Effects of fire severity and recovery time on organic carbon content of forest soil in Great Xing’an Mountains, China.

doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.201808.016

Abstract

Abstract: Fire is one of the major factors that alter structure and function of forest in the Great Xing’an Mountains, with consequences on soil carbon cycling in forests. In this study, we collected soil samples (layers O, A, AB, BC, and C) under different fire-severity levels (low, moderate, and high) and post-fire recovery times (1987-2012) in the forests of Great Xing’an Mountains. Analysis of variance and multiple comparison were used to analyze effects of fire severity and reco-very time on content of soil organic carbon. The results showed that soil organic carbon (SOC) content in layer O presented a rising trend under both moderate- and high-severity fire disturbances. The content of SOC in layers A and B decreased year by year under low- and moderate-severity fires, which ranked in the order: 3 years > 5 years > 10 years > over 10 years since fire. The content of SOC under high-severity fire presented an increasing trend within 10 years since fire distur-bance and then decreased rapidly over 10 years. The content of SOC in layer BC presented no obvious changes.

ZHANG Yu-jing, WU Zhi-wei, GU Xian-li, FU Jing-jing, YAN Sai-jia. Effects of fire severity and recovery time on organic carbon content of forest soil in Great Xing’an Mountains, China.[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018, 29(8): 2455-2462.

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