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Yang M, Luo X, Cai Y, Mwangi BN, Khan MS, Haider FU, Huang W, Cheng X, Yang Z, Zhou H, Liu S, Zhang Q, Luo M, Ou J, Xiong S, Li Y. Effect of fire and post-fire management on soil microbial communities in a lower subtropical forest ecosystem after a mountain fire. J Environ Manage 2024; 351:119885. [PMID: 38147772 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires and post-fire management exert profound effects on soil properties and microbial communities in forest ecosystems. Understanding microbial community recovery from fire and what the best post-fire management should be is very important but needs to be sufficiently studied. In light of these gaps in our understanding, this study aimed to assess the short-term effects of wildfire and post-fire management on both bacteria and fungi community composition, diversity, structure, and co-occurrence networks, and to identify the principal determinants of soil processes influencing the restoration of these communities. Specifically, we investigated soil bacterial and fungal community composition, diversity, structure, and co-occurrence networks in lower subtropical forests during a short-term (<3 years) post-fire recovery period at four main sites in Guangdong Province, southern China. Our results revealed significant effects of wildfires on fungal community composition, diversity, and co-occurrence patterns. Network analysis indicated reduced bacterial network complexity and connectivity post-fire, while the same features were enhanced in fungal networks. However, post-fire management effects on microbial communities were negligible. Bacterial diversity correlated positively with soil microbial biomass nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and soil total nitrogen. Conversely, based on the best random forest model, fungal community dynamics were negatively linked to nitrate-nitrogen and soil water content. Spearman's correlation analysis suggested positive associations between bacterial networks and soil factors, whereas fungal networks exhibited predominantly negative associations. This study elucidates the pivotal role of post-fire management in shaping ecological outcomes. Additionally, it accentuates the discernible distinctions between bacterial and fungal responses to fire throughout a short-term recovery period. These findings contribute novel insights that bear significance in evaluating the efficacy of environmental management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengmeng Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Xuan Luo
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, China.
| | - Ying Cai
- Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361000, China.
| | - Brian N Mwangi
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
| | - Muhammad Sadiq Khan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
| | - Fasih Ullah Haider
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
| | - Wanxuan Huang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Xianli Cheng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China.
| | - Zefan Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Hongen Zhou
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China.
| | - Shizhong Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
| | - Qianmei Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
| | - Mingdao Luo
- Forestry Science Research Institute of Gaoming District, Foshan, 528500, China.
| | - Jinwei Ou
- Forestry Science Research Institute of Gaoming District, Foshan, 528500, China.
| | - Shiyang Xiong
- Forestry Science Research Institute of Gaoming District, Foshan, 528500, China.
| | - Yuelin Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 51650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
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Sewerniak P, Markiewicz M, Tarnawska P, Wójcik M. Environmental effects of a management method used after fire on development of temperate Scots pine ecosystem: a 15-year study from Poland. Environ Manage 2023; 72:978-990. [PMID: 37294317 PMCID: PMC10509113 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01843-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Due to the ongoing climate changes, temperate forests are increasingly exposed to fires. However, until now the functioning of post-fire temperate forest ecosystems with regard to used forest management method has been weakly recognized. Here, we examined three variants of forest restoration after fire (two variants of natural regeneration with no soil preparation-NR, and artificial restoration by planting following soil preparation-AR) regarding their environmental consequences in development of post-fire Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) ecosystem. The study was conducted using a 15-year timespan in a long-term research site located in the Cierpiszewo area (N Poland) being one of the biggest post-fire grounds in European temperate forests in last decades. We focused on soil and microclimatic variables as well as on growth dynamics of post-fire pines generation. We found that the restoration rates of soil organic matter, carbon and most studied nutritional elements stocks were higher in NR plots than in AR. This could be primarily linked to the higher (p < 0.05) density of pines in naturally regenerated plots, and the subsequent faster organic horizon reconstruction after fire. The difference in tree density also involved regular differences in air and soil temperature among plots: consistently higher in AR than in both NR plots. In turn, lower water uptake by trees in AR implied that soil moisture was constantly the highest in this plot. Our study delivers strong arguments to pay more attention to restore post-fire forest areas with the use of natural regeneration with no soil preparation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Sewerniak
- Department of Soil Science and Landscape Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toruń, Poland.
| | - Maciej Markiewicz
- Department of Soil Science and Landscape Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Patrycja Tarnawska
- Department of Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Marta Wójcik
- Department of Soil Science and Landscape Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toruń, Poland
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Carrillo-García C, Girola-Iglesias L, Guijarro M, Hernando C, Madrigal J, Mateo RG. Ecological niche models applied to post-megafire vegetation restoration in the context of climate change. Sci Total Environ 2023; 855:158858. [PMID: 36122721 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Climate change and land-use changes are the main drivers altering fire regimes and leading to the occurrence of megafires. Current management policies mainly focus on short-term restoration without considering how climate change might affect regeneration dynamics. We aimed to test the usefulness of ecological niche models (ENMs) to integrate the effects of climate change on tree species distributions into post-fire restoration planning. We also examined different important conceptual and methodological aspects during this novel process. We constructed ENM at fine spatial resolution (25 m) for the four main tree species (Pinus pinaster, Quercus pyrenaica, Q. faginea and Q. ilex) in an area affected by a megafire in Central Spain at two scales (local and regional), two periods (2 and 14 years after the fire) at the local scale, and under two future climate change scenarios. The usefulness of ENMs as support tools in decision-making for post-fire management was confirmed for the first time. As hypothesized, models developed at both scales are different, since they represent different scale dependent drivers of species distribution patterns. However, both provide objective information to be considered by stakeholders in combination with other sources of information. Local models generated with vegetation data 14 years after the fire provided valuable information about local and current vegetation dynamics (i.e., current microecology spatial niche prediction). Regional models are capable of considering a higher proportion of the climatic niche of species to generate reliable climate change forecasts (i.e., future macroclimate spatial niche forecast). The use of precise ENMs provide both an objective interpretation of potential habitat conditions and the opportunity of examining vegetation patches, that can be very valuable in managing restoration of areas affected by megafires under climate change conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Carrillo-García
- Grupo de Incendios Forestales, Instituto de Ciencias Forestales (ICIFOR-INIA), CSIC, Ctra. Coruña Km 7,5, 28040 Madrid, Spain; ETSI Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Ramiro de Maeztu s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Lucas Girola-Iglesias
- ETSI Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Ramiro de Maeztu s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Mercedes Guijarro
- Grupo de Incendios Forestales, Instituto de Ciencias Forestales (ICIFOR-INIA), CSIC, Ctra. Coruña Km 7,5, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Hernando
- Grupo de Incendios Forestales, Instituto de Ciencias Forestales (ICIFOR-INIA), CSIC, Ctra. Coruña Km 7,5, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Madrigal
- Grupo de Incendios Forestales, Instituto de Ciencias Forestales (ICIFOR-INIA), CSIC, Ctra. Coruña Km 7,5, 28040 Madrid, Spain; ETSI Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Ramiro de Maeztu s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rubén G Mateo
- Departamento de Biología (Botánica), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Edificio de Biología, Campus de Cantoblanco, Calle Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Edificio de Biología, Campus de Cantoblanco, Calle Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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González-Romero J, Lucas-Borja ME, Plaza-Álvarez PA, Sagra J, Moya D, De Las Heras J. Temporal effects of post-fire check dam construction on soil functionality in SE Spain. Sci Total Environ 2018; 642:117-124. [PMID: 29894870 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Revised: 06/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Wildfire has historically been an alteration factor in Mediterranean basins. Despite Mediterranean ecosystems' high resilience, wildfire accelerates erosion and degradation processes, and also affects soil functionality by affecting nutrient cycles and soil structure. In semi-arid Mediterranean basins, check dams are usually built in gullies and channels after fire as a measure against soil erosion. Although check dams have proven efficient action to reduce erosion rates, studies about how they affect soil functionality are lacking. Our approach focuses on how soil functionality, defined as a combination of physico-chemical and biological indicators, is locally affected by check dam construction and the evolution of this effect over time. Soils were sampled in eight check dams in two semi-arid areas at SE Spain, which were affected by wildfire in 2012 and 2016. The study findings reveal that by altering sediments cycle and transport, check dams influence soil's main physico-chemical and biochemical characteristics. Significant differences were found between check dam-affected zones and the control ones for many indicators such as organic matter content, electrical conductivity or enzymatic activity. According to the ANOVA results, interaction between check dams influence and time after fire, was a crucial factor. PCA results clearly showed check-dams influence on soil functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- J González-Romero
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
| | - M E Lucas-Borja
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - P A Plaza-Álvarez
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - J Sagra
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - D Moya
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - J De Las Heras
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
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Moya D, González-De Vega S, García-Orenes F, Morugán-Coronado A, Arcenegui V, Mataix-Solera J, Lucas-Borja ME, De Las Heras J. Temporal characterisation of soil-plant natural recovery related to fire severity in burned Pinus halepensis Mill. forests. Sci Total Environ 2018; 640-641:42-51. [PMID: 29852446 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite Mediterranean ecosystems' high resilience to fire, both climate and land use change, and alterations in fire regimes increase their vulnerability to fire by affecting the long-term natural recovery of ecosystem services. The objective of this work is to study the effects of fire severity on biochemical soil indicators, such as chemical composition or enzymatic activity, related to time after fire and natural vegetation recovery (soil-plant interphase). Soil samples from three wildfires occurring 3, 15 and 21 years ago were taken in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (semiarid climate). Sampling included three fire severity levels in naturally regenerated (and changing to shrublands) Pinus halepensis Mill. forests. In the short-term post-fire period, phosphorus concentration, electrical conductivity and urease activity were positively linked to fire severity, and also influenced β-glucosidade activity in a negative relationship. During the 15-21-year post-fire period, the effects related to medium-high fire severity were negligible and soil quality indicators were linked to natural regeneration success. The results showed that most soil properties recovered in the long term after fire (21 years). These outcomes will help managers and stakeholders to implement management tools to stabilise soils and to restore burned ecosystems affected by medium-high fire severity. Such knowledge can be considered in adaptive forest management to reduce the negative effects of wildfires and desertification, and to improve the resilience of vulnerable ecosystems in a global change scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Moya
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
| | - S González-De Vega
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - F García-Orenes
- GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avda. De la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - A Morugán-Coronado
- GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avda. De la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - V Arcenegui
- GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avda. De la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - J Mataix-Solera
- GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avda. De la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - M E Lucas-Borja
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - J De Las Heras
- Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
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Leverkus AB, Lorite J, Navarro FB, Sánchez-Cañete EP, Castro J. Post-fire salvage logging alters species composition and reduces cover, richness, and diversity in Mediterranean plant communities. J Environ Manage 2014; 133:323-331. [PMID: 24412981 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2013] [Revised: 12/05/2013] [Accepted: 12/07/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
An intense debate exists on the effects of post-fire salvage logging on plant community regeneration, but scant data are available derived from experimental studies. We analyzed the effects of salvage logging on plant community regeneration in terms of species richness, diversity, cover, and composition by experimentally managing a burnt forest on a Mediterranean mountain (Sierra Nevada, S Spain). In each of three plots located at different elevations, three replicates of three treatments were implemented seven months after the fire, differing in the degree of intervention: "Non-Intervention" (all trees left standing), "Partial Cut plus Lopping" (felling 90% of the trees, cutting the main branches, and leaving all the biomass in situ), and "Salvage Logging" (felling and piling the logs, and masticating the woody debris). Plant composition in each treatment was monitored two years after the fire in linear point transects. Post-fire salvage logging was associated with reduced species richness, Shannon diversity, and total plant cover. Moreover, salvaged sites hosted different species assemblages and 25% lower cover of seeder species (but equal cover of resprouters) compared to the other treatments. Cover of trees and shrubs was also lowest in Salvage Logging, which could suggest a potential slow-down of forest regeneration. Most of these results were consistent among the three plots despite plots hosting different plant communities. Concluding, our study suggests that salvage logging may reduce species richness and diversity, as well as the recruitment of woody species, which could delay the natural regeneration of the ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandro B Leverkus
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain.
| | - Juan Lorite
- Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Francisco B Navarro
- Grupo de Sistemas y Recursos Forestales, Área de Producción Ecológica y Recursos Naturales, IFAPA Centro Camino de Purchil, Camino de Purchil s/n, E-18004 Granada, Spain
| | - Enrique P Sánchez-Cañete
- Departamento de Desertificación y Geo-ecología, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas-CSIC, E-04120 Almería, Spain; Centro Andaluz de Medio Ambiente (CEAMA), E-18006 Granada, Spain
| | - Jorge Castro
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain
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