique (14C). In addition, soil charcoal will be collected and quantified. Fire frequency and landscape evolution will also be evaluated through dendrochonological investigations of living and dead trees on the north slopes of the Etna volcano.