Abstract
Boreal forests with high carbon sequestration capacity play a crucial role in mitigating global climate change. Addressing dynamic changes of soil organic carbon (SOC) after wildfire helps in understanding carbon cycling. The objective of this study is to investigate changes in soil organic carbon after wildfires in a boreal forest. The post-fire soil chronosequence after 3 months, 17 years, and 25 years within a boreal forest was used to examine dynamic and stable SOC after wildfire at the decadal scale. Soils in genetic horizons were sampled and analyzed for dynamic and stable SOC, including water stable aggregates (WSA), WSA associated organic carbon (WSA-SOC), soil heavy fractions (HF) associated organic carbon (HF-SOC), and soil total organic carbon (TOC). The TOC and WSA-SOC content of the A horizon was the greatest in the control site. There was no significant difference for TOC between burned and unburned deep BC horizons. The TOC for the A and B horizons at the 17-year-old site was significantly lower compared to the other sites. TOC did not recover to the pre-fire levels (control site) in any of the burned areas. The lowest WSA was found in the A and B horizons of the 3-month-old site. The WSA at the 25-year-old site was higher compared to the 17-year-old site. WSA increased with time following fire, but the recovery rate differed among different sites. The lowest concentration of WSA-SOC for the A horizon occurred at the 17-year-old site, and no significant difference was observed between B and BC horizons. The HF content for the A horizon was the greatest at the 3-month-old site. There was no significant difference in HF-SOC between B and BC horizons in all sites. TOC and stable SOC (HF and WSA) increased over time in species-dominance relay stand areas, while self-replacement stands areas showed the opposite. The results indicate that overall, the ability of soil to sequester carbon decreased after wildfire disturbances. Stable SOC accumulated more in areas where species-dominance relay succession occurred compared to the self-replacement stands. These disturbances were more pronounced for surface soil horizons. This study provides a quantitative assessment of SOC changes after wildfires that are useful for forest management and modeling forecasts of SOC stocks, especially in boreal forests.
Highlights
Boreal forest soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle
The lowest concentration of water stable aggregates (WSA)-soil organic carbon (SOC) for the A horizon occurred at the 17-year-old site, and no significant difference was observed between B and BC horizons
This study provides a quantitative assessment of SOC changes after wildfires that are useful for forest management and modeling forecasts of SOC stocks, especially in boreal forests
Summary
Boreal forest soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Boreal forests show high soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration due to their large woody biomass, extensive roots, and abundant leaf litter, while the mineralization rate of organic carbon is relatively slow due to poor drainage and low temperatures [3,4]. Boreal forests are important to alleviate global warming by preferentially increasing the fungal mineralization of slow-turnover carbon pools in boreal organic soils [5]. Boreal forest can be a significant contributor to the atmospheric CO2 from above and underground biomass burning [6]. A recent review [7] points to the importance of underground biomass burning (smoldering) as a significant contributor to atmospheric CO2
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