高寒草毡层基本属性与固碳能力沿水分和海拔梯度的变化

高寒草毡层是高原寒区自然植被下形成的松软而坚韧且耐搬运的表土层,认识其生态功能是促进草牧业生产休养保护和工程施工主动利用的前提。通过对青藏高原东部若尔盖高原植被的广泛调查,在布设沼泽、退化沼泽、沼泽化草甸、湿草甸、干草甸和退化草甸水分梯度群落样地,以及亚高山草甸、亚高山灌丛草甸、高山灌丛草甸和高山草甸海拔梯度群落样地的基础上,通过对不同类型群落样地草毡层容重、土壤颗粒组成和土壤有机碳(SOC)含量的测定分析,比较了水分和海拔梯度下草毡层固碳能力。结果表明,草毡层厚度平均为30cm,沼泽湿地草毡层容重最小,SOC含量在300g/kg以上;退化草甸容重最高,SOC含量显著下降。不同群落草毡层SOC密度在10—24kg C/m~2之间,随着土壤水分有效性的降低而降低;高山灌丛草甸草毡层SOC密度比草甸高15%。研究得出,保持草毡层稳定的质量含水量阈值为30%,SOC含量阈值为30g/kg;高寒植被草毡层在沼泽到草甸的退化演替中,容重、紧实度变大,有机碳含量减少,碳密度和碳储量下降;灌丛草甸的固碳能力大于草甸,但灌丛草甸的生产功能降低;保持可持续发展的草地生产能力,维护固碳生态功能,需要防止草毡层退化,抑制草甸向灌丛草甸演替。     

基于历史参照系的三江源区径流调节功能及变化评估

以20世纪70年代植被类型图作为参照生态系统,采用径流量和径流系数作为径流调节功能的表征指标,建立了基于历史参照系的三江源区径流调节功能评估模型,以参照系径流系数与实际径流系数的比值作为径流系数质量指数,分析了2000-2017年三江源区生态系统径流调节功能参照值、现状值及变化量的时空变化规律。结果表明：2000-2017年,三江源区多年平均径流量为495.15亿m³,地表径流量为96.64亿m³,参照系条件下多年平均径流量为468.37亿m³,地表径流量为68.60亿m³。相比参照系,三江源区生态系统的径流蓄纳能力降低,总径流量和地表径流量均明显增加。空间上,基于参照系和实际生态系统的多年平均径流量表现为东南高西北低的空间分布特征,地表径流量则呈西部高东部低的空间分布特征。从时间变化看,实际径流和参照系径流的差别率在4%-9%之间,实际地表径流和参照系地表径流的差别率在22%-58%之间。径流系数质量指数得分显示,2000-2017年,三江源区径流系数质量指数平均得分为98.63,地表径流系数质量指数平均得分为96.98,两者均呈现先降低后增加的趋势,地表径流系数质量指数变化更为明显。2000-2017年,各县（镇）径流系数和地表径流系数质量指数得分具有较大差别,但各县（镇）得分变化均不明显,变化率分别在-1.95%-0.71%和-0.35%-1.90%之间。通过建立基于历史生态系统的评估参照系,定量评估了三江源区参照系和实际条件下的径流变化过程,实现了不同时间、不同区域生态系统径流调节功能的可比较,可对量化生态系统恢复进程提供支撑。     

宝天曼自然保护区主要森林类型自然度评价

自然度评价对于自然保护区生物多样性保护和森林管理具有重要意义。以宝天曼自然保护区主要林型35个样地为研究对象,对27个群落指标进行主成分分析,计算自然度指数值(N),对N值进行Ward聚类,划分自然度等级。结果表明:宝天曼自然保护区主要林型的自然度可划分为5个等级组,自然度高的样地:N值在2.18—1.13之间,平均林龄94a,占调查样地总数的20.0%;自然度较高的样地:N值在1.01—0.34之间,占调查样地总数的34.3%,平均林龄80a;自然度中等的样地:N值在0.01—-0.47之间,占调查样地总数的17.1%,平均林龄为47a;自然度较低的样地:N值在-0.92—-1.60之间,占调查样地总数的14.3%,平均林龄为26a;自然度低的样地,N值在-1.98—-2.54之间,占调查样地总数的14.3%,平均林龄为21a。前3个主成分中土壤容重、有机质、全氮、硝态氮、林龄、优势树种平均胸径、乔木层、灌木层和草本层的多样性指数荷载较大,是影响森林自然度的主要因子。N值与林龄、乔木层和灌木层的Shannon-Wiener指数、海拔、土壤容重的线性拟合均达到极显著水平(P0.001),与土壤有机质和全氮的关系符合对数曲线(R20.794,R2=0.815,P0.0001)。在海拔1118—1863m区域,森林自然度较高,海拔970m以下区域,森林自然度较低。针对不同自然度等级的森林,分别提出了相应的保护和经营措施。     

局部环境增温对根田鼠冬季种群的影响

通过建立开顶式增温小室模拟全球变暖的实验, 对海北高寒草甸地区实验增温样地及其对照样地内根田鼠的冬季种群进行调查, 旨在研究局部增温对根田鼠冬季种群的可能影响。结果表明, 在冬季, 实验增温草甸样地和灌丛样地内根田鼠的种群密度均显著高于其对照( P < 0.05) ; 实验增温灌丛样地与对照间性比的差异不显著( P > 0.05) ; 增温样地和对照之间、不同植被类型的增温样地之间、对照样地之间, 根田鼠留存率、平均体重及年龄结构的差异均不显著( P > 0.05) ; 有从对照样地向增温样地单方向迁移的记录。总之, 局部环境增温导致实验样地内根田鼠的冬季种群密度明显上升, 而其性比、存活率、种群平均体重以及年龄结构无明显变化; 在冬季, 根田鼠有从对照样地向增温样地扩散或迁移的趋势。     

若尔盖湿地退化过程中土壤水源涵养功能

若尔盖湿地是青藏高原上面积最大的沼泽湿地,也是长江、黄河两大河流的水源区,对区域水循环起重要调节作用。近年来在全球变化及放牧的影响下,若尔盖湿地出现了不同程度的退化。为了查明若尔盖湿地退化过程中水源涵养功能的变化趋势,2009年8月对该区域的沼泽草甸、草原草甸和沙化草甸3个阶段的土壤水源涵养功能进行了调查。结果为:若尔盖湿地由沼泽草甸向草原草甸和沙化草甸的退化过程中,土壤容重显著增加(P<0.01),毛管孔隙度和总孔隙度显著下降(P<0.01),且容重和孔隙度在土壤剖面自然分布规律也发生变化;沼泽草甸的土壤自然含水量、毛管持水量、最小持水量和最大持水量均显著高于草原草甸和沙化草甸(P<0.01);0-100 cm 深度范围内的沼泽草甸土壤的最大持水量(8486.27 t/hm²)显著高于草原草甸(4944.98 t/hm²)和沙化草甸(4637.96 t/hm²)(P<0.01)。土壤持水量与有机质含量、毛管孔隙度和总孔隙度有显著正相关(P<0.01),与土壤容重呈显著负相关(P<0.01),并受植被盖度和泥炭层厚度的影响。研究结果表明,若尔盖湿地退化过程中植被盖度、土壤有机质含量及泥炭层厚度的下降和土壤质地沙化是导致若尔盖湿地水源涵养功能下降的主要原因。     

1964-2015年海南省八门湾红树林湿地及其周边土地景观动态分析

以海南省文昌市八门港红树林湿地及其周边土地为研究对象,采用6期遥感影像为主要的数据来源,建立起研究区域内1964、1972、1988、2000、2009、2015年50年的景观数据库,利用土地转移矩阵和表征景观破碎化过程的景观指数系统阐述了八门湾红树林湿地及其周边土地的土地利用/覆被变化以及景观破碎化的过程,探讨八门湾红树林湿地及其周边土地土地利用/覆被变化与景观破碎化过程之间的相互关系。结果表明：（1）1964-2015年间,研究区域内建筑用地、养殖水面面积持续增长面积比重分别上升了7.72%、12.55%,耕地、林地、红树林面积所占比重分别下降了7.01%、9.16%、9.74%。（2）1964-2015年间,研究区域内斑块数量增加了685个,平均斑块面积缩减了39.12%,聚合度下降了3.5%,最大斑块面积缩减了28.38%,蔓延度下降了9.26%,斑块平均形状破碎化指数和面积加权平均形状破碎化指数分别上升了0.0148、0.0207,斑块密度从1964年的0.0653个/hm²上升到2015年的0.1073个/hm²。（3）八门湾红树林湿地及其周边土地的土地利用/覆被变化与景观破碎化过程的相关关系主要体现在养殖水面、建筑用地面积变化对研究区域景观破碎化指数的影响上。养殖水面、建筑用地面积变化对研究区域景观破碎化过程的影响主要体现在聚合度、斑块数量、蔓延度的作用上。其中,养殖水面面积变化对研究区域景观破碎化过程的影响主要体现在其对红树林面积的侵占,使得红树林面积占研究区域总面积的比例由15%下降到5.25%,红树林由大面积连续集中分布趋向于小面积孤立分散分布。建筑用地面积变化对研究区域景观破碎化过程的影响主要体现在城市的快速发展、交通设施大量的建设。50年来,八门湾红树林湿地各地类之间的转化主要表现为红树林面积转化成养殖水面,林地和耕地面积转化为建筑用地,由此可见,人类活动能力的增强以及影响范围的不断扩大是引发八门湾红树林湿地景观破碎化的主要原因。     

基于长时间序列landsat数据的科尔沁沙地土地利用演变分析

以科尔沁沙地沙丘-草甸过渡带区域主要土地覆被类型为研究对象,以1987-2017年多时相Landsat TM/OLI遥感影像解译分类为基础,参考生态学植被演替研究方法,系统分析研究区30年来的土地利用/覆被动态演变规律,研究结果表明：（1）决策树法在复杂下垫面不同覆被类型的同步识别效果较好,所有影像分类精度均达到88%以上,分类效果较好,其中2017年分类精度最高为95.24%,达到了分类研究的要求;（2）研究区存在着"半灌丛-草甸地-灌丛"的植被结构特征,且整体表现为"南进北退"的变化趋势。结合土地利用动态度分析结果表明人类活动干涉下,研究区整体上遵循了半干旱区植被条件改善的一般规律,侧面反映该研究区域生态环境的持续不稳定性和脆弱性;（3）研究区覆被类型发生变化的总面积达到2623.59 hm²,总变化强度为63.76%。其中正向演替的比例为52.61%,以半灌丛面积的持续减小与沙地草甸面积的持续扩张为主要变化特征。但同时,半灌丛转为沙地的面积为184.95 hm²,表明以放牧为主的研究区同时发生着局部的逆行演变;（4）质心迁移结果反映了1987-2017年间,除人为影响较大的林地、草地以及耕地向北迁移外,其他植被类型的质心都有很明显的南迁,主要植被类型重心迁移距离依次由大到小为耕地 > 半灌丛 > 灌丛 > 沙地草甸 > 湿地草甸 > 林地。研究通过记录科尔沁沙地连续扩展的时空模式,展示了遥感-生态和时间序列影像在30 m分辨率下跟踪土地利用/覆被变化的潜力,为提高干旱半干旱区土地利用情况的动态监测效率,开展土地利用/覆被动态演变研究提供参考。     

疏伐对黄土丘陵区刺槐林蒸腾的影响

黄土高原地区植被建设已达到土壤水分承载力的阈值,需要对现有林分进行结构优化并提升其生态功能。不合理的林分密度是导致黄土丘陵区刺槐林土壤干化、生长衰退的主要原因之一。疏伐可以优化林分结构,并能够通过控制蒸腾耗水来调控土壤水分,是促进刺槐林可持续生长的有效手段。疏伐对黄土丘陵区刺槐林蒸腾有何影响,目前并不清楚。研究基于树干液流法估算了4个不同疏伐强度（样地1：52%、样地2：48%、样地3：35%、样地4：未疏伐）下刺槐单株尺度的液流速率与林分尺度的日平均蒸腾量,并分析了不同时间尺度下液流速率与环境因子的关系,以阐明疏伐对黄土丘陵区刺槐林蒸腾的影响。结果表明：（1） 单株尺度刺槐蒸腾速率（即液流速率）随疏伐强度减小（林分密度增大）呈现下降趋势（样地1：0.53 kg cm^-2 d^-1、样地2：0.41 kg cm^-2 d^-1、样地3：0.31 kg cm^-2 d^-1、样地4：0.33 kg cm^-2 d^-1）;（2） 观测期林分尺度日平均蒸腾量随疏伐强度减小呈现上升趋势（样地1：0.90 mm/d、样地2：1.18 mm/d、样地3：1.04 mm/d、样地4：1.44 mm/d）;（3） 在半小时尺度与日尺度上,各样地液流速率与环境因子的关系没有显著差异,半小时尺度单株液流速率均与太阳辐射相关性最高（相关系数0.883-0.908）,液流速率日变化过程与环境因子日变化过程存在时滞现象;日尺度单株液流速率与饱和水汽压亏缺相关性最高（相关系数0.843-0.913）,样地间日尺度单株液流速率的差异性随着饱和水汽压亏缺增大而增大。研究结果初步反映了疏伐导致的林分密度变化对刺槐蒸腾的影响,将为黄土丘陵区刺槐林的结构改造、功能提升和土壤水分调控提供理论支持。     

长期施加N、P肥对高寒草甸小型土壤节肢动物群落的影响

为查明长期施肥对高寒草甸小型土壤节肢动物群落影响,2012年5月下旬在西南民族大学青藏高原畜牧业高科技研究基地内用随机区组方式设置施N、P和NP混施三种处理实验样地,每种施肥处理分别设置10 g/m²、20 g/m²和30 g/m²三个施肥梯度,以不施肥的高寒草甸为对照样地。2017年8月对各样地内的小型土壤节肢动物、植物群落和土壤理化性质进行调查。结果表明：（1）施肥可以明显改变高寒草甸小型土壤节肢动物的群落组成结构,其中NP混施比单施N、P肥更能有效增加螨类和昆虫的类群数;（2）N、P、NP三种施肥种类的小型土壤节肢动物群落个体密度、类群数和Shannon多样性指数均显著增加（P<0.05）,且当施肥量为20 g/m²时,小型土壤节肢动物群落的个体密度、类群数和Shannon多样性指数均达到最大;（3）小型土壤节肢动物群落的个体密度、类群数和Shannon多样性指数均与全磷含量呈显著正相关（P<0.05）。研究表明,在高寒草甸长期施加氮、磷肥,尤其是氮磷混施,不仅能够明显改变小型土壤节肢动物群落组成结构,还能显著提高群落密度和多样性,建议按照20 g/m²的总量对高寒草甸进行氮磷等量混施,以提高小型土壤节肢动物群落多样性及其生态功能。     

大兴安岭森林火烧恢复年限对土壤磷及其有效性的影响

林火是大兴安岭地区森林生态系统的重要影响因子,对地下土壤养分,特别是磷及其有效性变化长时间序列研究,将有助于林火后植被恢复管理、模型模拟及科学评价。选择呼中、南瓮河、双河、图强、塔河、加格达奇、满归等地区火后恢复2-50年样地48块,并以火烧区域周边相似地形地貌、未经火烧区域为配对对照样地,野外调查记录地形地貌和地理位置数据,室内分析土壤全磷和速效磷。配对t检验、冗余排序分析、趋势分析、离散性分析等处理相结合,试图找出火烧后土壤磷及其有效性变化特征。研究结果表明：（1）整体数据平均值及离散程度表明,火后全磷及速效磷均值均稍低于对照,火后二者的离散程度为37%-49%,低于对照样地6-22个百分点;区分不同恢复时间,配对t检验未发现火烧样地土壤磷与对照间的显著差异。（2）以火烧对照比值及差值进行趋势分析发现,相对于对照,火烧后全磷呈现先增加后降低的变化趋势（R²=0.89-0.95,P=0.07-0.15）,火后20-30年间开始低于对照样地。速效磷也呈类似变化趋势,但是相关性较低（R²=0.44-0.67,P=0.44-0.66）;速效磷占比年代变化趋势不明显（R²=0.08-0.12,P > 0.95）。（3）RDA排序分析表明,火烧导致恢复年限成为影响磷变化的最主要因素（15.3%）,其次是经度（10.7%）;而在对照样地中,纬度是土壤磷变化最关键影响因素,能够解释其变化总量的27.6%。研究结果为森林火后土壤养分管理以及森林演替生态评价提供重要参数。     

Effects of experimental fuel additions on fire intensity and severity: unexpected carbon resilience of a neotropical forest

Global changes and associated droughts, heat waves, logging activities, and forest fragmentation may intensify fires in Amazonia by altering forest microclimate and fuel dynamics. To isolate the effects of fuel loads on fire behavior and fire‐induced changes in forest carbon cycling, we manipulated fine fuel loads in a fire experiment located in southeast Amazonia. We predicted that a 50% increase in fine fuel loads would disproportionally increase fire intensity and severity (i.e., tree mortality and losses in carbon stocks) due to multiplicative effects of fine fuel loads on the rate of fire spread, fuel consumption, and burned area. The experiment followed a fully replicated randomized block design (N = 6) comprised of unburned control plots and burned plots that were treated with and without fine fuel additions. The fuel addition treatment significantly increased burned area (+22%) and consequently canopy openness (+10%), fine fuel combustion (+5%), and mortality of individuals ≥5 cm in diameter at breast height (dbh; +37%). Surprisingly, we observed nonsignificant effects of the fuel addition treatment on fireline intensity, and no significant differences among the three treatments for (i) mortality of large trees (≥30 cm dbh), (ii) aboveground forest carbon stocks, and (iii) soil respiration. It was also surprising that postfire tree growth and wood increment were higher in the burned plots treated with fuels than in the unburned control. These results suggest that (i) fine fuel load accumulation increases the likelihood of larger understory fires and (ii) single, low‐intensity fires weakly influence carbon cycling of this primary neotropical forest, although delayed postfire mortality of large trees may lower carbon stocks over the long term. Overall, our findings indicate that increased fine fuel loads alone are unlikely to create threshold conditions for high‐intensity, catastrophic fires during nondrought years.     

Responses in plant, soil inorganic and microbial nutrient pools to experimental fire, ash and biomass addition in a woodland savanna

In order to investigate the effects of savanna fires on nutrient cycling a field experiment was carried out in an open woodland savanna of southwest Ethiopia. This involved manipulations of fire, fuel load and ash fertilisation in a fully factorial design, and recording of responses in plants, soil inorganic and microbial nutrient pools up to 1 year after the disturbances. As plant biomass nitrogen (N) was only 3.5% of that in topsoil the N loss in a single fire event was relatively small. The microbial N pool size in the topsoil was similar to the N pool size in the aboveground part of the plants. Soil microbial biomass carbon increased slightly 12 days after the low severity fire, but the effect was transient and was not accompanied by an increase in microbial N. Instead, the soil inorganic N concentration increased strongly 1 day after the fire, remained higher up to 3 months after the fire and probably caused the 40% higher grass biomass in burned than unburned plots, and the similar sized increase in grass nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium pools in the following rainy season. In contrast, broad-leaved herbs showed less strong increments in biomass and nutrient pool sizes. Fire interacted with fuel load, as burning of plots with double plant biomass led to reduced microbial biomass, plant nutrient pools and herb (but not grass) biomass. Low-severity-fire nutrient losses appear to be moderate and may be replenished from natural sources. However, in areas with frequent fires and high grass biomass (fuel) loads, or with late fires, nutrient losses could be much larger and non-sustainable to the persistence of the woodland savanna ecosystem.     

Landscape-scale positive feedbacks between fire and expansion of the large tussock grass, Ampelodesmos mauritanica in Catalan shrublands

In the northern Mediterranean Basin, agricultural land abandonment over the last century has resulted in increasing frequencies of very large, intense fires. In Catalonia (NE Spain) some fires have been locally associated with the expansion of the large, evergreen, resprouting tussock grass Ampelodesmos mauritanica. We tested the hypothesis of a positive feedback between the abundance of A. mauritanica and changing fire regimes. We used permanent plots distributed across a natural gradient of density of A. mauritanica in the Garraf Natural Park near Barcelona. Total aboveground biomass nearly doubled from plots with low to high density through a combination of A. mauritanica replacing the biomass of other components of the community (predominantly native shrubs), and its absolute standing biomass increasing. The quantity of litter also increased. This increase in fuel load and changes in community functional composition resulted from the simultaneous decrease in shrub productivity and an increase in litter accumulation. Litter accumulation was the consequence of A. mauritanica litter decomposing 30% more slowly than that of shrubs. Under standardized conditions, A. mauritanica and its litter were considerably more flammable than any of the shrub species. This resulted in a more than 40‐fold increase in calculated plot flammability from low‐to‐high‐density plots. Feedbacks, at the landscape scale, were then analysed using the landscape simulation platform LAMOS. Invasion success and contribution to community biomass of A. mauritanica increased with decreasing fire return intervals. Total area burnt in the landscape during each fire year was positively and exponentially related to the total biomass of A. mauritanica. Simulations showed that landscapes can abruptly switch from regimes of small localized to extensive fires as a result of the spread of A. mauritanica. Therefore, increases in fires under climate change represent threats not only through their direct impacts on ecosystems, but also by promoting invaders such as A. mauritanica, which have the potential to induce powerful feedforward processes and, thereby, fundamental changes to ecosystems.     

Abrupt fire regime change may cause landscape‐wide loss of mature obligate seeder forests

Obligate seeder trees requiring high‐severity fires to regenerate may be vulnerable to population collapse if fire frequency increases abruptly. We tested this proposition using a long‐lived obligate seeding forest tree, alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis), in the Australian Alps. Since 2002, 85% of the Alps bioregion has been burnt by several very large fires, tracking the regional trend of more frequent extreme fire weather. High‐severity fires removed 25% of aboveground tree biomass, and switched fuel arrays from low loads of herbaceous and litter fuels to high loads of flammable shrubs and juvenile trees, priming regenerating stands for subsequent fires. Single high‐severity fires caused adult mortality and triggered mass regeneration, but a second fire in quick succession killed 97% of the regenerating alpine ash. Our results indicate that without interventions to reduce fire severity, interactions between flammability of regenerating stands and increased extreme fire weather will eliminate much of the remaining mature alpine ash forest.     

Effects of Prescribed Burning on Herbaceous and Woody Vegetation in Northern Lowland Meadows

Abstract Spring burning of sedge‐grass meadows in the Slave River Lowlands (SRL), Northwest Territories, Canada was applied between 1992 and 1998 to reduce shrub encroachment and enhance Bison bison (bison) habitat, although the impact of fire on preferred bison forage was unknown before management. In the summer of 1998 we conducted a study in the Hook Lake area of the SRL to test the effect of burn frequency (unburned, burned once, or burned three times since 1992) on herbaceous plant community composition and Salix spp. L. (willow) shrub vigor. Plant species abundance, litter biomass, soil pH, and depth of the organic soil horizon were measured in 300 1‐m² quadrats nested within 30 1,000‐m² plots in both burned and unburned dry meadows. To test the relationship between frequency and willow vigor, all willow shrubs within the plots were assigned a vigor score from I (dead) to IV (flourishing). The spring burns appear to have reduced willow vigor; however, shrub survival remained high (76%) on the most frequently burned meadows. Ordination plots resulting from canonical correspondence analysis suggest that multiple spring burns influenced plant community composition in dry meadow areas and that less palatable bison forage species (e.g., Carex aenea Fern. and Juncus balticus L.) were correlated with a regime of three spring burns. Our results suggest that frequent spring fires in the Hook Lake area have only a small negative effect on willow cover but may reduce the abundance of primary bison forage plants compared with less frequently burned meadows.     

Smouldering fire-induced changes in a Mediterranean soil (SE Spain): effects on germination,survival and morphological traits of 3-year-old <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus pinaster</Emphasis> Ait.

In the present study, a smouldering fire was reproduced in a substrate from a Pinus pinaster forest in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. Experiments were carried out, in laboratory, using soil monoliths to assess the short-term fire-induced effects on germination, survival and morphological traits in young (3-year-old) specimens of Pinus pinaster Ait. The fire caused a severe reduction in the litter and humus layer relative to a control (unburnt) soil. A lower percentage of accumulated germination (29% in the burnt soil compared with 71% in the control soil) reduced final seedling density, and a lower seedling height was observed in burnt soil. Furthermore, the amount of biomass fixed per unit of leaf area and the concentration of foliar nutrients were lower in the seedlings grown in the burnt soil. However, the amount of biomass fixed per individual seedling was significantly higher in the burnt soil than in the control soil. The results confirm the observed lesser P. pinaster recruitment in burnt stands in southeastern Spain.     

Using a rainforest-flame forest mosaic to test the hypothesis that leaf and litter fuel flammability is under natural selection

We used a mosaic of infrequently burnt temperate rainforest and adjacent, frequently burnt eucalypt forests in temperate eastern Australia to test whether: (1) there were differences in flammability of fresh and dried foliage amongst congeners from contrasting habitats, (2) habitat flammability was related to regeneration strategy, (3) litter fuels were more flammable in frequently burnt forests, (4) the severity of a recent fire influenced the flammability of litter (as this would suggest fire feedbacks), and (5) microclimate contributed to differences in fire hazard amongst habitats. Leaf-level comparisons were made among 11 congeneric pairs from rainforest and eucalypt forests. Leaf-level ignitability, combustibility and sustainability were not consistently higher for taxa from frequently burnt eucalypt forests, nor were they higher for species with fire-driven recruitment. The bulk density of litter-bed fuels strongly influenced flammability, but eucalypt forest litter was not less dense than rainforest litter. Ignitability, combustibility and flame sustainability of community surface fuels (litter) were compared using fuel arrays with standardized fuel mass and moisture content. Forests previously burned at high fire severity did not have consistently higher litter flammability than those burned at lower severity or long unburned. Thus, contrary to the Mutch hypothesis, there was no evidence of higher flammability of litter fuels or leaves from frequently burnt eucalypt forests compared with infrequently burnt rainforests. We suggest the manifest pyrogenicity of eucalypt forests is not due to natural selection for more flammable foliage, but better explained by differences in crown openness and associated microclimatic differences.     

Recurrent fires and environment shape the vegetation in Quercus suber L. woodlands and maquis

The effects of fire recurrence on vegetation patterns in Quercus suber L. and Erica-Cistus communities in Mediterranean fire-prone ecosystems of south-eastern France were examined on stands belonging to 5 fire classes, corresponding to different numbers of fires (from 0 to 4) and time intervals between fires since 1959. A common pool of species was identified among the plots, which was typical of both open and closed maquis. Fire recurrence reduced the abundance of trees and herbs, whereas it increased the abundance of small shrubs. Richness differed significantly between the most contrasting classes of fire recurrence, with maximal values found in control plots and minimal values in plots that had burned recurrently and recently. Equitability indices did not vary significantly, in contrast to Shannon's diversity index which mostly correlated with richness. Forest ecosystems that have burnt once or twice in the last 50 years were resilient; that is to say they recovered a biomass and composition similar to that of the pre-fire state. However, after more than 3-4 fires, shrubland communities displayed lower species richness and diversity indices than unburned plots. The time since the last fire and the number of fires were the most explanatory fire variables, governing the structure of post-fire plant communities. However, environmental factors, such as slope or exposure, also made a significant contribution. Higher rates of fire recurrence can affect the persistence or expansion of shrublands in the future, as observed in other Mediterranean areas.     

Controls on carbon consumption during Alaskan wildland fires

A method was developed to estimate carbon consumed during wildland fires in interior Alaska based on medium‐spatial scale data (60 m cell size) generated on a daily basis. Carbon consumption estimates were developed for 41 fire events in the large fire year of 2004 and 34 fire events from the small fire years of 2006–2008. Total carbon consumed during the large fire year (2.72 × 10⁶ ha burned) was 64.7 Tg C, and the average carbon consumption during the small fire years (0.09 × 10⁶ ha burned) was 1.3 Tg C. Uncertainties for the annual carbon emissions ranged from 13% to 21%. Carbon consumed from burning of black spruce forests represented 76% of the total during large fire years and 57% during small fire years. This was the result of the widespread distribution of black spruce forests across the landscape and the deep burning of the surface organic layers common to these ecosystems. Average carbon consumed was 3.01 kg m^?2 during the large fire year and 1.69 kg m^?2 during the small fire years. Most of the carbon consumption was from burning of ground layer fuels (85% in the large fire year and 78% in small fire years). Most of the difference in average carbon consumption between large and small fire years was in the consumption of ground layer fuels (2.60 vs. 1.31 kg m^?2 during large and small fire years, respectively). There was great variation in average fuel consumption between individual fire events (0.56–5.06 kg m^?2) controlled by variations in fuel types and topography, timing of the fires during the fire season, and variations in fuel moisture at the time of burning.     

Nutrient dynamics of vegetation and detritus following two intensities of fire in the New Jersey pine barrens

The nutrient dynamics of upland forest sites in the New Jersey Pine Barrens exposed to different fire intensities were determined. Nutrient concentrations and inventories in biomass, litter, humus, and standing dead wood were determined for an unburned site, two sites burned by severe wildfire and two sites burned by light prescribed burning. Humus nutrient levels were similar among sites despite differing fire histories. Amounts of calcium, magnesium, and potassium in biomass and in litter were lower in wildfire sites than in prescribed burn sites, all of which were lower than the control. Standing dead wood nutrient levels were much higher in the wildfire sites than in the other three sites. Output of nutrients to groudwater correlated poorly with the amounts of nutrients retained in humus or standing dead wood; however strong inverse correlations were found between nutrient output and nutrient storage in biomass or biomass plus litter and humus. These results emphasize the central role of nutrient immobilization in regrowing biomass in after fire on nutrient poor soils.