Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A Review
The frequency of forest fires has increased dramatically due to climate change. The occurrence of forest fires affects the carbon and nitrogen cycles and react to climate change to form a positive feedback mechanism. These effects further impact the distribution of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Forests |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/15/3/501 |
| _version_ | 1797240962188050432 |
|---|---|
| author | Jing Liu Xiaoying Li Tao Xu Yilun Han Jingtao Li Yang Shen Kui Chen |
| author_facet | Jing Liu Xiaoying Li Tao Xu Yilun Han Jingtao Li Yang Shen Kui Chen |
| author_sort | Jing Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The frequency of forest fires has increased dramatically due to climate change. The occurrence of forest fires affects the carbon and nitrogen cycles and react to climate change to form a positive feedback mechanism. These effects further impact the distribution of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and the soil microbial community structure. In addition, permafrost degradation can significantly affect the microorganisms in the soil. Based on these findings, this review examines the effects of fire intensity and post-fire recovery time on permafrost, the soil microbial community, MBC, MBN, and their interrelationships. This review demonstrated that (1) fires alter the condition of surface vegetation, reduce the organic layer thickness, redistribute snow, accelerate permafrost degradation, and even lead to permanent changes, where the restoration of the pre-fire state would require several decades or even centuries; (2) soil microbial community structure, soil MBC, and MBN negatively correlate with fire intensity, and the effects become more pronounced with increasing fire intensity; and (3) the structural diversity and stability of the soil microbial community were improved with time, and the amount of MBC and MBN increases as the years after a fire go by; it would still take more than ten years to recover to the pre-fire level. However, the relationship between permafrost degradation and soil microbes after forest fires is still unclear due to a lack of quantitative research on the mechanisms underlying the changes in soil microorganisms resulting from fire-induced permafrost degradation. Therefore, expanding quantitative studies and analyses of the mechanisms of interactions between forest fires, permafrost, and soil microorganisms can provide a scientific basis for understanding ecosystem carbon pools and dual-carbon targets in Arctic–boreal permafrost regions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:15:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67d3583f1ca44c77b2a5806a69f3b78c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:15:46Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-67d3583f1ca44c77b2a5806a69f3b78c2024-03-27T13:41:46ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072024-03-0115350110.3390/f15030501Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A ReviewJing Liu0Xiaoying Li1Tao Xu2Yilun Han3Jingtao Li4Yang Shen5Kui Chen6Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaThe frequency of forest fires has increased dramatically due to climate change. The occurrence of forest fires affects the carbon and nitrogen cycles and react to climate change to form a positive feedback mechanism. These effects further impact the distribution of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and the soil microbial community structure. In addition, permafrost degradation can significantly affect the microorganisms in the soil. Based on these findings, this review examines the effects of fire intensity and post-fire recovery time on permafrost, the soil microbial community, MBC, MBN, and their interrelationships. This review demonstrated that (1) fires alter the condition of surface vegetation, reduce the organic layer thickness, redistribute snow, accelerate permafrost degradation, and even lead to permanent changes, where the restoration of the pre-fire state would require several decades or even centuries; (2) soil microbial community structure, soil MBC, and MBN negatively correlate with fire intensity, and the effects become more pronounced with increasing fire intensity; and (3) the structural diversity and stability of the soil microbial community were improved with time, and the amount of MBC and MBN increases as the years after a fire go by; it would still take more than ten years to recover to the pre-fire level. However, the relationship between permafrost degradation and soil microbes after forest fires is still unclear due to a lack of quantitative research on the mechanisms underlying the changes in soil microorganisms resulting from fire-induced permafrost degradation. Therefore, expanding quantitative studies and analyses of the mechanisms of interactions between forest fires, permafrost, and soil microorganisms can provide a scientific basis for understanding ecosystem carbon pools and dual-carbon targets in Arctic–boreal permafrost regions.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/15/3/501forest firesfire intensitypermafrost degradationsoil microbial community structureMBCMBN |
| spellingShingle | Jing Liu Xiaoying Li Tao Xu Yilun Han Jingtao Li Yang Shen Kui Chen Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A Review Forests forest fires fire intensity permafrost degradation soil microbial community structure MBC MBN |
| title | Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A Review |
| title_full | Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A Review |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A Review |
| title_short | Effects of Forest Fires on Boreal Permafrost and Soil Microorganisms: A Review |
| title_sort | effects of forest fires on boreal permafrost and soil microorganisms a review |
| topic | forest fires fire intensity permafrost degradation soil microbial community structure MBC MBN |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/15/3/501 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jingliu effectsofforestfiresonborealpermafrostandsoilmicroorganismsareview AT xiaoyingli effectsofforestfiresonborealpermafrostandsoilmicroorganismsareview AT taoxu effectsofforestfiresonborealpermafrostandsoilmicroorganismsareview AT yilunhan effectsofforestfiresonborealpermafrostandsoilmicroorganismsareview AT jingtaoli effectsofforestfiresonborealpermafrostandsoilmicroorganismsareview AT yangshen effectsofforestfiresonborealpermafrostandsoilmicroorganismsareview AT kuichen effectsofforestfiresonborealpermafrostandsoilmicroorganismsareview |