Long-Term Recovery of Microbial Communities in the Boreal Bryosphere Following Fire Disturbance

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  • Nick Cutler
    Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge
  • Maria Arroniz-Crespo
  • Lorna E. Street
    Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh
  • David Jones
  • Dominique L. Chaput
    Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
  • Thomas H. DeLuca
    University of Washington
Our study used a similar to 360-year fire chronosequence in northern Sweden to investigate post-fire microbial community dynamics in the boreal bryosphere (the living and dead parts of the feather moss layer on the forest floor, along with the associated biota). We anticipated systematic changes in microbial community structure and growth strategy with increasing time since fire (TSF) and used amplicon pyrosequencing to establish microbial community structure. We also recorded edaphic factors (relating to pH, C and N accumulation) and the physical characteristics of the feather moss layer. The molecular analyses revealed an unexpectedly diverse microbial community. The structure of the community could be largely explained by just two factors, TSF and pH, although the importance of TSF diminished as the forest recovered from disturbance. The microbial communities on the youngest site (TSF = 14 years) were clearly different from older locations (> 100 years), suggesting relatively rapid post-fire recovery. A shift towards Proteobacterial taxa on older sites, coupled with a decline in the relative abundance of Acidobacteria, suggested an increase in resource availability with TSF. Saprotrophs dominated the fungal community. Mycorrhizal fungi appeared to decline in abundance with TSF, possibly due to changing N status. Our study provided evidence for the decadal-scale legacy of burning, with implications for boreal forests that are expected to experience more frequent burns over the course of the next century.

Keywords

  • Boreal forest; Climate change; Microbial community structure; Feather mosses; Nutrient cycling; Post-fire succession
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)75-90
JournalMicrobial Ecology
Volume73
Issue number1
Early online date18 Aug 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017
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