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Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Long-term impact of severe wildfire and post-wildfire salvage logging on macroinvertebrate assemblage structure in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains

Amanda M. Martens https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7838-3342 A F , Uldis Silins A , Heather C. Proctor https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4920-9556 B , Chris H. S. Williams A , Michael J. Wagner C , Monica B. Emelko D and Micheal Stone E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada.

B Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.

C Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Calgary, AB T3L 3M4, Canada.

D Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.

E Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.

F Corresponding author. Email: amartens@ualberta.ca

International Journal of Wildland Fire 28(10) 738-749 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18177
Submitted: 4 October 2018  Accepted: 23 June 2019   Published: 19 September 2019

Journal Compilation © IAWF 2019 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

Wildfire is an important natural disturbance on forested landscapes influencing both physical and biological processes. The Lost Creek wildfire was one of the most severe on Alberta’s eastern slopes and provided a unique opportunity to assess the long-term impacts of wildfire and post-wildfire salvage logging on northern Rocky Mountain catchments. Macroinvertebrate sampling conducted 8 years after the wildfire indicated distinct macroinvertebrate assemblages in reference, burned, and burned and salvage-logged catchments. Reference catchments were characterised by more sensitive taxa (e.g. stoneflies) and had the lowest abundance of macroinvertebrates. Burned catchments had the greatest abundance of macroinvertebrates and were characterised by greater abundance of chironomids and caddisflies. Burned and salvage-logged catchments supported high numbers of riffle beetles and crane flies. The unique assemblage structures between catchments indicate different mechanisms drive the ecological response in wildfire-affected catchments. Resource availability was an important driver of assemblage structure in the more productive burned catchments and habitat quality was a dominant driver in the burned and salvage-logged catchments. Despite the legacy effects observed in this study, fire-affected catchments still supported sensitive taxa and functional macroinvertebrate assemblages.

Additional keywords: natural disturbance, stream ecology.


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