Unravelling the Diverse Effects of Fire on Soil Processes
A special issue of Fire (ISSN 2571-6255).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 6658
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
Interests: ecology; Savanna; Tropical; theoretical ecology; biogeochemistry
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are soliciting contributions to a Special Issue in the journal Fire which will incorporate topics related to fire effects on ecosystems through a belowground lens focused on the responses of soils. Some of the largest uncertainties in how changing fire regimes will affect ecosystems arise from the variable responses in soil, which span a diversity of processes. Such topics may include: the response of decomposer communities, such as the dominant taxa sensitive to fire, the timescale of community turnover, what factors determine community recovery, and how changes in microbes influence biogeochemical cycling. Along these lines, the effect of fire on soil organic matter is highly variable and controlled by several processes such as the physicochemical properties of soil minerals and organic matter. Additionally, fire can lead to changes in soil water retention and cycling, as burning shifts pore structure, wax formation, soil compaction, and evapotranspiration. Changes belowground have important implications for aboveground processes, such as nutrient availability affecting the composition of plant strategies and plant productivity. The responses of plants can have cascading effects on animal populations, as palatability and biomass production changes. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms leading to the widespread variability in fire effects on soil properties and processes has broad implications for ecosystem functioning.
Dr. Adam Pellegrini
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- fire
- soil biogeochemistry
- soil carbon and nutrients
- microbes
- soil water
- plant composition
- plant stoichiometry
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