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Soil Nitrogen and Mercury Dynamics Seven Decades After a Fire Disturbance: a Case Study at Acadia National Park

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Abstract

Forest soils (mainly soil organic carbon) play an important role in the retention of nitrogen and mercury, and loss of the forest floor during wildfires can stimulate N and Hg losses. In this paper, we investigate long-term impacts of forest fire on soil N and Hg concentrations at Acadia National Park (ANP) in Maine. Acadia National Park experienced a severe fire in 1947. Within the national park, Hadlock Brook watershed was left unburned, whereas most of Cadillac Brook watershed was intensely burned, with substantial loss of the forest floor. Post-fire regeneration in Cadillac was mostly as hardwood species, whereas vegetation in Hadlock remained predominantly softwood. We sampled soils in both watersheds in 2015, approximately 70 years after the fire. The soils were analyzed for total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total mercury (THg), and methylmercury (MeHg) content. Compared to Hadlock, Cadillac soils had ~ 50% lower TC, ~ 40% lower TN, and ~ 50% lower THg content, reflecting the loss of forest floor 70 years ago. Methylmercury concentrations in Cadillac were approximately 2 times the concentrations in Hadlock, indicating that conditions were more conducive to methylation, potentially due to differences in forest type. Long-term comparisons of stream DOC, NO3−, and THg concentrations between the two watersheds demonstrated that concentrations were significantly lower in Cadillac Brook, reflecting greater retention in Cadillac and a legacy of lower atmospheric deposition in the hardwood as compared to softwood watershed. This study provides insights on the multi-decadal recovery from a stand-replacing disturbance and underscores the persistence of altered soil biogeochemistry.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Cheryl Spencer and Mike Handley for the assistance with field and laboratory work, and Tsutomu Ohno’s inputs in designing the study. We also thank Nina Caputo, Tyler Coleman, and Cheyenne Adams for their help in the field and laboratory, and Emma Albee for her efforts in the permit process for this research. This is MAFES publication 3651.

Funding

This research was supported by funding from the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES #ME0-41507 ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, 5755 Nutting Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Kaizad F. Patel, Ivan J. Fernandez & Sarah J. Nelson

  2. School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, 5763 Rogers Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Michael D. Jakubowski

  3. Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 5764 Sawyer Research Center, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Ivan J. Fernandez

  4. National Park Service, Acadia National Park, PO Box 177, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA

    William Gawley

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  1. Kaizad F. Patel
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Correspondence to Kaizad F. Patel.

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Patel, K.F., Jakubowski, M.D., Fernandez, I.J. et al. Soil Nitrogen and Mercury Dynamics Seven Decades After a Fire Disturbance: a Case Study at Acadia National Park. Water Air Soil Pollut 230, 29 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-019-4085-1

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