Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest
14 Pág.
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| Language: | English |
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John Wiley & Sons
2014-07-01
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| Subjects: | Carbon C, Char, Coarse woody debris quality, Eucalypt forest, Fire regime, Nitrogen N, Prescribed fire frequency, Prescribed fire season, Pyrogenic carbon, Southeastern Australia, Wood decay, Wood density, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/344252 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008430 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001782 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84903826708 |
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dig-inia-es-10261-3442522024-05-15T20:40:36Z Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest Aponte, Cristina Tolhurst, Kevin G. Bennett, Lauren T. Department of Environment and Primary Industries (Australia) University of Melbourne Aponte, Cristina [0000-0002-8457-7573] Tolhurst, Kevin G. [0000-0003-3094-1867] Bennett, Lauren T. [0000-0003-2472-062X] Carbon C Char Coarse woody debris quality Eucalypt forest Fire regime Nitrogen N Prescribed fire frequency Prescribed fire season Pyrogenic carbon Southeastern Australia Wood decay Wood density 14 Pág. Previous studies have found negligible effects of single prescribed fires on coarse woody debris (CWD), but the cumulative effects of repeated low-intensity prescribed fires are unknown. This represents a knowledge gap for environmental management because repeated prescribed fires are a key tool for mitigating wildfire risk, and because CWD is recognized as critical to forest biodiversity and functioning. We examined the effects of repeated low-intensity prescribed fires on the attributes and stocks of (fallen) CWD in a mixed-species eucalypt forest of temperate Australia. Prescribed fire treatments were a factorial combination of two seasons (Autumn, Spring) and two frequencies (three yearly High, 10 yearly Low), were replicated over five study areas, and involved two to seven low-intensity fires over 27 years. Charring due to prescribed fires variously changed carbon and nitrogen concentrations and C to N ratios of CWD pieces depending on decay class, but did not affect mean wood density. CWD biomass and C and N stocks were significantly less in Fire than Control treatments. Decreases in total CWD C stocks of -8 Mg/ha in Fire treatments were not balanced by minor increases in pyrogenic (char) C (-0.3 Mg/ha). Effects of prescribed fire frequency and season included significantly less C and N stocks in rotten CWD in High than Low frequency treatments, and in the largest CWD pieces in Autumn than Spring treatments. Our study demonstrates that repeated low-intensity prescribed fires have the potential to significantly decrease CWD stocks, in pieces of all sizes and particularly decayed pieces, and to change CWD chemical attributes. CWD is at best a minor stock of pyrogenic C under such fire regimes. These findings suggest a potential trade-off in the management of temperate eucalypt forests between sustained reduction of wildfire risk, and the consequences of decreased CWD C stocks, and of changes in CWD as a habitat and biogeochemical substrate. Nonetheless, negative impacts on CWD of repeated low-intensity prescribed fires could be lessened by fire intervals of 10 rather than three years (to decrease losses of decayed CWD), and fires in moist rather than dry conditions (to conserve large CWD). This work was funded by Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI). We thank many personnel from DEPI's (then) Environmental Policy and Climate Change, Land and Fire, and Forests and Parks Divisions for supporting this study's measurements. We also thank many current and past staff from the regional DEPI, and from the University of Melbourne for maintaining, measuring, and documenting the prescribed fire treatments for over two decades, including J. Kellas, D. Oswin, A. Ashton, J. Najera, B. Smith, T. Baker, and M. Löw. No 2024-01-29T15:02:48Z 2024-01-29T15:02:48Z 2014-07-01 artículo http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 Ecological Applications 24(5): 976–989 (2014) 1051-0761 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/344252 10.1890/13-1426.1 1939-5582 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008430 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001782 25154091 2-s2.0-84903826708 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84903826708 en Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Agronomía Preprint https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1426.1open_in_newISSN1051-0761 Sí open John Wiley & Sons |
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Carbon C Char Coarse woody debris quality Eucalypt forest Fire regime Nitrogen N Prescribed fire frequency Prescribed fire season Pyrogenic carbon Southeastern Australia Wood decay Wood density Carbon C Char Coarse woody debris quality Eucalypt forest Fire regime Nitrogen N Prescribed fire frequency Prescribed fire season Pyrogenic carbon Southeastern Australia Wood decay Wood density |
| spellingShingle |
Carbon C Char Coarse woody debris quality Eucalypt forest Fire regime Nitrogen N Prescribed fire frequency Prescribed fire season Pyrogenic carbon Southeastern Australia Wood decay Wood density Carbon C Char Coarse woody debris quality Eucalypt forest Fire regime Nitrogen N Prescribed fire frequency Prescribed fire season Pyrogenic carbon Southeastern Australia Wood decay Wood density Aponte, Cristina Tolhurst, Kevin G. Bennett, Lauren T. Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest |
| description |
14 Pág. |
| author2 |
Department of Environment and Primary Industries (Australia) |
| author_facet |
Department of Environment and Primary Industries (Australia) Aponte, Cristina Tolhurst, Kevin G. Bennett, Lauren T. |
| format |
artículo |
| topic_facet |
Carbon C Char Coarse woody debris quality Eucalypt forest Fire regime Nitrogen N Prescribed fire frequency Prescribed fire season Pyrogenic carbon Southeastern Australia Wood decay Wood density |
| author |
Aponte, Cristina Tolhurst, Kevin G. Bennett, Lauren T. |
| author_sort |
Aponte, Cristina |
| title |
Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest |
| title_short |
Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest |
| title_full |
Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest |
| title_fullStr |
Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest |
| title_sort |
repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest |
| publisher |
John Wiley & Sons |
| publishDate |
2014-07-01 |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/344252 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008430 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001782 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84903826708 |
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AT apontecristina repeatedprescribedfiresdecreasestocksandchangeattributesofcoarsewoodydebrisinatemperateeucalyptforest AT tolhurstkeving repeatedprescribedfiresdecreasestocksandchangeattributesofcoarsewoodydebrisinatemperateeucalyptforest AT bennettlaurent repeatedprescribedfiresdecreasestocksandchangeattributesofcoarsewoodydebrisinatemperateeucalyptforest |
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1802819855335817216 |