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Fire-derived charcoal affects fine root vitality in a post-fire Gmelin larch forest: field evidence

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Abstract

Background and aims

Fine roots are only a small part of total ecosystem biomass, but substantially contributing to soil carbon accumulation in boreal forests. Wildfires may influence fine root dynamics directly via heating and indirectly via interactions with wildfire-deposited charcoal. We tested if the presence of charcoal in a recently burned larch forest affected fine root vitality.

Methods

This study was stratified across vegetation type (understorey and overstorey), soil depth (upper and lower layers), and root diameter classes: fine (≥0.5 mm but <2 mm diameter), and very fine (diameter < 0.5 mm) in a recently surface-burned Gmelin larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr.) forest in the Russian Far East.

Results

Charcoal content and fine root vitality were positively correlated for overstorey vegetation, but negatively correlated for understorey vegetation. On the other hand, total charcoal content did not significantly correlate with very fine root vitality, biomass or necromass.

Conclusions

Our study provides the first field evidence that fine root dynamics are influenced by fire-derived charcoal in frequently burned boreal forest. Furthermore, the effect of charcoal on fine root vitality depends on the vegetation type, root diameter, and soil depth, which indicates the necessity of complicated modeling of soil organic carbon derived from fine roots in post-fire boreal forests.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. A.A. Sorokin and Dr. K. Takagi for their support during the study. Authors thanks to staff of Zeysky State nature Reserve especially Mr. Lisovskii V.V. for invaluable help during field investigation. We express our gratitude to Ms. Abramova E.R. for her assistance in sorting roots, mass measurements and data analysis. We also express great thanks to Ms. Veklich T.N. and Ms. Darman G.F. for field vegetation description. Great thanks for Ms. M.R.A. Pingree for her valuable comments on the early version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology and Nature Management, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Blagoveshchensk, 675000, Russia

    Semyon V. Bryanin

  2. Teshio Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Toikanbetsu, Horonobe, 098-2943, Japan

    Kobayashi Makoto

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  1. Semyon V. Bryanin
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  2. Kobayashi Makoto
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Bryanin, S.V., Makoto, K. Fire-derived charcoal affects fine root vitality in a post-fire Gmelin larch forest: field evidence. Plant Soil 416, 409–418 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3217-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3217-x

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