Microbial communities of upland peat swamps were no different 1 year after a hazard reduction burn
Nicole A. Christiansen
A D , Kirstie A. Fryirs B , Timothy J. Green A C and Grant C. Hose A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia.
B Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia.
C Present address: Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5, Canada.
D Corresponding author. Email: nicole.christiansen@hdr.mq.edu.au
International Journal of Wildland Fire 29(11) 1021-1028 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF20023
Submitted: 19 February 2020 Accepted: 19 July 2020 Published: 7 August 2020
Abstract
Fire in wetlands is poorly understood, yet hazard reduction burns are a common management practice and bushfires are becoming increasingly prevalent because of climate change. Fire may have long-lasting implications for the microbial component of these wetland ecosystems that regulate carbon and nutrient cycling. The extremely fire-prone Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in south-eastern Australia contains hundreds of endangered peat-forming upland swamps that regularly experience both bushfires and hazard reduction burns. In a before–after control–impact study, we surveyed the sediment microbial community of these swamps to test the impact of a low-intensity hazard reduction burn. Along with sediment pH, moisture and organic content, we measured gene abundances including those relating to carbon cycling (quantitative PCR (qPCR) of pmoA, mcrA, bacterial 16S rRNA and archaeal 16S rRNA), and bacteria community fingerprint (terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP)). One year after the hazard reduction burn, there were no significant differences in the gene abundances or microbial community fingerprint that could be attributed to the fire, suggesting that the hazard reduction burn did not have a long-term impact on these microbial communities.
Additional keywords: Blue Mountains, fire, peatlands, prescribed fire, sediment microbe community, Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone, wetland.
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