Balancing economic, ecological, and social values has long been a challenge in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, where conflict over timber harvest and old\uffe2\uff80\uff90growth habitat on public lands has been contentious for the past several decades. The Northwest Forest Plan, adopted two decades ago to guide management on federal lands, is currently being revised as the region searches for a balance between sustainable timber yields and habitat for sensitive species. In addition, climate change imposes a high degree of uncertainty on future forest productivity, sustainability of timber harvest, wildfire risk, and species habitat. We evaluated the long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term, landscape\uffe2\uff80\uff90scale trade\uffe2\uff80\uff90offs among carbon (C) storage, timber yield, and old forest habitat given projected climate change and shifts in forest management policy across 2.1 million hectares of forests in the Oregon Coast Range. Projections highlight the divergence between private and public lands under business\uffe2\uff80\uff90as\uffe2\uff80\uff90usual forest management, where private industrial forests are heavily harvested and many public (especially federal) lands increase C and old forest over time but provide little timber. Three alternative management scenarios altering the amount and type of timber harvest show widely varying levels of ecosystem C and old\uffe2\uff80\uff90forest habitat. On federal lands, ecological forestry practices also allowed a simultaneous increase in old forest and natural early\uffe2\uff80\uff90seral habitat. The ecosystem C implications of shifts away from current practices were large, with current practices retaining up to 105\uffc2\uffa0Tg more C than the alternative scenarios by the end of the century. Our results suggest climate change is likely to increase forest productivity by 30\uffe2\uff80\uff9341% and total ecosystem C storage by 11\uffe2\uff80\uff9315% over the next century as warmer winter temperatures allow greater forest productivity in cooler months. These gains in C storage are unlikely to be offset by wildfire under climate change, due to the legacy of management and effective fire suppression. Our scenarios of future conditions can inform policy makers, land managers, and the public about the potential effects of land management alternatives, climate change, and the trade\uffe2\uff80\uff90offs that are inherent to management and policy in the region.
", "keywords": ["Carbon sequestration", "Forest management -- Economic aspects", "0106 biological sciences", "Climate Change", "Forestry", "Forest fires -- Effect of climate change on", "Forests", "15. Life on land", "Wood", "01 natural sciences", "Carbon", "Trees", "Oregon", "Forest management -- Social aspects", "13. Climate action", "Northwest Forest Plan (U.S.)", "Environmental Sciences", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1460"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Ecological%20Applications", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/eap.1460", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/eap.1460", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/eap.1460"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-02-17T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1007/s10980-016-0447-x", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:15:09Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2016-10-04", "title": "Bending The Carbon Curve: Fire Management For Carbon Resilience Under Climate Change", "description": "Forest landscapes are increasingly managed for fire resilience, particularly in the western US which has recently experienced drought and widespread, high-severity wildfires. Fuel reduction treatments have been effective where fires coincide with treated areas. Fuel treatments also have the potential to reduce drought-mortality if tree density is uncharacteristically\u00a0high, and to increase long-term carbon storage by reducing high-severity fire probability. Assess whether fuel treatments reduce fire intensity and spread\u00a0and increase carbon storage under climate change. We used a simulation modeling approach that couples a landscape model of forest disturbance and succession with an ecosystem model of carbon dynamics (Century), to quantify the interacting effects of climate change, fuel treatments and wildfire for carbon storage potential in a mixed-conifer forest in the western USA. Our results suggest that fuel treatments have the potential to \u2018bend the C curve\u2019, maintaining carbon resilience despite climate change and climate-related changes to the fire regime. Simulated fuel treatments resulted in reduced fire spread and severity. There was partial compensation of C lost during fuel treatments with increased growth of residual stock due to greater available soil water, as well as a shift in species composition to more drought- and fire-tolerant Pinus jeffreyi at the expense of shade-tolerant, fire-susceptible Abies concolor. Forest resilience to global change can be achieved through management that reduces drought stress and supports the establishment and dominance of tree species that are more fire- and drought-resistant, however, achieving a net C gain from fuel treatments may take decades.", "keywords": ["Carbon sequestration", "0106 biological sciences", "Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment", "Forest fires -- West (U.S.) -- Prevention and control", "Environmental Studies", "Natural Resources Management and Policy", "Forest fires -- Effect of climate change on", "15. Life on land", "Forest fires -- Simulation modelling", "01 natural sciences", "6. Clean water", "Wildfires -- Lake Tahoe Basin", "13. Climate action", "Forest management -- Environmental aspects", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-016-0447-x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Landscape%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s10980-016-0447-x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s10980-016-0447-x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s10980-016-0447-x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-10-04T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1007/s11104-016-2995-x", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:15:18Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2016-07-26", "title": "Prescribed Fire Alters Foliar Stoichiometry And Nutrient Resorption In The Understorey Of A Subtropical Eucalypt Forest", "description": "Changes to soil nutrient concentrations following vegetation fire may affect biogeochemical cycling and foliar stoichiometry. Phosphorus (P)-limited plant communities are widespread and may be particularly sensitive to fire, but have received relatively little research attention in this context. We measured soil nutrient concentrations, foliar carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and P stoichiometry of understorey plants in a recently, frequently burned eucalyptus forest area in south-east Queensland, Australia, and compared these properties to an adjacent unburned area. Surface soils in the area subjected to relatively recent, frequent prescribed burning had higher P concentrations than those in the adjacent unburned area, although this did not include the \u2018available\u2019 forms of P. All plant species had high foliar N:P ratios, regardless of fire history, consistent with widespread P-limitation. Some species had lower foliar N:P ratios in the burned area, indicating interspecific variation in nutrient requirements and burning responses. The nutrient resorption proficiencies of a grasstree (Xanthorrhoea johnsonii Lee) were lower in the burned area, suggesting that the nutrient cycling of this species was made less conservative by burning. The stoichiometric patterns observed in the responses of plants to prescribed burning highlight the significance of fire in this P-impoverished plant community, and suggest the potential value of stoichiometric approaches in fire ecology.", "keywords": ["580", "Agricultural", "ecological stoichiometry", "Forest meteorology. Forest microclimatology", "FoR 07 (Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences)", "phosphorus limitation", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Environmental sciences", "fire ecology", "Biological sciences", "Research. Experimentation", "veterinary and food sciences", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Soils. Soil science", "Other environmental sciences not elsewhere classified", "FoR 05 (Environmental Sciences)", "FoR 06 (Biological Sciences)", "forest fire"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2995-x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Plant%20and%20Soil", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s11104-016-2995-x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s11104-016-2995-x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s11104-016-2995-x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-07-26T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.11.016", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:16:29Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2004-01-23", "title": "Inorganic And Organic N Pools In Soils Burned Or Heated: Immediate Alterations And Evolution After Forest Wildfires", "description": "Open AccessPeer reviewed", "keywords": ["Nitrogen", "Forest fires", "Residual N", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Hydrolysable N", "15. Life on land", "Soil fertility", "01 natural sciences", "6. Clean water", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Recalcitrant and labile N", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.11.016"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Geoderma", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.11.016", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.11.016", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.11.016"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2004-08-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.02.021", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:17:04Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2012-03-08", "title": "Biodegradability Of Organic Matter In Fire-Affected Mineral Soils Of Southern Spain", "description": "Open AccessIncorporated into the soil, naturally formed pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) is considered as highly recalcitrant, but direct estimation of PyOM decomposition rates are scarce. With this aim in mind, we subjected organic matter (OM) of fire-affected and unaffected soils to biochemical degradation under laboratory conditions and monitored CO2 production over a period of seven months. The soils derived from the Sierra de Aznalc\u00f3llar, Southern Spain, and were sampled 4 weeks and 5 years after a severe fire. Virtual fractionation of the solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of the fire-affected soils into fire-unaffected soil organic matter (SOM) and PyOM yielded charcoal C contributions of 30 to 50% to the total organic C (Corg) of the sample. Fitting the respiration data with a double exponential decay model revealed a fast carbon flush during the first three weeks of the experiment. Solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy evidenced the contribution of aromatic moieties of the PyOM to this initial carbon release and to the biosynthesis of new microbial biomass. Considering the loss of microbiologically easily available fresh litter by wildfires, this relatively labile PyOM fraction may contribute to a fast recovery of a fire-affected site. The input of PyOM resulted in an increase of the mean residence time (MRT) of the slow OM pool of the soil by a factor of 3-4 to approximately 40 years. Assuming that under field conditions, the microbial activity corresponds to approximately 10% of the value observed under optimal laboratory conditions, MRTs of 500-600 years were estimated for the slow PyOM pool. The fact that these times are only 5-6 times longer than those calculated for fire-unaffected SOM rises doubts about the presumed big influence of PyOM as an additional C-sink in soils. On the other hand, although being small the difference in turnover rates is evident and has some major implication with respect to long-term alteration of the chemical composition of OM in fire-affected soils. In case of a reduced input of fresh litter, the preferential degradation of fire-unaffected SOM yields in a selective preservation of PyOM. To what extent this can alter soil properties, has still to be elucidated. In cultivated soils rarely affected by fire or with low charcoal input after burning of harvest, the impact of PyOM accumulation may be of minor importance. On the other hand, for soils regularly amended with high amounts of biochar or subjected to frequent natural or prescribed burnings, it may be an important factor.", "keywords": ["Respiration experiments", "Biochar", "Soil organic matter turnover", "Forest fires", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Solid-state NMR spectroscopy", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Virtual fractionation of SOM", "15. Life on land", "Pyrogenic organic matter"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.02.021"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20Biology%20and%20Biochemistry", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.02.021", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.02.021", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.02.021"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/ejss.13290", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:18:42Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-07-25", "title": "Post\u2010fire recovery of soil microbial functions is promoted by plant growth", "description": "AbstractForest fires can alter the biological properties of soils. There is increasing evidence that fires cause a shift in soil microbial communities, which play a central role in forest carbon and nutrient cycling. In this study, we evaluate the effect of soil heating on soil microbial functions. We hypothesised that fire reduces the catabolic functional diversity of soil, and that post\uffe2\uff80\uff90fire plant growth enhances its recovery. To test this, we experimentally heated a forest soil at 200\uffc2\uffb0C (T200) or 450\uffc2\uffb0C (T450). Heated and unheated soils were then incubated in tubs with or without live grass (Lolium perenne L.). We determined the functional profiles by measuring the substrate\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced respiration (SIR) using the Microresp\uffe2\uff84\uffa2 technique and analysed nutrient availability at the end of the incubation. At both temperatures, soil heating altered the respiration responses to substrate additions and the catabolic functional diversity of soils. Functional diversity was initially reduced in T200 soils but recovered at the end of the incubation. In contrast, T450 soils initially maintained the catabolic functional diversity, but decreased at the end of the incubation. Heating\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced nutrient availability stimulated the growth of grass, which in turn increased the response to several substrates and increased the functional diversity to values similar to the unheated controls. Our results suggest that fire\uffe2\uff80\uff90driven alteration of soil microbial communities has consequences at a functional level, and that the recovery of plant communities enhances the recovery of soil microbial functions.
Highlights
Soil experimental heating altered microbial functions and reduced soil functional diversity.
Soil heating also increased nutrient availability, enhancing plant growth.
Growth of plants promoted the recovery of soil functional diversity.
Post\uffe2\uff80\uff90fire recovery of functional diversity may be related to the recovery of photosynthetic tissues.
Post-fire hillslope stabilization treatments aim to reduce runoff-erosion risks following forest fires by counteracting the impact of fire on key soil and hillslope properties. Here we evaluate the effectiveness of wood shred mulch, long-leaved pine needle mulch, and polyacrylamide (PAM) in reducing post-fire runoff and erosion in two volcanic soil types of contrasting wettability using rainfall simulations (55 mm h\uffe2\uff88\uff921 for 30 min) at the microplot (0.25 m2) scale. The cover provided by the wood shreds and pine needles led to a reduction of runoff and erosion in both the wettable\uffe2\uff80\uff94(62% and 92%, respectively, for wood shreds, and 55% and 87%, respectively, for needle mulch) and the extremely water-repellent soils (44% and 61%, respectively, for wood shreds). In contrast to what might be expected, PAM did not reduce runoff or erosion when applied to the extremely water-repellent soils, suggesting that PAM should not be applied in this terrain type. Although more research is needed to determine whether the high effectiveness of pine needle mulch and wood shred mulch fully translates to coarser scales, the results are encouraging in terms of these materials\uffe2\uff80\uff99 ability to provide effective and relatively economic mitigation treatments for fire-induced runoff-erosion risks in volcanic soils.", "keywords": ["13. Climate action", "forest fires; emergency treatments; fire-induced risks; runoff-erosion processes; water repellency; forest recovery; volcanic soils", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "630", "6. Clean water"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/8/7/247/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/F8070247"}, {"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/F8070247", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/F8070247", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/F8070247"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-07-12T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10459.1/83754", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:24:50Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-07-24", "title": "Post\u2010fire recovery of soil microbial functions is promoted by plant growth", "description": "AbstractForest fires can alter the biological properties of soils. There is increasing evidence that fires cause a shift in soil microbial communities, which play a central role in forest carbon and nutrient cycling. In this study, we evaluate the effect of soil heating on soil microbial functions. We hypothesised that fire reduces the catabolic functional diversity of soil, and that post\uffe2\uff80\uff90fire plant growth enhances its recovery. To test this, we experimentally heated a forest soil at 200\uffc2\uffb0C (T200) or 450\uffc2\uffb0C (T450). Heated and unheated soils were then incubated in tubs with or without live grass ( Lolium perenne L.). We determined the functional profiles by measuring the substrate\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced respiration (SIR) using the Microresp\uffe2\uff84\uffa2 technique and analysed nutrient availability at the end of the incubation. At both temperatures, soil heating altered the respiration responses to substrate additions and the catabolic functional diversity of soils. Functional diversity was initially reduced in T200 soils but recovered at the end of the incubation. In contrast, T450 soils initially maintained the catabolic functional diversity, but decreased at the end of the incubation. Heating\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced nutrient availability stimulated the growth of grass, which in turn increased the response to several substrates and increased the functional diversity to values similar to the unheated controls. Our results suggest that fire\uffe2\uff80\uff90driven alteration of soil microbial communities has consequences at a functional level, and that the recovery of plant communities enhances the recovery of soil microbial functions.
Highlights
Soil experimental heating altered microbial functions and reduced soil functional diversity.
Soil heating also increased nutrient availability, enhancing plant growth.
Growth of plants promoted the recovery of soil functional diversity.
Post\uffe2\uff80\uff90fire recovery of functional diversity may be related to the recovery of photosynthetic tissues.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Incendis forestals", "Forest fires", "Aboveground biomass", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Soil microbial functions", "S\u00f2ls", "13. Climate action", "Substrate-induced respiration", "Soils", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Catabolic functional diversity", "Forest soils", "Soil heating", "S\u00f2ls forestals"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ejss.13290"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10459.1/83754"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/European%20Journal%20of%20Soil%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10459.1/83754", "name": "item", "description": "10459.1/83754", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10459.1/83754"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-07-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2164/19907", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:25:42Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-11-25", "title": "How does management affect soil C sequestration and greenhouse gas fluxes in boreal and temperate forests? \u2013 A review", "description": "Open AccessThis review has been supported by the grant Holistic management practices, modelling and monitoring for European forest soils \u2013 HoliSoils (EU Horizon 2020 Grant Agreement No 101000289) and the Academy of Finland Fellow project (330136, B. Adamczyk). In addition to the HoliSoils consortium partners, Dr. Abramoff contributed on this study and her work was supported by the United States Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the United States Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05- 00OR22725.", "keywords": ["[SDE] Environmental Sciences", "330", "550", "Peatland hydrology management", "CLIMATE-CHANGE ADAPTATION", "WOOD ASH APPLICATION", "530", "Greenhouse gas", "SITE PREPARATION", "630", "12. Responsible consumption", "BELOW-GROUND CARBON", "11. Sustainability", "SDG 13 - Climate Action", "NITROGEN-FERTILIZATION", "SDG 15 - Life on Land", "2. Zero hunger", "PONDEROSA PINE", "GE", "PLANT LITTER DECOMPOSITION", "NORWAY SPRUCE", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "004", "Forest fertilization", "Harvesting practices", "ORGANIC-MATTER", "Forest fire management", "13. Climate action", "[SDE]Environmental Sciences", "Forest soil carbon management", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "MICROBIAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE", "GE Environmental Sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/2164/19907"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Forest%20Ecology%20and%20Management", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "2164/19907", "name": "item", "description": "2164/19907", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2164/19907"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-02-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2445/190103", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:25:50Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-07-25", "title": "Post\u2010fire recovery of soil microbial functions is promoted by plant growth", "description": "AbstractForest fires can alter the biological properties of soils. There is increasing evidence that fires cause a shift in soil microbial communities, which play a central role in forest carbon and nutrient cycling. In this study, we evaluate the effect of soil heating on soil microbial functions. We hypothesised that fire reduces the catabolic functional diversity of soil, and that post\uffe2\uff80\uff90fire plant growth enhances its recovery. To test this, we experimentally heated a forest soil at 200\uffc2\uffb0C (T200) or 450\uffc2\uffb0C (T450). Heated and unheated soils were then incubated in tubs with or without live grass (Lolium perenne L.). We determined the functional profiles by measuring the substrate\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced respiration (SIR) using the Microresp\uffe2\uff84\uffa2 technique and analysed nutrient availability at the end of the incubation. At both temperatures, soil heating altered the respiration responses to substrate additions and the catabolic functional diversity of soils. Functional diversity was initially reduced in T200 soils but recovered at the end of the incubation. In contrast, T450 soils initially maintained the catabolic functional diversity, but decreased at the end of the incubation. Heating\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced nutrient availability stimulated the growth of grass, which in turn increased the response to several substrates and increased the functional diversity to values similar to the unheated controls. Our results suggest that fire\uffe2\uff80\uff90driven alteration of soil microbial communities has consequences at a functional level, and that the recovery of plant communities enhances the recovery of soil microbial functions.
Highlights
Soil experimental heating altered microbial functions and reduced soil functional diversity.
Soil heating also increased nutrient availability, enhancing plant growth.
Growth of plants promoted the recovery of soil functional diversity.
Post\uffe2\uff80\uff90fire recovery of functional diversity may be related to the recovery of photosynthetic tissues.