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Adaptability of temperate forest soils to fire
Švábová, Bára ; Jílková, Veronika (advisor) ; Devetter, Miloslav (referee)
This research paper examines the adaptability of temperate forest soils to wildfire, as the frequency and intensity of wildfire in temperate forests is expected to increase with climate change. In addition, climate change is expected to shift the forest boundary northwards, so temperate forests are likely to be gradually replaced by Mediterranean forests, where fire frequency is currently high. How much a fire disturbs soil properties depends on the intensity, severity, frequency and climatic conditions following the fire. Fire in temperate forests primarily negatively affects the organic matter content, which further influences physico-chemical and biological properties. Thus, the most important factor in restoring the soil properties of temperate forests is the restoration of organic matter, which is linked to revegetation. After comparison with studies from boreal and Mediterranean forests, it was found that the recovery time of temperate forest soils is similar to that of boreal forest soils. Soil properties such as increased pyrogenic carbon content, rapid recovery or increased numbers of fungi and bacteria and increased aggregate stability may help in soil recovery after fire. This work is important in the context of climate change and could help in developing strategies that promote soil...
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Summer fluxes of nitrous oxide from boreal forest
Macháčová, Kateřina ; Pihlatie, M. ; Halmeenmäki, E. ; Pavelka, Marian ; Dušek, Jiří ; Bäck, J. ; Urban, Otmar
Boreal forests cover almost one-third of the global forest area, and results of soil measurements show them to be a natural source of the important greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Nevertheless, N2O fluxes from boreal tree species have been excluded from calculations of N2O exchanges from forest ecosystems. Therefore, our objective was to quantify and scale up the N2O fluxes from stems of mature silver birch (Betula pendula), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and Norway spruce (Picea abies), as well as from the forest floor of a boreal forest in Finland during June and July 2014. This study shows that boreal tree species emit N2O from their stems under natural field conditions and significantly contribute up to 8% of forest floor fluxes of N2O. Spruce trees seem to be the strongest N2O emitter among the studied tree species. Moreover, the N2O flux rates from both coniferous tree species increased with decreasing soil water content. This study highlights the necessity to include N2O fluxes from trees within the total greenhouse gas budget of forest ecosystems.
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