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Research article2003Peer reviewed

Long-term effects of wildfire on ecosystem properties across an island area gradient

Wardle, DA; Hornberg, G; Zackrisson, O; Kalela-Brundin, M; Coomes, DA

Abstract

Boreal forest soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle by functioning as a large terrestrial carbon sink or source, and the alteration of fire regime through global change phenomena may influence this role. We studied a system of forested lake islands in the boreal zone of Sweden for which fire frequency increases with increasing island size. Large islands supported higher plant productivity and litter decomposition rates than did smaller ones, and, with increasing time since fire, litter decomposition rates were suppressed sooner than was ecosystem productivity. This contributes to greater carbon storage with increasing time since fire; for every century without a major fire, an additional 0.5 kilograms per square meter of carbon becomes stored in the humus

Published in

Science
2003, volume: 300, number: 5621, pages: 972-975
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

SLU Authors

  • Zackrisson, Olle

    • Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

  • Hörnberg, Greger

    • Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

  • Wardle, David

    • Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1082709

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/30