0000000000154410
AUTHOR
Enrique Albert-belda
Previous fire occurrence, but not fire recurrence, modulates the effect of charcoal and ash on soil C and N dynamics in Pinus pinaster Aiton forests.
Abstract Understanding the effects of fire history on soil processes is key to characterise their resistance and resilience under future fire events. Wildfires produce pyrogenic carbonaceous material (PCM) that is incorporated into the soil, playing a critical role in the global carbon (C) cycle, but its interactions with soil processes are poorly understood. We evaluated if the previous occurrence of wildfires modulates the dynamic of soil C and nitrogen (N) and microbial community by soil ester linked fatty acids, after a new simulated low-medium intensity fire. Soils with a different fire history (none, one, two or three fires) were heat-shocked and amended with charcoal and/or ash deriv…
Soil biogeochemistry and microbial community dynamics in Pinus pinaster Ait. forests subjected to increased fire frequency.
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…
The use of Easy-Barriers to control soil and water losses in fire-affected land in Quesada, Andalusia, Spain
Abstract Soil erosion is enhanced by wildfire, mainly due to the loss of vegetation cover and changes in soil properties. After wildfires, there is a need to control the non-sustainable soil and water losses. Of the strategies commonly applied, the use of contour felled log debris barriers to sediment trapping is widespread, but this is not always successful in Mediterranean Ecosystems. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a new barrier which can be applied on steep terrains affected by wildfires. The hydrological response and sediment delivery were measured to test a innovative design, which are easy to transport and use. The Easy-Barriers (EB) size is 0.8 × 0.1 × 0.2 m and were desig…
Drought and its legacy modulate the post-fire recovery of soil functionality and microbial community structure in a Mediterranean shrubland.
The effects of drought on soil dynamics after fire are poorly known, particularly its long-term (i.e., years) legacy effects once rainfall returns to normal. Understanding this is particularly important for nutrient-poor soils in semi-arid regions affected by fire, in which rainfall is projected to decrease with climate change. Here, we studied the effects of post-fire drought and its legacy on soil microbial community structure and functionality in a Cistus-Erica shrubland (Spain). Rainfall total and patterns were experimentally modified to produce an unburned control (natural rainfall) and four burned treatments: control (natural rainfall), historical control (long-term average rainfall),…