Dataset Information

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

ABSTRACT: 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.

SUBMITTER: Hewitt RE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4865011 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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

Hewitt Rebecca E RE Hollingsworth Teresa N TN Stuart Chapin Iii F F Lee Taylor D D

BMC ecology 20160511

<h4>Background</h4>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.<h4>Results</h4>We investigated the effects of fire severity on soil biota and associated effects on plant performance for two plant species predicted to expa ...[more]

PMID: 27169473

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Dataset Information

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

Publications

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

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