Changes in soil properties after a wildfire in Fragas do Eume Natural Park (Galicia, NW Spain)

Lombao, Alba; Barreiro, Ana; Carballas, T.; Fontúrbel, Teresa; Martín, A.; Vega, José A.; Fernández, Cristina; Díaz-Raviña, Montserrat

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2014.08.007

Cited by 42 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…It is well known that higher pH favours bacterial over fungal growth (Rousk et al, 2009). Prior to the fire, the soil had a low pH (4.4) and low bacterial growth, in the reported range given for other unburnt or burnt acid soils in the same temperate humid zone estimated by the leucine or thymidine incorporation (Díaz-Raviña et al, 1996Barreiro et al, 2010;Lombao et al, 2015b). As a consequence of fire and the ash production, pH increased to 5.8 and hence bacterial growth was favoured compared to fungi during recovery after heating.…”

Section: Direct Effects Of Wildfirementioning

confidence: 92%

Bacterial and fungal growth in burnt acid soils amended with different high C/N mulch materials

Barreiro

Bååth

Díaz-Raviña

2016

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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Section: Direct Effects Of Wildfirementioning

confidence: 92%

Bacterial and fungal growth in burnt acid soils amended with different high C/N mulch materials

Barreiro

Bååth

Díaz-Raviña

2016

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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“…Other authors have demonstrated that the accumulation of soil organic compounds in unburned and non-terraced mixed oak and pine forests was directly related to increased enzymatic activities [29]. Therefore, vegetation removal and changes in plant composition deriving from both wildfires and agricultural activities may be considered key factors [35,58] that explain the higher quality of the soil in the undisturbed plots in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…The high CaCO 3 content in terraced plots, which slows down soil development processes [60], was one of the most significant factors of dissimilarity with the other plots. Lombao et al (2015) also pointed to vegetation as the key factor controlling soil quality in burned forests in Galicia (Spain) [36]. However, fire was also considered by these authors an important source of transformation with significant impacts on soil quality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zonorza et al (2009) observed increased microbial biomass C, richness and shifts in the microbial community structure of agricultural terraces after 10-15 years of abandonment [34]. Wildfires have also been identified as an important source of variation in soil quality, with negative effects on biochemical and microbiological parameters [35]. However, recent studies reported that microbiological soil properties and enzymatic activities in Mediterranean environments show great resilience, being able to recover pre-fire levels in fewer than 20 years [36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in Soil Quality and Hydrological Connectivity Caused by the Abandonment of Terraces in a Mediterranean Burned Catchment

Calsamiglia

Lucas‐Borja

Fortesa

et al. 2017

Forests

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Wildfires and agricultural activities are relevant factors affecting soil quality, hydrological cycle and sedimentary dynamics. Land abandonment leads to afforestation, which increases fire risk and land degradation. However, no studies have yet evaluated the effect of combining the two factors, which occur frequently in Mediterranean ecosystems. This study assessed the changes in soil quality caused by the abandonment of terraces in two microcatchments (<2.5 ha) affected distinctly by wildfires (once and twice burned) and in an unburned control microcatchment by analyzing soil quality parameters, biochemical indices and spatial patterns of hydrological and sediment connectivity. Soil samples were collected in thirty-six plots (25 m 2 ) representing terraced and non-terraced areas within these microcatchments. Unburned non-terraced plots had higher organic matter content and higher microbiological and enzymatic activities than other plots. Plots in abandoned terraces had lower soil quality indices, regardless of the fire effect. Land abandonment induced changes in the spatial patterns of hydrological connectivity, leading to concentrated runoff, enhanced erosion and soil degradation. Fire also negatively affected soil quality in both terraced and non-terraced plots. However, microbiological communities had different positive post-fire recovery strategies (growth and activity), depending on the previous soil conditions and land uses, which is indicative of the resilience of Mediterranean soil ecosystems.

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“…Soil microbial biomass is a good indicator of changes in soil because it is very sensitive to stress conditions produced by disturbances such as fires [62]. Immediately after a fire, soil heating is lethal for many microorganisms, and microbial biomass can decrease to undetectable levels [27,63]. In soils affected by a high burn severity, negative effects on microbial biomass have been detected for more than 10 years after fires because of the slow recovery of fungi [33], whose contribution to soil microbial biomass is greater than that of bacteria.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Fire Regime Attributes Affect Soil Biochemical Properties in the Same Way under Different Environmental Conditions?

Fernández-García

Marcos

Reyes

et al. 2020

Forests

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Global change is altering fire frequency and severity in many regions across the world. In this work, we studied the impact of different frequency and severity regimes on the soil biochemical properties in burned areas with different environmental conditions. We selected three sites dominated by pine ecosystems along a Mediterranean-Transition-Oceanic climatic gradient, where we determined the fire frequency, and severity of the last wildfire. Four years after the last wildfire, we established 184 4 m 2 plots. In each plot, we collected a composed soil sample from a 3 cm depth, and measured several ecological variables potentially affected by the fire frequency and severity (cover of bare soil, cover of fine and coarse plant debris, cover of vegetation, and vegetation height). From each soil sample, we analyzed the enzymatic activities corresponding to the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus (β-glucosidase, urease, and acid-phosphatase, respectively), and the microbial biomass carbon. The results indicated that fire frequency only played a significant role in soil biochemical properties at the Mediterranean and Transition sites. Specifically, we found that increases in frequency contributed to increased urease and phosphatase activities (at the Transition site), as well as microbial biomass carbon (at the Mediterranean and Transition sites). In relation to burn severity, we found opposite patterns when comparing the Mediterranean and Oceanic sites. Specifically, increased severity significantly decreased β-glucosidase, urease, and microbial biomass carbon at the Mediterranean site, whereas at the Oceanic one, severity significantly increased them. Burn severity also decreased microbial biomass carbon at the Transition site. Our results also indicated that, overall, fire frequency determined the studied ecological variables at the Mediterranean and Transition sites, but clear indirect effects on biochemical properties due to changes in ecological variables were not found. This study adds to the knowledge on the impact of shifts in fire regimes on soils in the current context of change.

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Changes in soil properties after a wildfire in Fragas do Eume Natural Park (Galicia, NW Spain)

Cited by 42 publications

References 50 publications

Bacterial and fungal growth in burnt acid soils amended with different high C/N mulch materials

Bacterial and fungal growth in burnt acid soils amended with different high C/N mulch materials

Changes in Soil Quality and Hydrological Connectivity Caused by the Abandonment of Terraces in a Mediterranean Burned Catchment

Do Fire Regime Attributes Affect Soil Biochemical Properties in the Same Way under Different Environmental Conditions?

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