Dataset Information

The combined effect of fire and nitrogen addition on biodiversity and herbaceous aboveground productivity in a coastal shrubland.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Fire and nitrogen (N) deposition each impact biodiversity and ecosystem productivity. However, the effect of N deposition on ecosystem recovery after fire is still far from understood, especially in coastal wetlands.

Methods

We selected a typical coastal shrubland to simulate three N deposition levels (0, 10, and 20 g N m^-2 year^-1) under two different burned conditions (unburned and burned) in the Yellow River Delta of North China. Soil properties, soil microbial biodiversity, shrub growth parameters, herbaceous biodiversity, and aboveground productivity were determined after experimental treatments for 1 year.

Results

We found that fire had a stronger influence on the ecosystem than N addition. One year after the fire, shrub growth had significantly decreased, while soil pH, soil electrical conductivity, herbaceous biodiversity, soil microbial biodiversity, and herbaceous aboveground productivity significantly increased. Conversely, a single year of N addition only slightly increased herbaceous aboveground productivity. The combined effect of fire and N addition was only significant for fungus biodiversity and otherwise had minimal influence. Interestingly, we found that herbaceous aboveground productivity was positively associated with fungal community diversity under unburned conditions but not in burned shrublands. Fire showed a great impact on soil parameters and biodiversity in the coastal wetland ecosystem even after a full year of recovery.

Discussion

Fire may also diminish the influence of several belowground factors on herbaceous aboveground productivity, which ultimately reduces recovery and stability. Appropriate N addition may be an effective way to improve the ecosystem productivity in a wetland dominated by shrub species.

SUBMITTER: Qi L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10497117 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The combined effect of fire and nitrogen addition on biodiversity and herbaceous aboveground productivity in a coastal shrubland.

Qi Luyu L Song Yixin Y Zhang Puyi P Sun Wenlong W Wang Wei W Yi Shijie S Li Jing J Liu Haifang H Bi Zhenggang Z Du Ning N Guo Weihua W

Frontiers in plant science 20230829

<h4>Introduction</h4>Fire and nitrogen (N) deposition each impact biodiversity and ecosystem productivity. However, the effect of N deposition on ecosystem recovery after fire is still far from understood, especially in coastal wetlands.<h4>Methods</h4>We selected a typical coastal shrubland to simulate three N deposition levels (0, 10, and 20 g N m<sup>-2</sup> year<sup>-1</sup>) under two different burned conditions (unburned and burned) in the Yellow River Delta of North China. Soil propertie ...[more]

PMID: 37705707

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Project description:Season of fire has marked effects on floristic composition in fire-prone Mediterranean-climate shrublands. In these winter-rainfall systems, summer-autumn fires lead to optimal recruitment of overstorey proteoid shrubs (non-sprouting, slow-maturing, serotinous Proteaceae) which are important to the conservation of floral diversity. We explored whether fire season has similar effects on early establishment of five proteoid species in the eastern coastal part of the Cape Floral Kingdom (South Africa) where rainfall occurs year-round and where weather conducive to fire and the actual incidence of fire are largely aseasonal. We surveyed recruitment success (ratio of post-fire recruits to pre-fire parents) of proteoids after fires in different seasons. We also planted proteoid seeds into exclosures, designed to prevent predation by small mammals and birds, in cleared (intended to simulate fire) fynbos shrublands at different sites in each of four seasons and monitored their germination and survival to one year post-planting (hereafter termed 'recruitment'). Factors (in decreasing order of importance) affecting recruitment success in the post-fire surveys were species, pre-fire parent density, post-fire age of the vegetation at the time of assessment, and fire season, whereas rainfall (for six months post-fire) and fire return interval (>7 years) had little effect. In the seed-planting experiment, germination occurred during the cooler months and mostly within two months of planting, except for summer-plantings, which took 2-3 months longer to germinate. Although recruitment success differed significantly among planting seasons, sites and species, significant interactions occurred among the experimental factors. In both the post-fire surveys and seed planting experiment, recruitment success in relation to fire- or planting season varied greatly within and among species and sites. Results of these two datasets were furthermore inconsistent, suggesting that proteoid recruitment responses are not related to the season of fire. Germination appeared less rainfall-dependent than in winter-rainfall shrublands, suggesting that summer drought-avoiding dormancy is limited and has less influence on variation in recruitment success among fire seasons. The varied response of proteoid recruitment to fire season (or its simulation) implies that burning does not have to be restricted to particular seasons in eastern coastal fynbos, affording more flexibility for fire management than in shrublands associated with winter rainfall.

Dataset Information

The combined effect of fire and nitrogen addition on biodiversity and herbaceous aboveground productivity in a coastal shrubland.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

The combined effect of fire and nitrogen addition on biodiversity and herbaceous aboveground productivity in a coastal shrubland.

Similar Datasets

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