Fire Effects on Soils in Lake States Forests: A Compilation of Published Research to Facilitate Long-Term Investigations

Abstract

Fire-adapted forests of the Lake States region are poorly studied relative to those of the western and southeastern United States and our knowledge base of regional short-and long-term fire effects on soils is limited. We compiled and assessed the body of literature addressing fire effects on soils in Lake States forests to facilitate the re-measurement of previous studies for the development of new long-term datasets, and to identify existing gaps in the regional knowledge of fire effects on forest soils. Most studies reviewed addressed fire effects on chemical properties in pine-dominated forests, and long-term (>10 years) studies were limited. The major gaps in knowledge we identified include: (1) information on fire temperature and behavior information that would enhance OPEN ACCESSForests 2012, 3 1035 interpretation of fire effects; (2) underrepresentation of the variety of forest types in the Lake States region; (3) information on nutrient fluxes and ecosystem processes; and (4) fire effects on soil organisms. Resolving these knowledge gaps via future research will provide for a more comprehensive understanding of fire effects in Lake States forest soils. Advancing the understanding of fire effects on soil processes and patterns in Lake States forests is critical for designing regionally appropriate long-term forest planning and management activities.

Post‐Fire Comparisons of Forest Floor and Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, and Mercury Pools with Fire Severity Indices

“…that forest floor C decreased from 19 to 47% in the short term (<5 yr following fire), while upper mineral soil C ranged from an increase of 16% to a decrease of 16% during the same time period (Miesel et al, 2012). Similarly, forest floor total N decreased from 3 to 61% following fire and ranged from an increase of 24% to a decrease of 16% in mineral soils.…”

“…The forest floor layer is therefore much more impacted by fire than mineral soils and, in the short term, the forest floor layer is generally a source of C and N to the atmosphere (Certini, 2005). The response of mineral soils tends to be variable, but they are generally small sinks or sources of C and N following fire, the balance probably a result of the intensity of the fire (Miesel et al, 2012).…”

Effects of a Wildfire on Selected Physical, Chemical and Biochemical Soil Properties in a Pinus massoniana Forest in South China

“…Heating of SOM usually gives rise to ash with different properties, depending on fire severity, whereas increased pH values may increase nutrient availability (e.g., the availability of some micronutrients like Fe, Mn or Zn decreases with increasing pH). However, fires may also contribute to decreased nutrient availability in the longer term because nutrients released from organic matter and microbial biomass are likely to be removed from the ecosystem by leaching and runoff [15,16].…”

Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Mercury Unaffected by Wildland Fires in Northern Minnesota

“…The magnitude of O horizon Hg loss was comparable with the loss observed by Woodruff et al (2009) in the high‐severity burn areas in nearby Voyageurs National Park (332 vs. 220 μg Hg m −2 , respectively). Fires are known to decrease the pools of C and Hg in upland soils (Amirbahman et al, 2004; Woodruff and Cannon, 2010; Miesel et al, 2012) due to the combustion of these materials during fire and atmospheric release of CO 2 and gaseous and particulate Hg species (Friedli et al, 2003), as well as the subsequent erosion and runoff from fire‐disturbed soils (Eklöf et al, 2016). In addition to fire occurrence, the severity of the fire affects the size of C and Hg stocks remaining in upland soils: more severe fires release more previously stored C and Hg to the atmosphere, leading to less remaining soil C and Hg, compared with less severe fires (Certini, 2005; Mitchell et al, 2012).…”