Abstract
Prescribed fire produced a landscape with two types of severely burned patches: charred shrub patches and charred patches with tree trunks at the center. Soil nematodes were more abundant in burned and unburned juniper (Juniperus monosperma) tree patches than in yucca-shrub patches. There were no differences in nematode abundance between burned and unburned patches during the late spring and summer samples. Nematode abundance was significantly (p i.e., by loss of tree canopies, litter accumulation, and shrub foliage, which affects soil temperatures and water redistribution.
Highlights
Most studies on the effects of fire on ecosystems have focused on flora, macrofauna, and atmosphere [1]
While there were no differences in soil moisture between the burned and unburned yucca-shrub patches of the early spring samples, soil moisture was significantly higher in unburned juniper patches than in burned juniper patches (Table 1)
The reported contradictory conclusions about the effects of fire on soil nematode communities are probably due to differences in fire intensities and the direct effect of the high temperatures on the soil biota [1]
Summary
Most studies on the effects of fire on ecosystems have focused on flora, macrofauna, and atmosphere [1]. Most studies that consider the effects of fire on soil properties and soil biotic communities have been conducted in forest ecosystems [1,3,4,5,6]. Fire studies conducted on arid and semi-arid ecosystems have focused on the control of invasive trees and shrubs in grasslands and savannas utilized for livestock production [7,8,9]. These studies reported vegetation changes but did not consider the effects of fire on soils or soil organisms. The increase in juniper density reduces forage production for livestock and wildlife
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