Belowground mechanisms for oak regeneration: Interactions among fire, soil microbes, and plant community alter oak seedling growth

Beals, Kendall K.; Scearce, Alex E; Swystun, Alex T.; Schweitzer, Jennifer A.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119774

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Frequent fires indirectly reduced pathogenic richness, which contrasts findings of some previous work (Bär et al, 2019; Beals et al, 2022). Pathogenic richness declined under high fire frequencies because coarse woody debris cover increased under frequent fires, which reduced saprotrophic richness (discussed above), which increased pathogenic richness.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

“…As a result, research suggests that frequent fires can promote distinct fungal communities selecting those taxa that are adapted or tolerant to fire over fire‐sensitive species (Oliver et al, 2015; Semenova‐Nelsen et al, 2019). That said, fire frequency can affect fungal guilds differently, for example, frequent fires can be detrimental for ectomycorrhizal fungi, because of repeated loss of plant hosts (Brown et al, 2013; Hart et al, 2005), while plant pathogens can increase under high fire frequencies following shifts in plant community composition or increased plant susceptibility (Bär et al, 2019; Beals et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire shapes fungal guild diversity and composition through direct and indirect pathways

et al. 2023

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Fire has shaped global ecosystems for millennia by directly killing organisms and indirectly altering habitats and resources. All terrestrial ecosystems, including fire‐prone ecosystems, rely on soil‐inhabiting fungi, where they play vital roles in ecological processes. Yet our understanding of how fire regimes influence soil fungi remains limited and our knowledge of these interactions in semiarid landscapes is virtually absent. We collected soil samples and vegetation measurements from sites across a gradient in time‐since‐fire ages (0–75 years‐since‐fire) and fire frequency (burnt 0–5 times during the recent 29‐year period) in a semiarid heathland of south‐eastern Australia. We characterized fungal communities using ITS amplicon‐sequencing and assigned fungi taxonomically to trophic guilds. We used structural equation models to examine direct, indirect and total effects of time‐since‐fire and fire frequency on total fungal, ectomycorrhizal, saprotrophic and pathogenic richness. We used multivariate analyses to investigate how total fungal, ectomycorrhizal, saprotrophic and pathogenic species composition differed between post‐fire successional stages and fire frequency classes. Time‐since‐fire was an important driver of saprotrophic richness; directly, saprotrophic richness increased with time‐since‐fire, and indirectly, saprotrophic richness declined with time‐since‐fire (resulting in a positive total effect), mediated through the impact of fire on substrates. Frequently burnt sites had lower numbers of saprotrophic and pathogenic species. Post‐fire successional stages and fire frequency classes were characterized by distinct fungal communities, with large differences in ectomycorrhizal species composition. Understanding the complex responses of fungal communities to fire can be improved by exploring how the effects of fire flow through ecosystems. Diverse fire histories may be important for maintaining the functional diversity of fungi in semiarid regions.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire shapes fungal guild diversity and composition through direct and indirect pathways

et al. 2023

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“…By contrast, lower intensity fires produce heating effects that do not penetrate as deeply or strongly, and thus do not result in homogenous post-fire soil substrate environments 82 . Maintaining substrate heterogeneity via frequent, low intensity fire is likely important to maintain larger microbial biodiversity on long-term scales, which affect microbial ecosystem functions such as decomposition, nutrient cycling 83 , and plant interactions 13 and plant recovery 84 that are important to consider for adaptive fire management 60 , 85 . This is especially important in consideration of changes in fire regimes related to human and climate effects 24 , 25 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Future studies that can identify fire-adapted taxa and the core microbiome of this ecosystem 96 can expand knowledge about fire-adaptations, and aid prescribed fire management. Their postfire responses affect nutrient cycling, decomposition, and post-fire plant growth and recovery 13 , 84 , and can serve as effective bioindicators of larger ecosystem health, response, and recovery 30 , 31 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The frequent fires have been shown to reorganize fungal communities in both litter and soil, resulting in shifts in composition during the intervals between fires 11 . Post-fire responses of fungi affect fuel dynamics via decomposition 12 and plant community recovery 13 ; however, these effects are less studied in systems affected by frequent, lower intensity fires. Little is known, however, about responses of ground-level bacterial communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Substrate and low intensity fires influence bacterial communities in longleaf pine savanna

Dao

Potts

Johnson

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Bacterial communities associated with vegetation-soil interfaces have important roles in terrestrial ecosystems. These bacterial communities, studied almost exclusively in unburnt ecosystems or those affected by rare, high-intensity wildfires, have been understudied in fire-frequented grasslands and savannas. The composition of ground-level bacterial communities was explored in an old-growth pine savanna with a centuries-long management history of prescribed fires every 1–2 years. Using 16S metabarcoding, hypotheses were tested regarding differences in bacterial families of litter and soil surface substrates in patches of ground layer vegetation that were naturally burnt or unburnt during landscape-level prescribed fires. Litter/soil substrates and fire/no fire treatments explained 67.5% of bacterial community variation and differences, driven by relative abundance shifts of specific bacterial families. Fires did not strongly affect plant or soil variables, which were not linked to bacterial community differences. Litter/soil substrates and the naturally patchy frequent fires appear to generate microhabitat heterogeneity in this pine savanna, driving responses of bacterial families. Prescribed fire management may benefit from considering how fire-altered substrate heterogeneity influences and maintains microbial diversity and function, especially in these fiery ecosystems. Frequent, low-intensity fires appear ecologically important in maintaining the diverse microbial foundation that underlie ecosystem processes and services in fire-frequented habitats.

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Restoration age affects microbial‐herbaceous plant interactions in an oak woodland

Brant,

Edwards,

Reid

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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In degraded ecosystems, soil microbial communities (SMCs) may influence the outcomes of ecological restoration. Restoration practices can affect SMCs, though it is unclear how variation in the onset of restoration activities in woodlands affects SMCs, how those SMCs influence the performance of hard‐to‐establish woodland forbs, and how different woodland forbs shape SMCs. In this study, we quantified soil properties and species abundances in an oak woodland restoration chronosequence (young, intermediate, and old restorations). We measured the growth of three woodland forb species when inoculated with live whole‐soil from young, intermediate, or old restorations. We used DNA metabarcoding to characterize SMCs of each inoculum treatment and the soil after conditioning by each plant species. Our goals were to (1) understand how time since the onset of restoration affected soil abiotic properties, plant communities, and SMCs in a restoration chronosequence, (2) test growth responses of three forb species to whole‐soil inoculum from restoration sites, and (3) characterize changes in SMCs before and after conditioning by each forb species. Younger restored woodlands had greater fire‐sensitive tree species and lower concentrations of soil phosphorous than intermediate or older restored woodlands. Bacterial and fungal soil communities varied significantly among sites. Forbs exhibited the greatest growth in soil from the young restoration. Each forb species developed a unique soil microbial community. Our results highlight how restoration practices affect SMCs, which can in turn affect the growth of hard‐to‐establish forb species. Our results also highlight that the choice of forb species can alter SMCs, which could have long‐term potential consequences for restoration success.

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Belowground mechanisms for oak regeneration: Interactions among fire, soil microbes, and plant community alter oak seedling growth

Cited by 11 publications

References 55 publications

Fire shapes fungal guild diversity and composition through direct and indirect pathways

Fire shapes fungal guild diversity and composition through direct and indirect pathways

Substrate and low intensity fires influence bacterial communities in longleaf pine savanna

Restoration age affects microbial‐herbaceous plant interactions in an oak woodland

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