Fire-severity effects on plant–fungal interactions after a novel tundra wildfire disturbance: implications for arctic shrub and tree migration

Background Vegetation change in high latitude tundra ecosystems is expected to accelerate due to increased wildfire activity. High-severity fires increase the availability of mineral soil seedbeds, which facilitates recruitment, yet fire also alters soil microbial composition, which could significan...

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Vydáno v:BMC ecology Ročník 16; číslo 1; s. 25
Hlavní autoři: Hewitt, Rebecca E., Hollingsworth, Teresa N., Stuart Chapin III, F., Lee Taylor, D.
Médium: Journal Article
Jazyk:angličtina
Vydáno: London BioMed Central 11.05.2016
BioMed Central Ltd
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ISSN:1472-6785, 1472-6785
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Shrnutí:Background Vegetation change in high latitude tundra ecosystems is expected to accelerate due to increased wildfire activity. High-severity fires increase the availability of mineral soil seedbeds, which facilitates recruitment, yet fire also alters soil microbial composition, which could significantly impact seedling establishment. Results We investigated the effects of fire severity on soil biota and associated effects on plant performance for two plant species predicted to expand into Arctic tundra. We inoculated seedlings in a growth chamber experiment with soils collected from the largest tundra fire recorded in the Arctic and used molecular tools to characterize root-associated fungal communities. Seedling biomass was significantly related to the composition of fungal inoculum. Biomass decreased as fire severity increased and the proportion of pathogenic fungi increased. Conclusions Our results suggest that effects of fire severity on soil biota reduces seedling performance and thus we hypothesize that in certain ecological contexts fire-severity effects on plant–fungal interactions may dampen the expected increases in tree and shrub establishment after tundra fire.
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ISSN:1472-6785
1472-6785
DOI:10.1186/s12898-016-0075-y