Long-term effects of wildfire on ecosystem properties across an island area gradient.
Boreal forest soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle by functioning as a large terrestrial carbon sink or source, and the alteration of fire regime through global change phenomena may influence this role. We studied a system of forested lake islands in the boreal zone of Sweden for which fire frequency increases with increasing island size. Large islands supported higher plant productivity and litter decomposition rates than did smaller ones, and, with increasing time since fire, litter decomposition rates were suppressed sooner than was ecosystem productivity. This contributes to greater carbon storage with increasing time since fire; for every century without a major fire, an additional 0.5 kilograms per square meter of carbon becomes stored in the humus.
Wardle
David A
DA
Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Faculty of Forestry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE901 83 Umeå, Sweden. david.wardle@svek.slu.se
Hörnberg
Greger
G
Zackrisson
Olle
O
Kalela-Brundin
Maarit
M
Coomes
David A
DA
D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D017753:Ecosystem; D005390:Fires; D005843:Geography; D008027:Light; D063245:Plant Development; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D013548:Sweden; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development*
D012987:Soil; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002244:Carbon