The fate of biological soil crusts after fire: A meta-analysis

Palmer, Brianne; Rebecca, Hernandez; Lipson, D.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01380

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In previous studies in temperate sandy habitats, fire quickly reduced soil lichen cover by 50% within a year in 50-year-old abandoned fields (Johansson & Reich, 2005) and by 90% within two years in prairies (Schulten, 1985). These reductions are at least as large as the 50% average reduction in postfire biocrust cover reported in a global meta-analysis (Brianne et al, 2020). Lichen diversity recovered within 10 years after fire in heathland in Scotland (Davies & Legg, 2008), indicating that biocrust in our study could potentially still be recovering seven years after fire.…”

Section: Fire Effectsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Variation in characteristics and conservation values of plant communities on abandoned agricultural lands with and without fires

Abella

Schetter

2021

Applied Vegetation Science

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Question Which plant community characteristics most consistently vary with prior land use? Location Oak Openings Preserve, Ohio, USA. Methods In 2020, we measured plant communities on 22 sites encompassing three prior land uses: (a) contemporary Quercus forests continuously forested since before the 1930s; (b) former agricultural lands, under cultivation in the 1930s and abandoned 70–80 years before our study and that were unburned; and (c) former agricultural lands also abandoned 70–80 years earlier and that were burned in 2013 prescribed fires. Among the three land uses, we compared 12 plant community variables, categorized into four groups characterizing different sets of community properties (structure, diversity, composition, and conservation values). Results A multivariate combination of the 12 community variables differed among all three land uses, each of the four categories of variables differed between at least two land uses, and eight of 12 individual variables differed between at least two land uses. Community structure displayed a gradient of decreasing tree canopy and understorey plant cover and increasing lichen–moss cover from continuously forested to unburned and burned formerly cultivated sites. Understorey plant species richness did not vary with land use, but species diversity was higher on cultivated sites, irrespective of fire history. While all three land uses now contain Quercus tree overstories, each land use exhibited unique understorey species composition. Only formerly cultivated sites contained state‐listed endangered species. Cultivated sites had a lower proportion of native species cover than did continuously forested sites, but native species still comprised over 90% of the plant cover on cultivated sites. Compared with continuous forests, the soil organic layer (O horizon) was five times thinner and loss on ignition in the 0–15 cm mineral soil 49% (unburned) and 66% (burned) lower on previously cultivated sites. Conclusions Community characteristics varied in their sensitivity to land use history, with species composition among the most sensitive to prior land use. A dense sapling layer of Acer rubrum forming in long‐unburned Quercus forests across much of eastern North America was absent in our study on formerly cultivated sites, possibly due to dry, infertile soil. From a restoration and conservation standpoint of the study region's pre‐settlement, frequently burned and open savannas and woodlands, previously cultivated sites may be easier to keep open via prescribed fire. Moreover, perhaps precisely because much of the flora historically developed in open savannas and woodlands which previously cultivated sites on the contemporary landscape most closely mimicked, previously cultivated sites presently contain higher species diversity and more conservation priority species than do continuously forested sites.

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Section: Fire Effectsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Variation in characteristics and conservation values of plant communities on abandoned agricultural lands with and without fires

Abella

Schetter

2021

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Thus, at the landscape scale, biocrust nutrient cycling in these systems may be on par with, or even exceed, vascular plants. Furthermore, our results suggest that the dynamics of biocrust abundance in these environments-largely driven by climate, wildfire, woody plant encroachment and physical disturbances such as livestock grazing and animal diggings (Concostrina-Zubiri et al, 2017;Eldridge et al, 2015;Ferrenberg et al, 2015;Mallen-Cooper et al, 2019;Palmer et al, 2020)-has important ecosystem-level implications for nutrient cycling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Tissue chemistry of biocrust species along an aridity gradient and comparison to vascular plant leaves

Mallen‐Cooper

Cornwell

2021

Functional Ecology

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Wright et al., 2004). Carbon, fixed by plants during photosynthesis, forms the basis of all organic molecules within plants and can be strategically allocated to reproductive, growth or defensive functions (Hartmann et al., 2020). Within photosynthetic organisms, nitrogen concentrations are strongly linked to protein construction, particularly rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylaseoxygenase). Similarly, phosphorus can serve as a proxy for ribosome

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“…Studies on the effects of fire on biocrusts could benefit from the inclusion of disturbance history and plant community identity, as the composition of biocrusts differs amongst plant communities (Condon & Pyke, 2020c). Although it has been asserted that biocrusts are highly susceptible to wildfire in a recent meta-analysis (Palmer et al, 2020), the current study (where fire is the sole disturbance, albeit some inferred disturbance by small rodents) and those cited here examining compound disturbances with fire, suggest that disturbances that are compounding with fire have a greater effect on cover of morphogroups compared with fire alone. The study presented here demonstrates the complex nature of this topic, necessitating more research.…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Could biological soil crusts act as natural fire fuel breaks in the sagebrush steppe?

Condon

Shinneman

Rosentreter

et al. 2023

Ecology

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The fate of biological soil crusts after fire: A meta-analysis

Cited by 24 publications

References 57 publications

Variation in characteristics and conservation values of plant communities on abandoned agricultural lands with and without fires

Variation in characteristics and conservation values of plant communities on abandoned agricultural lands with and without fires

Tissue chemistry of biocrust species along an aridity gradient and comparison to vascular plant leaves

Could biological soil crusts act as natural fire fuel breaks in the sagebrush steppe?

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