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Albert-Belda E, Hinojosa MB, Laudicina VA, Moreno JM. Soil biogeochemistry and microbial community dynamics in Pinus pinaster Ait. forests subjected to increased fire frequency. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 858:159912. [PMID: 36336047 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Fire frequency might increase in many fire-dominated ecosystems of the world due to the combined effects of global warming, land-use change and increased human pressures. Understanding how changes in fire frequency can affect the main soil biogeochemical dynamics, as well as the microbial community, in the long term is utmost important. Here we determined the effect of changes in fire frequency and other fire history characteristics on soil C and N dynamics and the main microbial groups (using soil fatty acid profiles), in Pinus pinaster forests from central Spain. Stands were chosen to differ in the number of fires (1 to 3) occurred between 1976 and 2018, in the time elapsed since the last fire and the interval undergone between the last two consecutive fires. We found that, in general, most of the studied biogeochemical and microbial variables showed clear differences between unburned and burned stands. The time elapsed since the last fire was the most important fire history covariable and governed the main soil nutrient dynamics and microbial groups. Recovery to pre-fire values took 30-40 years. Increased wildfire frequency only modified total C and nitrification rate, but results were not consistent between stands burned twice and thrice. The time interval (years) between the last two fires was not a significant covariable. The fact that some stands burnt up to thrice in a period of 43 years supports the strong capacity of this ecosystem to recover, even under an increased fire frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Albert-Belda
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, E-45071 Toledo, Spain.
| | - M Belén Hinojosa
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, E-45071 Toledo, Spain.
| | - Vito Armando Laudicina
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, bulding 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - José M Moreno
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, E-45071 Toledo, Spain
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2
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Wu L, Pinzon J. Response of rove-beetle (Staphylinidae) assemblages to the cumulative effect of wildfire and linear footprint in boreal treed peatlands. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9564. [PMID: 36479034 PMCID: PMC9719082 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative effects of anthropogenic and natural disturbances have become increasingly relevant in the context of biodiversity conservation. Oil and gas (OG) exploration and extraction activities have created thousands of kilometers of linear footprints in boreal ecosystems of Alberta, Canada. Among these disturbances, seismic lines (narrow corridors cut through the forest) are one of the most common footprints and have become a significant landscape feature influencing the maintenance of forest interior habitats and biodiversity. Wildfire is a common stand-replacing natural disturbance in the boreal forest, and as such, it is hypothesized that its effects can mitigate the linear footprint associated with OG exploration, but only a few studies have examined its effectiveness. We studied the short-term (1 year post-fire) response of rove-beetle assemblages to the combined effects of wildfire and linear footprint in forest, edge, and seismic line habitats at burned and unburned peatlands along the southwest perimeter of the 2016 Horse River wildfire (Fort McMurray). While rove-beetle species richness was higher in seismic lines in both the burned and unburned habitats compared with the adjacent peatland, diversity was greater only in seismic lines of burned areas. Abundance was lower in the burned adjacent peatland but similarly higher in the remaining habitats. Assemblage composition on seismic lines was significantly different from that in the adjacent forest and edge habitats within both burned and unburned sites. Moreover, species composition in burned seismic lines was different from either unburned lines or burned forest and edge. Euaesthethus laeviusculus and Gabrius picipennis were indicator species of burned line habitats, are sensitive to post-fire landscapes and can occupy wet habitats with moss cover more efficiently than when these habitats are surrounded by unburned forest. Although these results are based on short-term responses, they suggest that wildfire did not reduce the linear footprint, and instead, the cumulative effect of these two disturbances had a more complex influence on rove-beetle recovery at the landscape level than for other invertebrates. Therefore, continued monitoring of these sites can become useful to evaluate changes over time and to better understand longer-term biodiversity responses to the cumulative effects of wildfire and linear disturbances in boreal treed peatlands, given the long-lasting effect of such disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linhao Wu
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service Northern Forestry Center Edmonton Canada
| | - Jaime Pinzon
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service Northern Forestry Center Edmonton Canada
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3
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Chen Y, Kelly R, Genet H, Lara MJ, Chipman ML, McGuire AD, Hu FS. Resilience and sensitivity of ecosystem carbon stocks to fire-regime change in Alaskan tundra. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:151482. [PMID: 34742811 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Fire disturbance has increased in some tundra ecosystems due to anthropogenic climate change, with important ramifications for terrestrial carbon cycling. Assessment of the potential impact of fire-regime change on tundra carbon stocks requires long-term perspectives because tundra fires have been rare historically. Here we integrated the process-based Dynamic Organic Soil version of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model with paleo-fire records to evaluate the responses of tundra carbon stocks to changes in fire return interval (FRI). Paleorecords reveal that mean FRIs of tundra ecosystems in Alaska ranged from centennial to millennial timescales (200-6000 years) during the late Quaternary, but projected FRIs by 2100 decrease to a few hundred years to several decades (70-660 years). Our simulations indicate threshold effects of changing FRIs on tundra carbon stocks. Shortening FRI from 5000 to 1000 years results in minimal carbon release (<5%) from Alaskan tundra ecosystems. Rapid carbon stock loss occurs when FRI declines below 800 years trigger sustained mobilization of ancient carbon stocks from permafrost soils. However, substantial spatial heterogeneity in the resilience/sensitivity of tundra carbon stocks to FRI change exists, largely attributable to vegetation types. We identified the carbon stocks in shrub tundra as the most vulnerable to decreasing FRI because shrub tundra stores a large share of carbon in combustible biomass and organic soils. Moreover, our results suggest that ecosystems characterized by large carbon stocks and relatively long FRIs (e.g. Brooks Foothills) may transition towards hotspots of permafrost carbon emission as a response to crossing FRI thresholds in the coming decades. These findings combined imply that fire disturbance may play an increasingly important role in future carbon balance of tundra ecosystems, but the net outcome may be strongly modulated by vegetation composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaping Chen
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Ryan Kelly
- UNC Health Care System, 1025 Think Place, Morrisville, NC, USA
| | - Hélène Genet
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Mark Jason Lara
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Melissa Lynn Chipman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - A David McGuire
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Feng Sheng Hu
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
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4
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Morris JE, Buonanduci MS, Agne MC, Battaglia MA, Harvey BJ. Does the legacy of historical thinning treatments foster resilience to bark beetle outbreaks in subalpine forests? ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e02474. [PMID: 34653267 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Promoting ecological resilience to increasing disturbance activity is a key management priority under warming climate. Across the Northern Hemisphere, tree mortality from widespread bark beetle outbreaks raises concerns for how forest management can foster resilience to future outbreaks. Density reduction (i.e., thinning) treatments can increase vigor of remaining trees, but the longevity of treatment efficacy for reducing susceptibility to future disturbance remains a key knowledge gap. Using one of the longest-running replicated experiments in old-growth subalpine forests, we measured stand structure following a recent (early 2000s) severe mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreak to examine the legacy of historical (1940s) thinning treatments on two components of resilience. We asked: 'How did historical thinning intensity affect (1) tree-scale survival probability and stand-scale survival proportion (collectively "resistance" to outbreak) for susceptible trees (lodgepole pine [Pinus contorta] ≥ 12 cm diameter) and (2) post-outbreak stand successional trajectories?' Overall outbreak severity was high (MPB killed 59% of susceptible individuals and 78% of susceptible basal area), and historical thinning had little effect on tree-scale and stand-scale resistance. Tree-scale survival probability decreased sharply with increasing tree diameter and did not differ from the control (uncut stands) in the historical thinning treatments. Stand-scale proportion of surviving susceptible trees and basal area did not differ from the control in historically thinned stands, except for treatments that removed nearly all susceptible trees, in which survival proportion approximately doubled. Despite limited effects on resistance to MPB outbreak, the legacy of historical treatments shifted dominance from large-diameter to small-diameter lodgepole pine by the time of outbreak, resulting in historically thinned stands with ~2× greater post-outbreak live basal area than control stands. MPB-driven mortality of large-diameter lodgepole pine in control stands and density-dependent mortality of small-diameter trees in historically thinned stands led to convergence in post-outbreak live tree stand structure. One exception was the heaviest historical thinning treatments (59-77% basal area removed), for which sapling dominance of shade-tolerant, unsusceptible conifers was lower than control stands. After six decades, thinning treatments have had minimal effect on resistance to bark beetle outbreaks, but leave persistent legacies in shaping post-outbreak successional trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna E Morris
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
| | - Michele S Buonanduci
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
- Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
| | - Michelle C Agne
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
| | - Mike A Battaglia
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80526, USA
| | - Brian J Harvey
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
- Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
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Seabloom EW, Borer ET, Hobbie SE, MacDougall AS. Soil nutrients increase long-term soil carbon gains threefold on retired farmland. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:4909-4920. [PMID: 34311496 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Abandoned agricultural lands often accumulate soil carbon (C) following depletion of soil C by cultivation. The potential for this recovery to provide significant C storage benefits depends on the rate of soil C accumulation, which, in turn, may depend on nutrient supply rates. We tracked soil C for almost four decades following intensive agricultural soil disturbance along an experimentally imposed gradient in nitrogen (N) added annually in combination with other macro- and micro-nutrients. Soil %C accumulated over the course of the study in unfertilized control plots leading to a gain of 6.1 Mg C ha-1 in the top 20 cm of soil. Nutrient addition increased soil %C accumulation leading to a gain of 17.8 Mg C ha-1 in fertilized plots, nearly a threefold increase over the control plots. These results demonstrate that substantial increases in soil C in successional grasslands following agricultural abandonment occur over decadal timescales, and that C gain is increased by high supply rates of soil nutrients. In addition, soil %C continued to increase for decades under elevated nutrient supply, suggesting that short-term nutrient addition experiments underestimate the effects of soil nutrients on soil C accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric W Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Sarah E Hobbie
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
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6
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Klupar I, Rocha AV, Rastetter EB. Alleviation of nutrient co-limitation induces regime shifts in post-fire community composition and productivity in Arctic tundra. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:3324-3335. [PMID: 33960082 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Recent unprecedented fires in the Arctic during the past two decades have indicated a pressing need to understand the long-term ecological impacts of fire in this biome. Anecdotal evidence suggests that tundra fires can induce regime shifts that change tussock tundra to more shrub-dominated ecosystems. However, the ecological mechanisms regulating these shifts are poorly understood, but are hypothesized to involve changes to nutrient availability in this nutrient limited system. Here we conducted a 4-year two-factorial (control: C, nitrogen along: N+ , phosphorus alone: P+ , nitrogen and phosphorus combined: NP+ ) fertilization experiment in both unburned and burned tundra to test this hypothesis after a decade of post-fire recovery. A decade after fire, the burned site exhibited an increase in soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability and a transition toward taller, more productive, and more deciduous vegetation. This shift in vegetation structure, composition, and function was induced at the unburned site through the addition of both NP+ and the alleviation of their co-limitation. Both burned and unburned tundra responded similarly to fertilizer treatments by increasing leaf area index, greenness, and canopy height in NP+ treatments, and exhibited no significant response in individual N+ or P+ treatments. These results point to a greater need to understand coupled carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles in this system, and suggest that post-fire regime shifts are regulated by the alleviation of nitrogen and phosphorus co-limitation in Arctic tundra.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Klupar
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Change Initiative, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Adrian V Rocha
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Change Initiative, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Edward B Rastetter
- Marine Biological Laboratory, The Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole, MA, USA
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7
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Long-Term Steady-State Dry Boreal Forest in the Face of Disturbance. Ecosystems 2020; 23:1075-1092. [PMID: 32831628 PMCID: PMC7410099 DOI: 10.1007/s10021-019-00455-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
We used bioproxies from paleosoils buried within two aeolian dunes to test hypotheses concerning the origin of dry sandy boreal forests in Canada. These forests are dominated today by Pinus banksiana Lamb. One hypothesis is that too frequent Holocene stand-replacing fires would have transformed the original vegetation through extirpation of susceptible species to fire in water stress habitat. Alternatively, the ecosystem would have not changed since the dunes stabilized enough to support forest establishment. The vegetation composition and richness were determined by identification of charcoal and macroremains and radiocarbon dating for the chronology. Both sites revealed a similar history covering 6400 years. Half of the charcoal layers were less than 2500 years old in both sites, indicating that they had been subjected to the same fire history. Data indicated a stable plant composition and richness, although the percentage of Pinus decreased slightly over 4000 years (decreasing rate 1% per century). The fungus Cenococcum geophilum was consistently present, with a stochastic abundance. The vegetation grew under natural fire conditions and soil dryness since 6000 years. The ecosystem was probably not stressed by late-Holocene fires or climate changes, as the multi-millennial steady state reveals a resistant and resilient ecosystem.
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8
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Chipman ML, Hu FS. Resilience of lake biogeochemistry to boreal-forest wildfires during the late Holocene. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190390. [PMID: 31455173 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel fire regimes are expected in many boreal regions, and it is unclear how biogeochemical cycles will respond. We leverage fire and vegetation records from a highly flammable ecoregion in Alaska and present new lake-sediment analyses to examine biogeochemical responses to fire over the past 5300 years. No significant difference exists in δ13C, %C, %N, C : N, or magnetic susceptibility between pre-fire, post-fire, and fire samples. However, δ15N is related to the timing relative to fire (χ2 = 19.73, p < 0.0001), with higher values for fire-decade samples (3.2 ± 0.3‰) than pre-fire (2.4 ± 0.2‰) and post-fire (2.2 ± 0.1‰) samples. Sediment δ15N increased gradually from 1.8 ± 0.6 to 3.2 ± 0.2‰ over the late Holocene, probably as a result of terrestrial-ecosystem development. Elevated δ15N in fire decades likely reflects enhanced terrestrial nitrification and/or deeper permafrost thaw depths immediately following fire. Similar δ15N values before and after fire decades suggest that N cycling in this lowland-boreal watershed was resilient to fire disturbance. However, this resilience may diminish as boreal ecosystems approach climate-driven thresholds of vegetation structure, permafrost thaw and fire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L Chipman
- Department of Earth Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Feng Sheng Hu
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.,Department of Geology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.,Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
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9
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Minucci JM, Miniat CF, Wurzburger N. Drought sensitivity of an N 2 -fixing tree may slow temperate deciduous forest recovery from disturbance. Ecology 2019; 100:e02862. [PMID: 31386760 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Increased drought intensity and frequency due to climate change may reduce the abundance and activity of nitrogen (N2 )-fixing plants, which supply new N to terrestrial ecosystems. As a result, drought may indirectly reduce ecosystem productivity through its effect on the N cycle. Here, we manipulated growing season net rainfall across a series of plots in an early successional mesic deciduous forest to understand how drought affects the aboveground productivity of the N2 -fixing tree Robinia pseudoacacia and three co-occurring nonfixing tree species. We found that lower soil moisture was associated with reduced productivity of R. pseudoacacia but not of nonfixing trees. As a result, the relative biomass and density of R. pseudoacacia declined in drier soils over time. Greater aboveground biomass of R. pseudoacacia was also associated with greater total soil N, extractable inorganic N, N mineralization rates, and productivity of nonfixing trees. These soil N effects may reflect current N2 fixation by R. pseudoacacia saplings, or the legacy effect of former trees in the same location. Our results suggest that R. pseudoacacia promotes the growth of nonfixing trees in early succession through its effect on the N cycle. However, the sensitivity of R. pseudoacacia to dry soils may reduce N2 fixation under scenarios of increasing drought intensity and frequency, demonstrating a mechanism by which drought may indirectly diminish potential forest productivity and recovery rate from disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Minucci
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 East Green Street, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA
| | - Chelcy F Miniat
- Coweeta Hydrologic Lab, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station, 3160 Coweeta Lab Road, Otto, North Carolina, 28763, USA
| | - Nina Wurzburger
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 East Green Street, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA
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10
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Buma B, Thompson T. Long-term exposure to more frequent disturbances increases baseline carbon in some ecosystems: Mapping and quantifying the disturbance frequency-ecosystem C relationship. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0212526. [PMID: 30789951 PMCID: PMC6383921 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Disturbance regimes have a major influence on the baseline carbon that characterizes any particular ecosystem. Often regimes result in lower average regional baseline C (compared to those same systems if the disturbance processes were lessened/removed). However, in infrequently disturbed systems the role of disturbance as a “background” process that influences broad-scale, baseline C levels is often neglected. Long-term chronosequences suggest disturbances in these systems may serve to increase regional biomass C stocks by maintaining productivity. However, that inference has not been tested spatially. Here, the large forested system of southeast Alaska, USA, is utilized to 1) estimate baseline regional C stocks, 2) test the fundamental disturbance-ecosystem C relationship, 3) estimate the cumulative impact of disturbances on baseline C. Using 1491 ground points with carbon measurements and a novel way of mapping disturbance regimes, the relationship between total biomass C, disturbance exposure, and climate was analyzed statistically. A spatial model was created to determine regional C and compare different disturbance scenarios. In this infrequently disturbed ecosystem, higher disturbance exposure is correlated with higher biomass C, supporting the hypothesis that disturbances maintain productivity at broad scales. The region is estimated to potentially contain a baseline 1.21–1.52 Pg biomass C (when unmanaged). Removal of wind and landslides from the model resulted in lower net C stocks (-2 to -19% reduction), though the effect was heterogeneous on finer scales. There removal of landslides alone had a larger effect then landslide and wind combined removal. The relationship between higher disturbance exposure and higher biomass within the broad ecosystem (which, on average, has a very low disturbance frequency) suggest that disturbances can serve maintain higher levels of productivity in infrequently disturbed but very C dense ecosystems. Carbon research in other systems, especially those where disturbances are infrequent relative to successional processes, should consider the role of disturbances in maintaining baseline ecosystem productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Buma
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado, Denver, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Thomas Thompson
- USDA Forest Service, Resource Monitoring and Assessment Program, PNW Research Station, Anchorage, AK, United States of America
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11
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Buotte PC, Levis S, Law BE, Hudiburg TW, Rupp DE, Kent JJ. Near-future forest vulnerability to drought and fire varies across the western United States. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:290-303. [PMID: 30444042 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Recent prolonged droughts and catastrophic wildfires in the western United States have raised concerns about the potential for forest mortality to impact forest structure, forest ecosystem services, and the economic vitality of communities in the coming decades. We used the Community Land Model (CLM) to determine forest vulnerability to mortality from drought and fire by the year 2049. We modified CLM to represent 13 major forest types in the western United States and ran simulations at a 4-km grid resolution, driven with climate projections from two general circulation models under one emissions scenario (RCP 8.5). We developed metrics of vulnerability to short-term extreme and prolonged drought based on annual allocation to stem growth and net primary productivity. We calculated fire vulnerability based on changes in simulated future area burned relative to historical area burned. Simulated historical drought vulnerability was medium to high in areas with observations of recent drought-related mortality. Comparisons of observed and simulated historical area burned indicate simulated future fire vulnerability could be underestimated by 3% in the Sierra Nevada and overestimated by 3% in the Rocky Mountains. Projections show that water-limited forests in the Rocky Mountains, Southwest, and Great Basin regions will be the most vulnerable to future drought-related mortality, and vulnerability to future fire will be highest in the Sierra Nevada and portions of the Rocky Mountains. High carbon-density forests in the Pacific coast and western Cascades regions are projected to be the least vulnerable to either drought or fire. Importantly, differences in climate projections lead to only 1% of the domain with conflicting low and high vulnerability to fire and no area with conflicting drought vulnerability. Our drought vulnerability metrics could be incorporated as probabilistic mortality rates in earth system models, enabling more robust estimates of the feedbacks between the land and atmosphere over the 21st century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polly C Buotte
- Department of Forest Ecosystems, and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
| | | | - Beverly E Law
- Department of Forest Ecosystems, and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Tara W Hudiburg
- Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
| | - David E Rupp
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Jeffery J Kent
- Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
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12
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Buma B, Bisbing S, Krapek J, Wright G. A foundation of ecology rediscovered: 100 years of succession on the William S. Cooper plots in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ecology 2018; 98:1513-1523. [PMID: 28558159 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Revised: 03/16/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Understanding plant community succession is one of the original pursuits of ecology, forming some of the earliest theoretical frameworks in the field. Much of this was built on the long-term research of William S. Cooper, who established a permanent plot network in Glacier Bay, Alaska, in 1916. This study now represents the longest-running primary succession plot network in the world. Permanent plots are useful for their ability to follow mechanistic change through time without assumptions inherent in space-for-time (chronosequence) designs. After 100-yr, these plots show surprising variety in species composition, soil characteristics (carbon, nitrogen, depth), and percent cover, attributable to variation in initial vegetation establishment first noted by Cooper in the 1916-1923 time period, partially driven by dispersal limitations. There has been almost a complete community composition replacement over the century and general species richness increase, but the effective number of species has declined significantly due to dominance of Salix species which established 100-yr prior (the only remaining species from the original cohort). Where Salix dominates, there is no establishment of "later" successional species like Picea. Plots nearer the entrance to Glacier Bay, and thus closer to potential seed sources after the most recent glaciation, have had consistently higher species richness for 100 yr. Age of plots is the best predictor of soil N content and C:N ratio, though plots still dominated by Salix had lower overall N; soil accumulation was more associated with dominant species. This highlights the importance of contingency and dispersal in community development. The 100-yr record of these plots, including species composition, spatial relationships, cover, and observed interactions between species provides a powerful view of long-term primary succession.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Buma
- Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Alaska, Southeast, 11120 Glacier Highway, Juneau, Alaska, 99801, USA
| | - Sarah Bisbing
- Department of Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo, California, 93407, USA
| | - John Krapek
- School of Natural Resources and Extension, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 11120 Glacier Highway, Juneau, Alaska, 99801, USA
| | - Glenn Wright
- Department of Social Science, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Alaska, Southeast, 11120 Glacier Highway, Juneau, Alaska, 99801, USA
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Predicting Chronic Climate-Driven Disturbances and Their Mitigation. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:15-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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Buma B, Hennon PE, Harrington CA, Popkin JR, Krapek J, Lamb MS, Oakes LE, Saunders S, Zeglen S. Emerging climate-driven disturbance processes: widespread mortality associated with snow-to-rain transitions across 10° of latitude and half the range of a climate-threatened conifer. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:2903-2914. [PMID: 27891717 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2016] [Revised: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 10/29/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is causing rapid changes to forest disturbance regimes worldwide. While the consequences of climate change for existing disturbance processes, like fires, are relatively well studied, emerging drivers of disturbance such as snow loss and subsequent mortality are much less documented. As the climate warms, a transition from winter snow to rain in high latitudes will cause significant changes in environmental conditions such as soil temperatures, historically buffered by snow cover. The Pacific coast of North America is an excellent test case, as mean winter temperatures are currently at the snow-rain threshold and have been warming for approximately 100 years post-Little Ice Age. Increased mortality in a widespread tree species in the region has been linked to warmer winters and snow loss. Here, we present the first high-resolution range map of this climate-sensitive species, Callitropsis nootkatensis (yellow-cedar), and document the magnitude and location of observed mortality across Canada and the United States. Snow cover loss related mortality spans approximately 10° latitude (half the native range of the species) and 7% of the overall species range and appears linked to this snow-rain transition across its range. Mortality is commonly >70% of basal area in affected areas, and more common where mean winter temperatures is at or above the snow-rain threshold (>0 °C mean winter temperature). Approximately 50% of areas with a currently suitable climate for the species (<-2 °C) are expected to warm beyond that threshold by the late 21st century. Regardless of climate change scenario, little of the range which is expected to remain suitable in the future (e.g., a climatic refugia) is in currently protected landscapes (<1-9%). These results are the first documentation of this type of emerging climate disturbance and highlight the difficulties of anticipating novel disturbance processes when planning for conservation and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Buma
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, 11120 Glacier Highway, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA
| | - Paul E Hennon
- USDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station, 11175 Auke Lake Way, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA
| | | | - Jamie R Popkin
- Little Earth GIS Consulting Inc., PO Box 354, Lantzville, BC, V0R 2H0, Canada
| | - John Krapek
- School of Natural Resources and Extension, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Melinda S Lamb
- USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA
| | | | - Sari Saunders
- Coast Area Research, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, Nanaimo, BC, V9T 6E9, Canada
| | - Stefan Zeglen
- West Coast Region, British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Nanaimo, BC, V9T 6E9, Canada
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Berenstecher P, Gangi D, González‐Arzac A, Martínez ML, Chaves EJ, Mondino EA, Austin AT. Litter microbial and soil faunal communities stimulated in the wake of a volcanic eruption in a semi‐arid woodland in Patagonia, Argentina. Funct Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paula Berenstecher
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA‐CONICET) Universidad de Buenos Aires Avenida San Martín 4453 Buenos Aires C1417DSE Argentina
| | - Daniela Gangi
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA‐CONICET) Universidad de Buenos Aires Avenida San Martín 4453 Buenos Aires C1417DSE Argentina
| | - Adelia González‐Arzac
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA‐CONICET) Universidad de Buenos Aires Avenida San Martín 4453 Buenos Aires C1417DSE Argentina
| | - María Laura Martínez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA‐CONICET) Universidad de Buenos Aires Avenida San Martín 4453 Buenos Aires C1417DSE Argentina
| | - Eliseo J. Chaves
- Laboratorio de Análisis de Nematodos en Suelo y Plantas NEMA‐AGRiS 1900 La Plata Argentina
| | - Eduardo A. Mondino
- Laboratório de Biologia do Solo Departamento de Solos Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro BR‐465 km 7 Seropédica Rio de Janeiro 23890‐ 000 Brazil
| | - Amy T. Austin
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA‐CONICET) Universidad de Buenos Aires Avenida San Martín 4453 Buenos Aires C1417DSE Argentina
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIB) Universidad Nacional de San Martín B1650HMP Buenos Aires Argentina
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Kim SL, Shuman BN, Minckley TA, Marsicek JP. Biogeochemical Change During Climate-Driven Afforestation: A Paleoecological Perspective from the Rocky Mountains. Ecosystems 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9955-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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17
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Buma B. Disturbance interactions: characterization, prediction, and the potential for cascading effects. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00058.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 208] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- B. Buma
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska 99801 USA
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18
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Perakis SS, Tepley AJ, Compton JE. Disturbance and Topography Shape Nitrogen Availability and δ15N over Long-Term Forest Succession. Ecosystems 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9847-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Meiners SJ, Cadotte MW, Fridley JD, Pickett STA, Walker LR. Is successional research nearing its climax? New approaches for understanding dynamic communities. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Scott J. Meiners
- Department of Biological Sciences Eastern Illinois University 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston Illinois 61920 USA
| | - Marc W. Cadotte
- Biological Sciences University of Toronto‐Scarborough Scarborough Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
| | - Jason D. Fridley
- Department of Biology Syracuse University 107 College Place Syracuse New York 13244 USA
| | - Steward T. A. Pickett
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies 2801 Sharon Turnpike PO Box AB Millbrook New York 12545‐0129 USA
| | - Lawrence R. Walker
- School of Life Sciences University of Nevada Las Vegas Las Vegas Nevada 89154 USA
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20
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Dunnette PV, Higuera PE, McLauchlan KK, Derr KM, Briles CE, Keefe MH. Biogeochemical impacts of wildfires over four millennia in a Rocky Mountain subalpine watershed. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2014; 203:900-912. [PMID: 24803372 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 03/31/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires can significantly alter forest carbon (C) storage and nitrogen (N) availability, but the long-term biogeochemical legacy of wildfires is poorly understood. We obtained a lake-sediment record of fire and biogeochemistry from a subalpine forest in Colorado, USA, to examine the nature, magnitude, and duration of decadal-scale, fire-induced ecosystem change over the past c. 4250 yr. The high-resolution record contained 34 fires, including 13 high-severity events within the watershed. High-severity fires were followed by increased sedimentary N stable isotope ratios (δ15N) and bulk density, and decreased C and N concentrations--reflecting forest floor destruction, terrestrial C and N losses, and erosion. Sustained low sediment C : N c. 20-50 yr post-fire indicates reduced terrestrial organic matter subsidies to the lake. Low sedimentary δ15N c. 50-70 yr post-fire, coincident with C and N recovery, suggests diminishing terrestrial N availability during stand development. The magnitude of post-fire changes generally scaled directly with inferred fire severity. Our results support modern studies of forest successional C and N accumulation and indicate pronounced, long-lasting biogeochemical impacts of wildfires in subalpine forests. However, even repeated high-severity fires over millennia probably did not deplete C or N stocks, because centuries between high-severity fires allowed for sufficient biomass recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul V Dunnette
- College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, PO Box 441133, Moscow, ID, 83844-1133, USA
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Walker LR, Wardle DA. Plant succession as an integrator of contrasting ecological time scales. Trends Ecol Evol 2014; 29:504-10. [PMID: 25085040 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2014] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/02/2014] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Ecologists have studied plant succession for over a hundred years, yet our understanding of the nature of this process is incomplete, particularly in relation to its response to new human perturbations and the need to manipulate it during ecological restoration. We demonstrate how plant succession can be understood better when it is placed in the broadest possible temporal context. We further show how plant succession can be central to the development of a framework that integrates a spectrum of ecological processes, which occur over time scales ranging from seconds to millions of years. This novel framework helps us understand the impacts of human perturbations on successional trajectories, ecosystem recovery, and global environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence R Walker
- School of Life Sciences, Box 454004, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA.
| | - David A Wardle
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Faculty of Forestry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE901-83, Umeå, Sweden
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