Version 1
: Received: 30 April 2024 / Approved: 1 May 2024 / Online: 1 May 2024 (08:18:06 CEST)
How to cite:
Dalias, P.; Hadjisterkotis, E.; Omirou, M.; Michaelidou, O.; Ioannides, I.; Neocleous, D.; Christou, A. Soil Respiration and Bacterial Changes after a Wildfire in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Preprints2024, 2024050066. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0066.v1
Dalias, P.; Hadjisterkotis, E.; Omirou, M.; Michaelidou, O.; Ioannides, I.; Neocleous, D.; Christou, A. Soil Respiration and Bacterial Changes after a Wildfire in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Preprints 2024, 2024050066. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0066.v1
Dalias, P.; Hadjisterkotis, E.; Omirou, M.; Michaelidou, O.; Ioannides, I.; Neocleous, D.; Christou, A. Soil Respiration and Bacterial Changes after a Wildfire in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Preprints2024, 2024050066. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0066.v1
APA Style
Dalias, P., Hadjisterkotis, E., Omirou, M., Michaelidou, O., Ioannides, I., Neocleous, D., & Christou, A. (2024). Soil Respiration and Bacterial Changes after a Wildfire in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0066.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Dalias, P., Damianos Neocleous and Anastasis Christou. 2024 "Soil Respiration and Bacterial Changes after a Wildfire in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0066.v1
Abstract
The work provides insights on the effect of fire on soil processes in Mediterranean-type ecosystems of Cyprus. Soil samples from mountainous sites that were subjected to a summer wildfire and adjacent control samples were collected. Incubations were used to estimate basal respiration and isolate soil CO2 release of heterotrophic microorganisms from autotrophic root respiration and heterotrophic respiration from litter decomposition. Physicochemical properties changes, bacteria community changes using DNA extraction and 16S rRNA gene analysis, and the effects of ash and fresh litter addition were studied to reveal the microbial composition and the post-fire soil function. Laboratory incubation showed that burned soils constantly showed higher microbial respiration rates compared with control unburned areas, even six months after fire. Adding ash to unburned samples increased microbial respiration, suggesting that increased nutrient availability positively corelates with increased release of CO2 from fire-affected soil. Elevated temperatures due to the wildfire exerted significant effects on the composition of soil bacterial community. Nevertheless, the wildfire did not affect the alpha-diversity of soil bacteria. New communities of microorganisms are still able to decompose fresh plant material after fire, but at a slower rate than natural pre-fire populations.
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
