Post-fire erosion control mulches alter belowground processes and nitrate reductase activity of a perennial forb, heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia)

Berryman, E.; Morgan, Penelope; Robichaud, Peter R.; Page‐Dumroese, Deborah S.

doi:10.2737/rmrs-rn-69

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Inorganic soil N declines as it is immobilized within wood mulch or similar high C, low N soil amendments [ 53 , 57 ]. The low IER nitrate we reported in mulched plots ( Figure 1 ) is similar to reduced post-fire nitrate losses measured under wood mulch elsewhere [ 58 , 59 ]. In another study in Colorado forests, thick mulch reduced nitrate to a greater extent than thin mulch (7.5 versus 15 cm [ 60 ]).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Examining the Potential of Forest Residue-Based Amendments for Post-Wildfire Rehabilitation in Colorado, USA

et al. 2017

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Wildfire is a natural disturbance, though elemental losses and changes that occur during combustion and post-fire erosion can have long-term impacts on soil properties, ecosystem productivity, and watershed condition. Here we evaluate the potential of forest residue-based materials to rehabilitate burned soils. We compare soil nutrient and water availability, and plant recovery after application of 37 t ha−1 of wood mulch, 20 t ha−1 of biochar, and the combination of the two amendments with untreated, burned soils. We also conducted a greenhouse trial to examine how biochar influenced soil nutrient and water content under two wetting regimes. The effects of wood mulch on plant-available soil N and water content were significant and seasonally consistent during the three-year field study. Biochar applied alone had few effects under field conditions, but significantly increased soil pH, Ca, P, and water in the greenhouse. The mulched biochar treatment had the greatest effects on soil N and water availability and increased cover of the most abundant native plant. We found that rehabilitation treatments consisting of forest residue-based products have potential to enhance soil N and water dynamics and plant recovery following severe wildfire and may be justified where erosion risk or water supply protection are crucial.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Examining the Potential of Forest Residue-Based Amendments for Post-Wildfire Rehabilitation in Colorado, USA

et al. 2017

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“…By adding OM and improving soil temperature and water holding conditions, organic mulches should increase soil microbial activity in burned soils, but mulching studies have given mixed results. Berryman et al (2014a) found a positive, but variable, effect of different soil mulches on wood stake mass loss after a high-severity wildfire in Colorado. In contrast, Fontúrbel et al (2012) and Lombao et al (2013) reported that applying a straw mulch after a prescribed low-severity fire in Spain had no impact on soil microbial biomass, microbial diversity, and soil respiration rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Organic mulches are often applied to the soil surface to reduce post-fire erosion by improving water-holding capacity and infiltration (Foltz and Wagenbrenner, 2010;Robichaud et al, 2013;Lucas-Borja et al, 2018a), and to help reestablish vegetation by lowering soil temperature, reducing surface water evaporation, and increasing soil OM content (Berryman et al, 2014a;Prats et al, 2016). Agricultural residues (e.g., wheat straw and hay) are often used, but they are susceptible to wind erosion and often contain seeds of non-native vegetation (Beyers, 2004;Bautista et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wood Decomposition After an Aerial Application of Hydromulch Following Wildfire in a Southern California Chaparral Shrubland

Jürgensen

Miller

Page‐Dumroese

2020

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Severe wildfire can affect many soil processes, especially organic matter (OM) decomposition. Organic mulches are often applied on steep slopes to mitigate soil erosion, but little is known about how these surface organic additions affect subsequent soil OM decomposition. In 2003 the Cedar Fire burned 110,000 ha in southern California chaparral shrubland, after which hydromulch was aerially applied to reduce soil erosion. Subsequently, we established a 5-year study to assess the effect of hydromulch on OM decomposition at the burned soil surface and in the mineral soil using aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and pine (Pinus taeda L.) wood stakes as standard substrates. Mass loss of both aspen and pine stakes in this dry Mediterranean ecosystem was lowest on the soil surface and increased with mineral soil depth. Decomposition was less in the hydromulched soil than in the untreated control, but the large loss of hydromulch from the soil surface within the first year after application make this result questionable. Subsequent analysis showed that subterranean termites had a major role in wood decomposition, but their variable activity in study replicates confounded the separation of hydromulch impacts on decomposition from other soil variables. Little is known on the role of termites in OM decomposition after wildfire, and they should be considered when designing studies in soils where termites are present. Our study results suggest that termite activity in mineral soil could also be a factor in root decomposition after a fire and affect soil stability on steep slopes.

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“…The surge of new vegetation growth in the first year may seem incongruent with the initial burn severity classification due to a boost in plant-available nitrogen (Stephan et al 2012) and nutrients remaining in the ash layer (Neary et al 1999); thus, it is important to monitor vegetation and soil recovery characteristics over time (Sankey et al 2013;Berryman et al 2014). The resilience of the ecosystem to the fire disturbance depends on specific conditions of the pre-fire environment such as vegetation type and density, and forest health such as drought or insect kill, taken into consideration with the scale and intensity of effects of the fire on the vegetation and soil (Idris et al 2005;Schoennagel et al 2008;Bowman et al 2009;Perry et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indicators of burn severity at extended temporal scales: a decade of ecosystem response in mixed-conifer forests of western Montana

Lewis

Hudak

Robichaud

et al. 2017

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Abstract. We collected field and remotely sensed data spanning 10 years after three 2003 Montana wildfires to monitor ecological change across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis was used to create post-fire maps of: char, soil, green (GV) and non-photosynthetic ( Initial estimates of char and NPV from the HS images were significantly correlated with their ground-measured counterparts (r ¼ 0.60 (P ¼ 0.03) and 0.68 (P ¼ 0.01) respectively), whereas HS GV and Landsat GV were correlated with canopy GV (r ¼ 0.75 and 0.70 (P ¼ 0.003) respectively). HS imagery had stronger direct correlations with all classes of fine-scale ground data than Landsat and also had stronger predictive correlations with 10-year canopy data (r ¼ 0.65 (P ¼ 0.02) to 0.84 (P ¼ 0.0003)). There was less than 5% understorey GV cover on the sites initially, but by 2013, it had increased to nearly 60% regardless of initial condition. The data suggest it took twice as long for understorey GV and NPV to replace char and soil as primary ground cover components on the highburn-severity sites compared with other sites.

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Post-fire erosion control mulches alter belowground processes and nitrate reductase activity of a perennial forb, heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia)

Abstract: Four years post-wildfire, we measured soil and plant properties on hillslopes treated with two different mulches (agricultural wheat straw and wood strands) and a control (unmulched, but burned

Cited by 7 publications

References 39 publications

Examining the Potential of Forest Residue-Based Amendments for Post-Wildfire Rehabilitation in Colorado, USA

Examining the Potential of Forest Residue-Based Amendments for Post-Wildfire Rehabilitation in Colorado, USA

Wood Decomposition After an Aerial Application of Hydromulch Following Wildfire in a Southern California Chaparral Shrubland

Indicators of burn severity at extended temporal scales: a decade of ecosystem response in mixed-conifer forests of western Montana

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