Wildfire-Driven Changes in Terrestrial Subsidies Shift Freshwater Microbial and Zooplankton Communities to New Compositional States.

ABSTRACT: Wildfire frequency and intensity are increasing globally, impacting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Deposition of burned materials into aquatic environments can affect biotic communities and nutrient cycling. We investigated how post-fire terrestrial deposition shapes microbial and zooplankton community composition and function across time by manipulating plant material amount (loading; 0-400 g) and chemical composition (burned vs. unburned) in 400 L experimental mesocosms over four months. Burning treatment had minimal effects (1.4%), while loading (6.6%) and time (19.2%) contributed significantly to free-living microbial community variation. Dramatic changes in environmental conditions and microbiome composition occurred at a 50-100 g loading threshold within 30 days. High-loading me

SUBMITTER: Demmel MY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12530278 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature