Geochemical and mineralogical data of wildfire ash and soil samples from post-fire areas: A case study of the August 2024 wildfire in Attica, Greece

TL;DR

This study provides geochemical data from wildfire-affected soils in Greece to assess post-fire environmental impacts and support future research.

Contribution

The dataset offers detailed geochemical and mineralogical analysis of wildfire ash and soil samples from a specific 2024 wildfire event in Attica, Greece.

Findings

Wildfire ash and soil samples revealed significant changes in geochemical parameters such as pH, PAHs, and trace elements.

Geo-environmental indices like EF, PLI, and Igeo highlighted pollution levels and enrichment of potentially toxic elements.

The dataset establishes a baseline for long-term monitoring of post-fire soil quality in Mediterranean regions.

Abstract

This data article provides supplementary information to “Delineation of wildfire impacts on soil geochemistry and post-fire soil quality assessment: The case of the August 2024 wildfire in NE Attica, Greece” [1]. An extended dataset records the soil geochemical impacts of the August 2024 Attica wildfire, supporting post-fire soil quality and environmental geochemistry assessment. Raw geochemical data, including pH, major oxides, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Major Elements (MEs), Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) and other Trace Elements (TEs), are presented, along with X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, and three widely used geo-environmental indices, such as Enrichment Factor (EF), Pollution Load Index (PLI), and Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo) from post-fire samples. Wildfire Ash (WA) (depth: 0-2 cm) and soil (Burned [BS] and unburned [NB]) Samples (depth: 2-20 cm) were collected in a sampling campaign carried out during October 2024. This dataset is useful to evaluate the immediate post-fire geochemical impacts by providing a large set of geochemical soil analyses data across 52 samples, addressing knowledge gaps in wildfire-driven contaminant cycling in Mediterranean soils, supporting environmental risk assessment and post-fire management, and establishing a baseline for long-term monitoring and reproducible research. Herein, the methodological limitations related to sampling design, temporal coverage, analytical scope, and baseline data availability are explicitly acknowledged, ensuring transparency in the data interpretation and providing guidance for future research.

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