Evaluating long-term effects of prescribed fire regimes on carbon stocks in a temperate eucalypt forest

Bennett, Lauren T.; Aponte, Cristina; Baker, Thomas; Tolhurst, Kevin G.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.028

Cited by 62 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Consistent with forest studies elsewhere (Huang et al, ; Ruiz‐Bennett et al, ), we found some support for our first hypothesis that forest carbon storage increased with tree‐species diversity and functional diversity. However, while our species‐ and functional‐diversity relationships with forest carbon storage were of comparable strength to those in other SEM ‐based analyses (β coefficients ~ 0.2; Poorter et al, , ), they were relatively weak at all levels of data aggregation compared to those with our other biotic variables (H′, CWM MAXH, CWM WD ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Structural diversity underpins carbon storage in Australian temperate forests

Aponte

Kasel

Nitschke

et al. 2020

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim Forest carbon storage is the result of a multitude of interactions among biotic and abiotic factors. Our aim was to use an integrative approach to elucidate mechanistic relationships of carbon storage with biotic and abiotic factors in the natural forests of temperate Australia, a region that has been overlooked in global analyses of carbon‐biodiversity relations. Location South‐eastern Australia. Time period 2010–2015. Major taxa studied Forest trees in 732 plots. Methods We used the most comprehensive forest inventory database available for south‐eastern Australia and structural equation models to assess carbon‐storage relationships with biotic factors (species or functional diversity, community‐weighted mean (CWM) trait values, structural diversity) and abiotic factors (climate, soil, fire history). To assess the consistency of relationships at different environmental scales, our analyses involved three levels of data aggregation: six forest types, two forest groups (representing different growth environments), and all forests combined. Results Structural diversity was consistently the strongest independent predictor of carbon storage at all levels of data aggregation, whereas relationships with species‐ and functional‐diversity indices were comparatively weak. CWMs of maximum height and wood density were also significant independent predictors of carbon storage in most cases. In comparison, climate, soil, and fire history had only minor and mainly indirect effects via biotic factors on carbon storage. Main conclusions Our results indicate that carbon storage in our temperate forests was underpinned by tree structural diversity (representing efficient utilisation of space) and by CWM trait values (representing selection effects) more so than by tree species richness or functional diversity. Abiotic effects were comparatively weak and mostly indirect via biotic factors irrespective of the environmental range. Our study highlights the importance of managing forests for functionally important species and to maintain and enhance their structural complexity in order to support carbon storage.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Structural diversity underpins carbon storage in Australian temperate forests

Aponte

Kasel

Nitschke

et al. 2020

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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“…Chiriaco et al, 2013) and with increasing fire frequency . Because most AGC is bound in the stems of trees and not susceptible to loss in fire (this study, Bennett et al, 2014, Volkova et al, 2014, we can speculate that maximum C loss in wildfires would be equal to total AGC minus C stored in trees. Volkova et al (2014) reported 32% AGC loss in an extremely hot wildfire that likely represents the upper limit for C loss in a forest fire, a number similar to the estimates of Valliant et al (2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…To date, these studies report C inventory for open forest dominated by Eucalyptus obliqua in the state of Victoria, Australia. Bennett et al (2014) report the impacts of experimentally regulated and 3-7 times repeated planned fires over 27 years. While 3-year interval burning is highly unlikely to have occurred naturally in these forests or to be a goal of management, the results demonstrate the extremes of C stock changes that can result from repeated short interval low intensity burns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon loss from planned fires in southeastern Australian dry Eucalyptus forests

Volkova

Weston

2015

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…In a fire‐tolerant forest where most carbon is stored in the larger trees (Bennett et al. ), this post‐fire indicator represents the balance between the retained carbon fixation capacity of surviving trees and ongoing decomposition losses associated with tree mortality (Ghimire et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing fire impacts on the carbon stability of fire‐tolerant forests

Bennett

Bruce

MacHunter

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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The carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests is often assumed but less frequently assessed, limiting the potential to anticipate threats to forest carbon posed by predicted increases in forest fire activity. Assessing the carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests requires multi-indicator approaches that recognize the myriad ways that fires influence the carbon balance, including combustion, deposition of pyrogenic material, and tree death, post-fire decomposition, recruitment, and growth. Five years after a large-scale wildfire in southeastern Australia, we assessed the impacts of low- and high-severity wildfire, with and without prescribed fire (≤10 yr before), on carbon stocks in multiple pools, and on carbon stability indicators (carbon stock percentages in live trees and in small trees, and carbon stocks in char and fuels) in fire-tolerant eucalypt forests. Relative to unburned forest, high-severity wildfire decreased short-term (five-year) carbon stability by significantly decreasing live tree carbon stocks and percentage stocks in live standing trees (reflecting elevated tree mortality), by increasing the percentage of live tree carbon in small trees (those vulnerable to the next fire), and by potentially increasing the probability of another fire through increased elevated fine fuel loads. In contrast, low-severity wildfire enhanced carbon stability by having negligible effects on aboveground stocks and indicators, and by significantly increasing carbon stocks in char and, in particular, soils, indicating pyrogenic carbon accumulation. Overall, recent preceding prescribed fire did not markedly influence wildfire effects on short-term carbon stability at stand scales. Despite wide confidence intervals around mean stock differences, indicating uncertainty about the magnitude of fire effects in these natural forests, our assessment highlights the need for active management of carbon assets in fire-tolerant eucalypt forests under contemporary fire regimes. Decreased live tree carbon and increased reliance on younger cohorts for carbon recovery after high-severity wildfire could increase vulnerabilities to imminent fires, leading to decisions about interventions to maintain the productivity of some stands. Our multi-indicator assessment also highlights the importance of considering all carbon pools, particularly pyrogenic reservoirs like soils, when evaluating the potential for prescribed fire regimes to mitigate the carbon costs of wildfires in fire-prone landscapes.

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Evaluating long-term effects of prescribed fire regimes on carbon stocks in a temperate eucalypt forest

Cited by 62 publications

References 36 publications

Structural diversity underpins carbon storage in Australian temperate forests

Structural diversity underpins carbon storage in Australian temperate forests

Carbon loss from planned fires in southeastern Australian dry Eucalyptus forests

Assessing fire impacts on the carbon stability of fire‐tolerant forests

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