Resilience of temperate peatland vegetation communities to wildfire depends upon burn severity and pre-fire species composition.

ABSTRACT: Peatland ecosystems are of global conservation and environmental importance storing globally significant amounts of ancient carbon, regulating regional temperatures and hydrological regimes, and supporting unique biodiversity. Livestock grazing, land-use change, drainage, nutrient and acid deposition, and wildfire threaten the composition and function of many peatlands including those in the uplands of the United Kingdom. Presently, little is known about either the short- or long-term effects of wildfires within these systems in the UK. Our study aimed to evaluate how plant communities respond to wildfires across a range of vegetation communities, soil types, and burn severities. We evaluated wildfire burn severity using the ground-based Composite Burn Index adapted for treeless peatlands.

SUBMITTER: Davies GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10085816 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature