Effects of fire and fire-induced changes in soil properties on post-burn soil respiration

Burning boreal forest soils reduces post-fire respiration by 16%, suggesting that carbon (C) lost during wildfires may be partially offset by slower decomposition rates. Laboratory burns on organic-rich and sandy soil cores from Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, revealed that fire increases soil pH and alters C:N ratios, while also shifting the balance between fast- and slow-cycling C pools. These changes imply that future wildfire regimes—driven by climate-induced shifts toward more frequent and severe fires—will influence boreal forest C storage both through direct combustion losses and indirect effects on microbial respiration. The study highlights the need to integrate soil property changes with microbial community data to better predict post-fire C cycling dynamics.

Johnson, D. B., Yedinak, K. M., Sulman, B. N., Berry, T. D., Kruger, K., & Whitman, T. (2024). Effects of fire and fire-induced changes in soil properties on post-burn soil respiration. Fire Ecology, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00328-1