Microbial-mediated decomposition and nutrient mineralization are major drivers of forest productivity. As landscape-scale fuel reduction treatments are being implemented throughout the fire-prone western United States of America, it is important to evaluate operationally how these wildfire mitigation treatments alter belowground processes. We quantified these important belowground components before and after management-applied fuel treatments of thinning alone, thinning combined with prescribed fire, and prescribed fire in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands at the Southwest Plateau, Fire and Fire Surrogate site, Arizona. Fuel treatments did not alter pH, total carbon and nitrogen (N) concentrations, or base cations of the forest floor (O horizon) or mineral soil (0\uffe2\uff80\uff935 cm) during this 2-year study. In situ rates of net N mineralization and nitrification in the surface mineral soil (0\uffe2\uff80\uff9315 cm) increased 6 months after thinning with prescribed fire treatments; thinning only resulted in net N immobilization. The rates returned to pre-treatment levels after one year. Based on phospholipid fatty acid composition, microbial communities in treated areas were similar to untreated areas (control) in the surface organic horizon and mineral soil (0\uffe2\uff80\uff935 cm) after treatments. Soil potential enzyme activities were not significantly altered by any of the three fuel treatments. Our results suggest that a variety of one-time alternative fuel treatments can reduce fire hazard without degrading soil fertility.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Ecology", "Life on Land", "fuel treatments", "13. Climate action", "Forestry Sciences", "fuel treatments; nitrification; nitrogen mineralization; phospholipid fatty acids; soil enzymes", "Plant Biology", "phospholipid fatty acids", "15. Life on land", "soil enzymes", "nitrification", "nitrogen mineralization"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Overby, Steven T, Hart, Stephen C,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/7/2/45/pdf"}, {"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt54s4m5pt/qt54s4m5pt.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/f7020045"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Forests", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3390/f7020045", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/f7020045", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/f7020045"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-02-18T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3390/f7100244", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-26T16:20:45Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2016-10-21", "title": "Effect Of 40 And 80 Years Of Conifer Regrowth On Soil Microbial Activities And Community Structure In Subtropical Low Mountain Forests", "description": "The effects of long-term reforestation on soil microbial communities and biomass are poorly understood. This study was conducted on two coniferous plantations: Cunninghamia konishii Hayata, planted 40 years ago (CONIF-40), and Calocedrus formosana (Florin) Florin, planted 80 years ago (CONIF-80). An adjacent natural broadleaf forest (BROAD-Nat) was used as a control. We determined microbial biomass C and N contents, enzyme activities, and community composition (via phospholipid fatty acid [PLFA] assessment). Both microbial biomass and PLFA content were higher in the summer than in the winter and differed among the forests in summer only. Total PLFA, total bacterial, gram-positive bacterial, gram-negative bacterial, and vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal contents followed the same pattern. Total fungal content and the ratios of fungi to bacteria and of gram-positive to gram-negative bacteria were highest in CONIF-40, with no difference between the other forests. Principal component analysis of PLFA contents revealed that CONIF-40 communities were distinct from those of CONIF-80 and BROAD-Nat. Our results suggest that vegetation replacement during reforestation exerts a prolonged impact on the soil microbial community. The understory broadleaf shrubs and trees established after coniferous plantation reforestation may balance out the effects of coniferous litter, contributing to bacterial recovery.
", "keywords": ["0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "PLFA; microbial community; soil enzymes; forest"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/7/10/244/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/f7100244"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Forests", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3390/f7100244", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/f7100244", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/f7100244"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-10-21T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10259/7423", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-26T16:24:34Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-05-28", "title": "Evaluation of Biostimulation, Bioaugmentation, and Organic Amendments Application on the Bioremediation of Recalcitrant Hydrocarbons of Soil", "description": "In the present work, the operational conditions for improving the degradation rates of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs) in contaminated soil from a machinery park were optimized at a microcosms scale along a 90- days incubation period. In this study, bioremediation strategies and an organic amendment have been tested to verify the remediation of soil contaminated with different hydrocarbons, mineral oils, and heavy metals. Specifically, designed biostimulation and bioaugmentation strategies were compared with and without adding vermicompost. The polluted soil harboring multiple contaminants, partially attenuated for years, was used. The initial profile showed enrichment in heavy linear alkanes, suggesting a previous moderate weathering. The application of vermicompost increased five and two times the amounts of available phosphorus (P) and exchangeable potassium (K), respectively, as a direct consequence of the organic amendment addition. The microbial activity increased due to soil acidification, which influenced the solubility of P and other micronutrients. It also impacted the predominance and variability of the different microbial groups and the incubation, as reflected by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) results. An increase in the alkaline phosphatases and proteases linked to bacterial growth was displayed. This stimulation of microbial metabolism correlated with the degradation rates since TPHs degradation\u2019 efficiency after vermicompost addition reached 32.5% and 34.4% of the initial hydrocarbon levels for biostimulation and bioaugmentation, respectively. Although Polycyclic Aromatic", "keywords": ["Soil enzymes", "01 natural sciences", "Total petroleum hydrocarbons polluted soils", "Soil", "Bioaugmentation", "Alkanes", "Soil Pollutants", "Micronutrients", "Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons", "Materials", "Phospholipids", "Soil Microbiology", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Minerals", "Materiales", "Fatty Acids", "Phosphorus", "Phenanthrenes", "Hydrocarbons", "Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases", "6. Clean water", "Biostimulation", "Biodegradation", " Environmental", "Petroleum", "13. Climate action", "Phospholipid fatty acids", "Potassium", "Oils", "Biostimulation Bioaugmentation Phospholipid fatty acids Total petroleum hydrocarbons polluted soils Soil enzymes", "Peptide Hydrolases"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10259/7423"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/SSRN%20Electronic%20Journal", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10259/7423", "name": "item", "description": "10259/7423", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10259/7423"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+Soil+enzymes&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+Soil+enzymes&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+Soil+enzymes&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+Soil+enzymes&offset=4", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 4, "numberReturned": 4, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-07-26T17:13:07.211751Z"}