Long term accumulation of nitrogen in soils of dry mixed eucalypt forest in the absence of fire

Turner, John; Lambert, Marcia J.; Jurskis, Vic; Bi, Huiquan

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.021

Cited by 37 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…However several studies have shown that soil water and nitrogen status is increased in declining stands, and trials of understorey removal have failed to ameliorate declines [7]. In the absence of burning, changes in soil physics and chemistry including reduced aeration and drainage, increasing acidity and availability of toxins such as aluminium, and reduced relative availability of nutrients such as phosphorus, adversely affect eucalypts while favoring some pests, parasites and competitors [8].…”

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lantana is an invasive exotic that is involved in eucalypt decline in some areas of subtropical eastern Australia, and is thought to contribute to the problem by increasing the nitrogen content of the soil [6]. However, lack of burning directly increases nitrogen in comparison to the natural system because nitrogen in litter and humus is not removed by volatilization [8]. (After low intensity fires, mineral nitrogen released by heating soil organic matter is quickly taken up into standing biomass [8]).…”

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, lack of burning directly increases nitrogen in comparison to the natural system because nitrogen in litter and humus is not removed by volatilization [8]. (After low intensity fires, mineral nitrogen released by heating soil organic matter is quickly taken up into standing biomass [8]). Decline is consistently associated with high levels of nitrogen and low carbon:nitrogen ratios in soils but it is not related to the floristic composition of the understorey (for example, [11]).…”

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In temperate areas where the climate is not suitable for lantana, native shrubs are mostly involved in the process [4]. Some of these can contribute to the problem by fixing nitrogen [8], but there are other cases where the invasive shrubs are not nitrogen fixers or where there are no invasive shrubs involved in the process [4].…”

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, if potentially aggressive understorey species are already present in low densities, decline and understorey development can proceed simultaneously as lack of burning directly impacts on soil conditions and trees whilst permitting mass establishment of fire-sensitive shrub seedlings [1,8].…”

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Invasions: Symptoms and Contributors Rather Than Causes of Environmental Degradation

Jurskis¹

2012

Forests

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Native or exotic woody plants can proliferate in dry and moist eucalypt ecosystems shading out many other native species, contributing to chronic decline of eucalypts and reinforcing unnatural fire regimes and nutrient cycling processes. Whether native or exotic, they proliferate as a consequence of disturbances which impact directly on these ecosystems. The most extensive ongoing disturbance since European occupation of Australia has been the disruption of frequent mild burning by humans. This burning maintained dynamically stable nutrient cycling processes and a competitive balance in dry and moist eucalypt systems and prevented plant "invasions".

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Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Invasions In Eucalypt Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Invasions: Symptoms and Contributors Rather Than Causes of Environmental Degradation

Jurskis¹

2012

Forests

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The stoichiometric signature of high‐frequency fire in forest floor food webs

Butler

Lewis

Maunsell

et al. 2021

Ecological Monographs

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Fire regimes are shifting under climate change. Decadal-scale shifts in fire regime can disrupt the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) within forest ecosystems, but the full extent of these disruptions is unknown. It is also unclear whether these disruptions have consequences for the ecological characteristics (e.g., biomass, abundance, and composition) of microbial and invertebrate communities, which together comprise the majority of terrestrial biodiversity and underpin many ecosystem processes. The theoretical framework of ecological stoichiometry has great potential in this context, but it has rarely been used to develop an integrated understanding of the biogeochemical and ecological effects of altered fire regime across trophic levels. Using one of the world's longest-running fire experiments, located in Queensland, Australia, we carried out a comprehensive investigation into the stoichiometric consequences of a decadal-scale divergence in prescribed fire frequency and their links to coinciding changes in various ecological characteristics of forest floor microbial and invertebrate communities. Compared to long-term fire exclusion, forty-three years of biennial burning led to significantly N-depleted and/or P-enriched stoichiometry in soil, leaf litter, leaf litter-associated microbial biomass, and certain groups of invertebrates, although total invertebrate community stoichiometry was not affected. Microbial biomass was 42% lower in biennially burned soils. Invertebrate community composition differed between fire regime treatments on some sampling dates, but fire regime did not have consistent effects on invertebrate biomass or abundance. Microbial biomass and the abundances of some invertebrate taxa were depressed at particularly low and/or high resource N:P, consistent with a coupling of these variables to the stoichiometric effects of decadal-scale fire regime. Litter transplants likewise indicated that some invertebrate abundances were sensitive to litter properties over 12 months. Together, our results indicate that long-term changes in fire regime can decouple the within-ecosystem cycling of N and P, with N and P cycling growing more and less conservative, respectively, under high-frequency fire in a way that propagates throughout forest floor food webs. Our study provides new insights into the coupled biogeochemical and ecological responses of forest ecosystems to novel fire regimes and establishes a basis for a stoichiometric framework for fire ecology.

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Interactive effects of hydrology and fire drive differential biogeochemical legacies in subtropical wetlands

2021

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Fire is an important component of many ecosystems, as it impacts biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, and primary production. In wetlands, fire interacts with hydrologic regimes and other ecosystem characteristics to determine soil carbon (C) gains or losses and rates of nutrient cycling. However, how legacies of fire interact with wetland hydroperiod to affect soil chemistry is uncertain. We used the Florida Everglades as a model landscape to study how fire regimes, hydroperiod, and soil types collectively contribute to long-term C, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations and stoichiometric mass ratios (C: N, C:P, N:P) in both short-and long-hydroperiod subtropical wetlands that consist of marl and peat soils, respectively. We used fire records from 1948 to 2018 and hydroperiod from 1991 to 2003, and analyzed these data together with soil chemistry data collected during two extensive field surveys (n = 539) across different ecosystem and soil types throughout Everglades National Park. We also analyzed macrophyte and periphyton P concentrations (n = 150) collected from 2003 to 2016 in fire-impacted wetland sites. Hydroperiod was the main driver of soil C concentration in both marl and peat soils, but fire played a substantial role in nutrient cycling. Particularly in marl soils, soil P concentrations were affected by the absence of fire. In the first decade post-fire, we observed an amplification of P cycling with decreased soil C:P ratios by 95% and N:P ratios by 45%. After more than a decade post-fire, soil P became increasingly depleted (41% lower). Macrophyte P tissue concentration was 50% higher only in the first year post-fire, whereas periphyton P did not change. By recycling nutrients and through removal of litter accumulation, which forms a physical obstacle to photosynthesis, fire likely helps maintain high levels of macrophyte aboveground live biomass as well. Given its substantial effect on nutrient cycling, we advocate for fire management that uses fire return intervals that minimize depletion of soil nutrients and promote positive feedbacks to productivity in wetland ecosystems. In addition, coordinated management of fire return intervals and wetland hydroperiod can be used to set priorities for wetland soil nutrient concentrations and ratios.

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Long term accumulation of nitrogen in soils of dry mixed eucalypt forest in the absence of fire

Cited by 37 publications

References 47 publications

Plant Invasions: Symptoms and Contributors Rather Than Causes of Environmental Degradation

Plant Invasions: Symptoms and Contributors Rather Than Causes of Environmental Degradation

The stoichiometric signature of high‐frequency fire in forest floor food webs

Interactive effects of hydrology and fire drive differential biogeochemical legacies in subtropical wetlands

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