Post-wildfire soil and plant foliar nutrient ratios and soil fungi : bacterial ratios in alpine meadows on the southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Lin Zhang A , Lijuan Liu A , Kaiwen Pan A D , Wei Li A , Yanjie Wang A , Mingrui Deng A , Jiguo Xia B and Xu Yang C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilisation and Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9, 4th Section of South Renmin Road, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China.
B Forestry Administration of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, No. 9 Guangming Road, Kangting 626000, People’s Republic of China.
C Forestry Administration of Daofu County, No. 9 South Jiefang Road, Daofu 626400, People’s Republic of China.
D Corresponding author. Email: pankw@cib.ac.cn
International Journal of Wildland Fire 24(7) 933-939 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF14147
Submitted: 22 August 2014 Accepted: 29 April 2015 Published: 23 June 2015
Abstract
Wildfire is increasingly considered as a common ecological phenomenon in grassland. However, little is known about its effects on soil and plant nutrient ratios, especially in alpine ecosystems where wildfires are common. In the present study, nutrient ratios of the post-wildfire surface soil (0–5 cm) and nine dominant plant species leaves, in addition to soil fungi : bacterial ratios (F : B ratios), were investigated in the alpine meadows on the south-eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, approximately 20 months after a high-severity wildfire. The results indicated that the burned sites had lower soil nitrogen : phosphorus (N : P) and nitrogen : potassium (N : K) ratios compared with unburned sites. Moreover, foliar N concentrations were lower on burned than unburned sites, but foliar N : P ratios were not different. Compared with the unburned sites, greater foliar K concentrations and lower N : K ratios were observed in burned sites. The idiosyncratic responses of foliar nutrient ratios to wildfire varied greatly, especially N and related nutrient ratios with plant species. Soil F : B ratios were positively correlated with soil C : N and C : P ratios, whereas they were negatively correlated with soil N : P and N : K ratios. The results of the present study suggest that there is reduced supply capacity of soil N for plants relative to soil P and K in the post-fire alpine meadow, which could have potential ecological implications in this region.
Additional keywords: alpine ecosystem, biogeochemical cycle of elements, south-western China.
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