Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal Mountain
In the context of global warming and increasing wildfire occurrence, this study aims to examine, for the first time, the changes in multi-level biodiversity and key soil features related to soil functioning in a burned Mediterranean beech forest. Two years after the 2017 wildfire, changes between bu...
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/9/983 |
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| author | Adriano Stinca Maria Ravo Rossana Marzaioli Giovanna Marchese Angela Cordella Flora A. Rutigliano Assunta Esposito |
| author_facet | Adriano Stinca Maria Ravo Rossana Marzaioli Giovanna Marchese Angela Cordella Flora A. Rutigliano Assunta Esposito |
| author_sort | Adriano Stinca |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the context of global warming and increasing wildfire occurrence, this study aims to examine, for the first time, the changes in multi-level biodiversity and key soil features related to soil functioning in a burned Mediterranean beech forest. Two years after the 2017 wildfire, changes between burned and unburned plots of beech forest were analyzed for plant communities (vascular plant and cover, bryophytes diversity, structural, chorological, and ecological variables) and soil features (main chemical properties, microbial biomass and activity, bacterial community composition, and diversity), through a synchronic study. Fire-induced changes in the micro-environmental conditions triggered a secondary succession process with colonization by many native pioneer plant species. Indeed, higher frequency (e.g., <i>Scrophularia vernalis</i> L., <i>Rubus hirtus</i> Waldst. and Kit. group, and <i>Funaria hygrometrica</i> Hedw.) or coverage (e.g., <i>Verbascum thapsus</i> L. subsp. <i>thapsus</i> and <i>Digitalis micrantha</i> Roth ex Schweigg.) of the species was observed in the burned plots, whereas the typical forest species showed a reduction in frequency, but not in cover, except for <i>Fagus sylvatica</i> subsp. <i>sylvatica</i>. Overall, an increase in plant species and family richness was found in the burned plots, mainly in the herbaceous and bryophyte layers, compared to the unburned plots. Burned plots showed an increase in therophytes, chamaephytes, cosmopolites, steno-Mediterranean and Atlantic species, and a decrease in geophytes and Eurasiatic plants. Significant differences were found in burned vs. control soils for 10 phyla, 40 classes, 79 orders, 145 families, 342 genera, and 499 species of bacteria, with about 50% of each taxon over-represented and 50% under-represented in burned than in control. Changes in bacterial richness within several families (reduction in Acidobacteriaceae, Solibacteraceae, Rhodospirillaceae, and Sinobacteraceae; increase in Micrococcaceae, Comamonadaceae, Oxalobacteraceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Hymenobacteraceae, Sphingomonadaceae, Cytophagaceae, Nocardioidaceae, Opitutaceae, Solirubrobacteraceae, and Bacillaceae) in burned soil were related to fire-induced chemical changes of soil (pH, electrical conductivity, and cation exchange capacity). No evident effect of the wildfire was found on organic C content, microbial biomass (total microbial carbon and fungal mycelium) and activity, and microbial indexes (fungal percentage of microbial C, metabolic quotient, and quotient of mineralization), suggesting that soil functions remained unchanged in the burned area. Therefore, we hypothesize that, without an additional disturbance event, a re-establishment of beech forest can be expected but with an unpredictable time of post-fire succession. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-fe2ad90a43b3461e9876873fc3e8e1df2023-11-20T13:26:30ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072020-09-0111998310.3390/f11090983Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal MountainAdriano Stinca0Maria Ravo1Rossana Marzaioli2Giovanna Marchese3Angela Cordella4Flora A. Rutigliano5Assunta Esposito6Department of Environmental Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, ItalyGenomix4Life S.r.l., Via Allende, 84081 Baronissi (Salerno), ItalyDepartment of Environmental Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, ItalyGenomix4Life S.r.l., Via Allende, 84081 Baronissi (Salerno), ItalyGenomix4Life S.r.l., Via Allende, 84081 Baronissi (Salerno), ItalyDepartment of Environmental Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, ItalyIn the context of global warming and increasing wildfire occurrence, this study aims to examine, for the first time, the changes in multi-level biodiversity and key soil features related to soil functioning in a burned Mediterranean beech forest. Two years after the 2017 wildfire, changes between burned and unburned plots of beech forest were analyzed for plant communities (vascular plant and cover, bryophytes diversity, structural, chorological, and ecological variables) and soil features (main chemical properties, microbial biomass and activity, bacterial community composition, and diversity), through a synchronic study. Fire-induced changes in the micro-environmental conditions triggered a secondary succession process with colonization by many native pioneer plant species. Indeed, higher frequency (e.g., <i>Scrophularia vernalis</i> L., <i>Rubus hirtus</i> Waldst. and Kit. group, and <i>Funaria hygrometrica</i> Hedw.) or coverage (e.g., <i>Verbascum thapsus</i> L. subsp. <i>thapsus</i> and <i>Digitalis micrantha</i> Roth ex Schweigg.) of the species was observed in the burned plots, whereas the typical forest species showed a reduction in frequency, but not in cover, except for <i>Fagus sylvatica</i> subsp. <i>sylvatica</i>. Overall, an increase in plant species and family richness was found in the burned plots, mainly in the herbaceous and bryophyte layers, compared to the unburned plots. Burned plots showed an increase in therophytes, chamaephytes, cosmopolites, steno-Mediterranean and Atlantic species, and a decrease in geophytes and Eurasiatic plants. Significant differences were found in burned vs. control soils for 10 phyla, 40 classes, 79 orders, 145 families, 342 genera, and 499 species of bacteria, with about 50% of each taxon over-represented and 50% under-represented in burned than in control. Changes in bacterial richness within several families (reduction in Acidobacteriaceae, Solibacteraceae, Rhodospirillaceae, and Sinobacteraceae; increase in Micrococcaceae, Comamonadaceae, Oxalobacteraceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Hymenobacteraceae, Sphingomonadaceae, Cytophagaceae, Nocardioidaceae, Opitutaceae, Solirubrobacteraceae, and Bacillaceae) in burned soil were related to fire-induced chemical changes of soil (pH, electrical conductivity, and cation exchange capacity). No evident effect of the wildfire was found on organic C content, microbial biomass (total microbial carbon and fungal mycelium) and activity, and microbial indexes (fungal percentage of microbial C, metabolic quotient, and quotient of mineralization), suggesting that soil functions remained unchanged in the burned area. Therefore, we hypothesize that, without an additional disturbance event, a re-establishment of beech forest can be expected but with an unpredictable time of post-fire succession.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/9/983bryophytic flora<i>Fagus sylvatica</i>Mediterranean ecosystemplant communitypost-fire secondary successionsoil bacterial community |
| spellingShingle | Adriano Stinca Maria Ravo Rossana Marzaioli Giovanna Marchese Angela Cordella Flora A. Rutigliano Assunta Esposito Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal Mountain Forests bryophytic flora <i>Fagus sylvatica</i> Mediterranean ecosystem plant community post-fire secondary succession soil bacterial community |
| title | Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal Mountain |
| title_full | Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal Mountain |
| title_fullStr | Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal Mountain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal Mountain |
| title_short | Changes in Multi-Level Biodiversity and Soil Features in a Burned Beech Forest in the Southern Italian Coastal Mountain |
| title_sort | changes in multi level biodiversity and soil features in a burned beech forest in the southern italian coastal mountain |
| topic | bryophytic flora <i>Fagus sylvatica</i> Mediterranean ecosystem plant community post-fire secondary succession soil bacterial community |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/9/983 |
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