Repositorio
Institucional

Fuentes-Ramirez, Andres

Almonacid-Munoz, Leonardo

Munoz-Gomez, Nayadeth

Moloney, Kirk A.

Spatio-Temporal Variation in Soil Nutrients and Plant Recovery across a Fire-Severity Gradient in Old-Growth Araucaria-Nothofagus Forests of South-Central Chile

MDPI

FORESTS

en

Forest fires can alter essential ecosystem processes, including soil nutrient cycling, potentially cascading into permanent vegetation changes. This is key to elucidate in ecosystems where fires are infrequent. We assessed the effects of fire severity on the spatio-temporal response of soil nutrients and plant diversity in old-growth forests of south-central Chile, 1, 2, and 3 years after a fire that occurred in 2015. Within ancient, old-growth Araucaria araucana (Mol.) K. Koch and Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp. and Endl.) Krasser forests, ranging from areas burned with fire of high severity to unburned forests, we evaluated nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and soil organic matter (SOM) content using spatial interpolation to predict their spatial distribution and assessed their availability over time. We also assessed plant species richness and abundance following the fire. The availability of N noticeably increased during the first year after fire but rapidly decreased in the following years, especially in areas of high fire severity. P, K, and SOM were less affected by the fire, remaining more constant over time. In the short term, plant species richness and diversity significantly decreased in severely burned areas, but over time, they became more similar to those of the unburned forests. The time since a fire and its severity determine a heterogeneous distribution of soil nutrients, with N shifting to a significantly lower availability after fire, which was more notable in areas of high fire severity. Here, vegetation exhibited a decrease in plant diversity and the establishment of exotic species, likely producing cascading effects at the community level.

artículo original

AFR thanks Centro ANID Basal FB210015. The authors are also grateful for grant ANID SCIA-Anillo ACT210052. Marcia Barrientos, Francisco Manquehual, Javier Ulloa, Paola Arroyo, and the park rangers from the National Reserve China Muerta helped with fieldwork. The reviewers made a number of comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. This research was funded by grants DIUFRO DI20-066 and DI21-1001 Apoyo a Postulantes FONDECYT, Direccion de Investigacion Universidad de La Frontera.

AFR agradece al Centro ANID Basal FB210015. Los autores también agradecen la subvención ANID SCIA-Anillo ACT210052. Marcia Barrientos, Francisco Manquehual, Javier Ulloa, Paola Arroyo y los guardaparques de la Reserva Nacional China Muerta ayudaron en el trabajo de campo. Los revisores hicieron una serie de comentarios y sugerencias que mejoraron enormemente el manuscrito. Esta investigación fue financiada por las subvenciones DIUFRO DI20-066 y DI21-1001 Apoyo a Postulantes FONDECYT, Dirección de Investigación Universidad de La Frontera.

10.3390/f13030448

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forest fire

soil nutrients

spatial interpolation

Kriging

plant recovery

forest restoration

TEMPERATE FORESTS

ORGANIC-MATTER

WILDFIRE

CARBON

CONSERVATION

IMPACTS

ASH

Silvicultura

incendio forestal

nutrientes del suelo

interpolación espacial

Kriging

recuperación de plantas

restauración forestal

BOSQUES TEMPLADOS

MATERIA ORGÁNICA

FUEGOS FORESTALES

CARBONO

CONSERVACIÓN

IMPACTOS

cenizas

Spatio-Temporal Variation in Soil Nutrients and Plant Recovery across a Fire-Severity Gradient in Old-Growth Araucaria-Nothofagus Forests of South-Central Chile

artículo original

version publicada

CC BY 4.0

CC BY 4.0

acceso abierto

acceso abierto

ANID-BASAL FB21001

ANID SCIA ACT210052

ANID BASAL FB21001

WOS:000775802700001