Summary
Forest floor litter, duff, and underlying soils were assembled in laboratory microcosms representing pinyon, juniper, and interspace field conditions. Burning removed more than 95% of both N and C from the litter, with losses from the duff dependent on soil moisture conditions. No significant changes in total N or C were noted in the soil. Immediate increases were observed in soil NH sup+inf4 , decreasing with depth and related to soil heating. The greatest increases were noted in both the pinyon and juniper soils that were dry at the time of the burn, with interspace soils exhibiting the least changes. Soil NH sup+inf4 closely approximated the controls on day 90 after the burns in all treatments. Ninety days after the burn microbial biomass N was highest in the controls, followed by the wet and then the dry-burned soils, in both the pinyon and juniper microcosms. This was inversely related to the levels of accumulated NO sup-inf3 . Nitrifying bacteria populations were indirectly correlated to soil temperatures during the burn. Population levels 90 days after the burn showed increases in both the wet- and the dry-burn treatments, with those in the pinyon treatments exceeding those found in the nitial controls of pinyon soils.
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Klopatek, J.M., Klopatek, C.C. & DeBano, L.F. Potential variation of nitrogen transformations in pinyon-juniper ecosystems resulting from burning. Biol Fertil Soils 10, 35–44 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336122
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336122