Surface soil moisture across an experimental burn severity gradient in far northeastern Siberia, 2012-2017

• Main Author: Heather D. Alexander
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Arctic Data Center 2018
• Subjects: fire; permafrost; Siberia; Larch; Larix; Larix cajanderi; Arctic; Cherskiy
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.18739/A23F4KM7K

Fire severity is increasing across the boreal forest biome as climate warms, and initial post-fire impacts on tree demographic processes and soil conditions could be an important determinant of long-term forest structure and carbon dynamics. To examine soil burn severity impacts on volumetric soil moisture, we conducted experimental burns in summer 2012 that created a gradient of residual post-fire soil organic layer (SOL) depth within a mature, sparse-canopy Cajander larch (Larix cajanderi Mayr.) forest in the Eastern Siberian Arctic. Immediately post-burn and every growing season until 2017, we measured surface (~5-cm depth) soil moisture across the severity gradient.