Fire effects on ecosystem nitrogen cycling in a Californian bishop pine forest |
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Authors: | P Grogan T D Burns FS Chapin III |
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Institution: | Department of Plant Ecology, University of Copenhagen, ?ster Farimagsgade 2D, Copenhagen K, DK-1353, Denmark e-mail: paulg@bot.ku.dk Tel.: +45-3532-2244, Fax: +45-3532-2331, DK Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA, US Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA, US
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Abstract: | Fire can cause severe nitrogen (N) losses from grassland, chaparral, and temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. Paradoxically,
soil ammonium levels are markedly increased by fire, resulting in high rates of primary production in re-establishing plant
communities. In a manipulative experiment, we examined the influence of wild-fire ash residues on soil, microbial and plant
N pools in a recently burned Californian bishop pine (Pinus muricata D. Don) forest. Ash stimulated post-fire primary production and ecosystem N retention through direct N inputs from ash to
soils, as well as indirect ash effects on soil N availability to plants. These results suggest that redistribution of surface
ash after fire by wind or water may cause substantial heterogeneity in soil N availability to plants, and could be an important
mechanism contributing to vegetation patchiness in fire-prone ecosystems. In addition, we investigated the impact of fire
on ecosystem N cycling by comparing 15N natural abundance values from recently burned and nearby unburned P. muricata forest communities. At the burned site, 15N natural abundance in recolonising species was similar to that in bulk soil organic matter. By contrast, there was a marked
15N depletion in the same species relative to the total soil N pool at the unburned site. These results suggest that plant uptake
of nitrate (which tends to be strongly depleted in 15N because of fractionation during nitrification) is low in recently burned forest communities but could be an important component
of eco- system N cycling in mature conifer stands.
Received: 29 June 1999 / Accepted: 24 October 1999 |
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Keywords: | Ash Primary production Natural abundance 15N Nitrate Pinus muricata |
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