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Forest fire induces short‐term shifts in soil food webs with consequences for carbon cycling
Author(s) -
Gongalsky Konstantin B.,
Zaitsev Andrey S.,
Korobushkin Daniil I.,
Saifutdinov Ruslan A.,
Butenko Konstantin O.,
Vries Franciska T.,
Ekschmitt Klemens,
Degtyarev Maksim I.,
Gorbunova Anastasia Yu.,
Kostitalia V.,
Rakhleeva Anna A.,
Shakhab Svetlana V.,
Yazrikova Taisia E.,
Wolters Volkmar,
Bardgett Richard D.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13657
Subject(s) - soil mesofauna , microfauna , soil food web , soil biology , environmental science , ecology , biota , food web , biomass (ecology) , soil carbon , cycling , ecosystem , carbon cycle , biology , geography , soil water , forestry , fauna
We tested for fire‐induced (5–6 years post‐fire) changes in the structure and functioning of the soil food web along a 3000‐km north–south transect across European Russia, spanning all major forest types in the northern hemisphere outside the tropics. The total biomass of the detrital food web, including microbes and invertebrates, was not affected by fire. However, fire reduced the biomass of microfauna and mites, but had no impact on mesofauna or macrofauna. Fire also reduced rates of carbon (C) mobilisation by soil biota. Our results demonstrate that fire‐induced shifts in soil food webs have significant short‐term effects on forest soil C cycling, but that these effects vary across forest types and geographic locations.