More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests
Much recent research has investigated the effects of burning on mature black spruce ( Picea mariana ) forests in interior Alaska, however little research has focused on how frequent reburning affects soil organic layer (SOL) vulnerability in these ecosystems. We compared organic soil layer character...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0e9db70ece4f40f69db3a81c79ef73d8 2023-09-05T13:22:34+02:00 More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests Elizabeth E Hoy Merritt R Turetsky Eric S Kasischke 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 https://doaj.org/article/0e9db70ece4f40f69db3a81c79ef73d8 EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/0e9db70ece4f40f69db3a81c79ef73d8 Environmental Research Letters, Vol 11, Iss 9, p 095001 (2016) fire frequency Picea mariana boreal forest soil organic layer Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 2023-08-13T00:37:47Z Much recent research has investigated the effects of burning on mature black spruce ( Picea mariana ) forests in interior Alaska, however little research has focused on how frequent reburning affects soil organic layer (SOL) vulnerability in these ecosystems. We compared organic soil layer characteristics in black spruce stands that burned after two fire-free intervals (FFI), including an intermediate-interval (37–52 years) and a more typical long-interval (70–120 years). We found that depth of burn varied significantly between intermediate-interval and long-interval sites, and as there was less material available to burn in intermediate-interval stands, percent depth reduction was greater in these stands (78.9% ± 2.6%) than in long-interval stands (62.9% ± 1.5%). As a result, less residual organic soil carbon remained post-fire in intermediate-interval than long-interval stands. Post-fire organic soil carbon stocks averaged 0.51 ± 0.08 kg C m ^−2 in the intermediate-interval sites, which is less than estimates of soil carbon stock for long-interval fire events (ranging from 2.07 to 5.74 kg C m ^−2 ). In addition to altering soil carbon storage, a depletion of the SOL during more frequent fire events will likely delay the recovery of permafrost and could trigger a change in the possible successional trajectory of a site, from black spruce dominated to deciduous or even shrub dominated ecosystems in the future. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Environmental Research Letters 11 9 095001 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
fire frequency Picea mariana boreal forest soil organic layer Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
fire frequency Picea mariana boreal forest soil organic layer Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Elizabeth E Hoy Merritt R Turetsky Eric S Kasischke More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests |
topic_facet |
fire frequency Picea mariana boreal forest soil organic layer Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
Much recent research has investigated the effects of burning on mature black spruce ( Picea mariana ) forests in interior Alaska, however little research has focused on how frequent reburning affects soil organic layer (SOL) vulnerability in these ecosystems. We compared organic soil layer characteristics in black spruce stands that burned after two fire-free intervals (FFI), including an intermediate-interval (37–52 years) and a more typical long-interval (70–120 years). We found that depth of burn varied significantly between intermediate-interval and long-interval sites, and as there was less material available to burn in intermediate-interval stands, percent depth reduction was greater in these stands (78.9% ± 2.6%) than in long-interval stands (62.9% ± 1.5%). As a result, less residual organic soil carbon remained post-fire in intermediate-interval than long-interval stands. Post-fire organic soil carbon stocks averaged 0.51 ± 0.08 kg C m ^−2 in the intermediate-interval sites, which is less than estimates of soil carbon stock for long-interval fire events (ranging from 2.07 to 5.74 kg C m ^−2 ). In addition to altering soil carbon storage, a depletion of the SOL during more frequent fire events will likely delay the recovery of permafrost and could trigger a change in the possible successional trajectory of a site, from black spruce dominated to deciduous or even shrub dominated ecosystems in the future. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Elizabeth E Hoy Merritt R Turetsky Eric S Kasischke |
author_facet |
Elizabeth E Hoy Merritt R Turetsky Eric S Kasischke |
author_sort |
Elizabeth E Hoy |
title |
More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests |
title_short |
More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests |
title_full |
More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests |
title_fullStr |
More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests |
title_full_unstemmed |
More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests |
title_sort |
more frequent burning increases vulnerability of alaskan boreal black spruce forests |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 https://doaj.org/article/0e9db70ece4f40f69db3a81c79ef73d8 |
genre |
permafrost Alaska |
genre_facet |
permafrost Alaska |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 11, Iss 9, p 095001 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/0e9db70ece4f40f69db3a81c79ef73d8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095001 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
095001 |
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1776203072372998144 |