title: Plant community influence on soil microbial response after a wildfire in Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain).
abstract: Plant community influence on microbial response after fire has been studied in a Sierra Nevada National Park area affected by a wildfire in 2005. Two different plant communities adapted to different altitudes were selected to analyse possible differences on soil microbial recolonisation process after fire, in oak forest and high mountain shrub communities. Microbial abundance, activity and community composition were monitored to evaluate medium-term changes. Microbial abundance was studied by mean of microbial biomass carbon and plate count methods; microbial activity was analysed by microbial respiration and bacterial growth while microbial community composition was determined by analysing phospholipid fatty acid pattern. Under unburnt conditions oak forest showed higher nutrient content, pH and microbial abundance and activity values than the high mountain shrubs community. Different parameters studied showed different trends with time, highlighting important changes in microbial community composition in high mountain shrubs from first sampling to the second one. Post-fire recolonisation process was different depending on plant community studied. Highlighting fungal response and microbial activity were stimulated in burnt high mountain shrubs community whilst it was negatively affected in oak forest. Fire induced changes in oak forest were almost neutralized 20months after the fire, while high mountain shrubs community still showed fire-induced changes at the end of the study.
authors.affiliation: MED_Soil Research Group, Department of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Agricultural Chemistry, Chemistry Building, Seville University, C/Profesor García González, 1, 41012 Sevilla, Spain. Electronic address: gbarcenas@us.es.
authors.forename: Gema
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bárcenas-Moreno
authors.affiliation: GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Miguel Hernández University, Avda. De la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain.
authors.forename: Fuensanta
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: García-Orenes
authors.affiliation: GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Miguel Hernández University, Avda. De la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mataix-Solera
authors.affiliation: GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Miguel Hernández University, Avda. De la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mataix-Beneyto
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D058448:Biota; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D000068316:Parks, Recreational; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013030:Spain; D000075923:Wildfires
keywords: Microbial abundance; Microbial activity; Mountain soils; PLFA; Plant community; Wildfire