Abstract
Soil microbes regulate the transfer of carbon (C) from ecosystems to the atmosphere and in doing so influence feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystems and global climate change. Fire is one element of global change that may influence soil microbial communities and, in turn, their contribution to the C dynamics of ecosystems. In order to improve our understanding of how fire influences belowground communities, we conducted a meta-analysis of 42 published microbial responses to fire. We hypothesized that microbial biomass as a whole, and fungal biomass specifically, would be altered following fires. Across all studies, fire reduced microbial abundance by an average of 33.2% and fungal abundance by an average of 47.6%. However, microbial responses to fire differed significantly among biomes and fire types. For example, microbial biomass declined following fires in boreal and temperate forests but not following grasslands fires. In addition, wildfires lead to a greater reduction in microbial biomass than prescribed burns. These differences are likely attributable to differences in fire severity among biomes and fire types. Changes in microbial abundance were significantly correlated with changes in soil CO2 emissions. Altogether, these results suggest that fires may significantly decrease microbial abundance, with corresponding consequences for soil CO2 emissions.
Highlights
Soil microbes play a critical role in mediating feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystems and global climate change
We expected that microbial responses to fire would vary by biome, owing to differences in fuel loads across ecosystem types. In this meta-analysis we examined microbial responses to fire in boreal forests, temperate forests, grasslands, and woodland/ shrublands because these were the only biomes in the literature with sufficient replication to include
The differential responses between biomes and fire types is likely related to fire severity, with more severe fires eliciting greater declines in microbial abundance
Summary
Soil microbes play a critical role in mediating feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystems and global climate change. Bacteria and fungi regulate the transfer of carbon (C) from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere via the decomposition of organic material in soil (Swift et al 1979). Fire is one additional aspect of global climate change that may impact soil microbial communities and, in turn, the way that ecosystem C dynamics recover following fire. Fires are a pervasive disturbance in natural ecosystems, and the frequency and severity of wildfires is anticipated to increase in forest biomes under future warmer and drier climate patterns (Balshi et al 2009; Flannigan et al 2009; Pechony and Shindell 2010). A more complete understanding of the way in which fire affects soil microbes is necessary for predicting ecosystem C dynamics under future global change
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