Doug Tolleson

A framework for understanding human‐driven vegetation change

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 18-09-2017

DOI: 10.1111/OIK.04587

Non-natives: 141 scientists object

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 07-2011

DOI: 10.1038/475036A

The hare, the tortoise and the crocodile: The ecology of angiosperm dominance, conifer persistence and fern filtering

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 15-06-2005

DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2745.2005.01012.X

State of the art and the future of fecal analysis using infrared spectroscopy

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 11-06-2013

DOI: 10.1080/05704928.2022.2143795

Responses of communities of soil organisms and plants to soil aging at two contrasting long-term chronosequences

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 03-2017

DOI: 10.1016/J.SOILBIO.2016.12.014

Direct and indirect effects of fire on microbial communities in a pyrodiverse dry‐sclerophyll forest

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 24-05-2022

DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13903

Abstract: Fire is one of the predominant drivers of the structural and functional dynamics of forest ecosystems. In recent years, novel fire regimes have posed a major challenge to the management of pyro erse forests. While previous research efforts have focused on quantifying the impacts of fire on above‐ground forest bio ersity, how microbial communities respond to fire is less understood, despite their functional significance. Here, we describe the effects of time since fire, fire frequency and their interaction on soil and leaf litter fungal and bacterial communities from the pyro erse, Eucalyptus pilularis forests of south‐eastern Australia. Using structural equation models, we also elucidate how fire can influence these communities both directly and indirectly through biotic–abiotic interactions. Our results demonstrate that fire is a key driver of litter and soil bacterial and fungal communities, with effects most pronounced for soil fungal communities. Notably, recently burnt forest hosted lower abundances of symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi and Acidobacteria in the soil, and basidiomycetous fungi and Actinobacteriota in the litter. Compared with low fire frequencies, high fire frequency increased soil fungal plant pathogens, but reduced Actinobacteriota. The majority of fire effects on microbial communities were mediated by fire‐induced changes in litter and soil abiotic properties. For instance, recent and more frequent fire was associated with reduced soil sulphur, which led to an increase in soil fungal plant pathogens and saprotrophic fungi in these sites. Pathogenic fungi also increased in recently burnt forests that had a low fire frequency, mediated by a decline in litter carbon and an increase in soil pH in these sites. Synthesis . Our findings indicate that predicted increases in the frequency of fire may select for specific microbial communities directly and indirectly through ecological interactions, which may have functional implications for plants (increase in pathogens, decrease in symbionts), decomposition rates (declines in Actinobacteriota and Acidobacteriota) and carbon storage (decrease in ectomycorrhizal fungi). In the face of predicted shifts in wildfire regimes, which may exacerbate fire‐induced changes in microbial communities, adaptive fire management and monitoring is required to address the potential functional implications of fire‐altered microbial communities.

Temporal dynamics of soil fungi in a pyrodiverse dry‐sclerophyll forest

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 05-06-2023

DOI: 10.1111/MEC.17036

Abstract: Fire is a major evolutionary and ecological driver that shapes bio ersity in forests. While above‐ground community responses to fire have been well‐documented, those below‐ground are much less understood. However, below‐ground communities, including fungi, play key roles in forests and facilitate the recovery of other organisms after fire. Here, we used internal transcribed spacer (ITS) meta‐barcoding data from forests with three different times since fire [short (3 years), medium (13–19 years) and long ( years)] to characterize the temporal responses of soil fungal communities across functional groups, ectomycorrhizal exploration strategies and inter‐guild associations. Our findings indicate that fire effects on fungal communities are strongest in the short to medium term, with clear distinctions between communities in forests with a short time (3 years) since fire, a medium time (13–19 years) and a long time ( years) since fire. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were disproportionately impacted by fire relative to saprotrophs, but the direction of the response varied depending on morphological structures and exploration strategies. For instance, short‐distance ectomycorrhizal fungi increased with recent fire, while medium‐distance (fringe) ectomycorrhizal fungi decreased. Further, we detected strong, negative inter‐guild associations between ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi but only at medium and long times since fire. Given the functional significance of fungi, the temporal changes in fungal composition, inter‐guild associations and functional groups after fire demonstrated in our study may have functional implications that require adaptive management to curtail.

Texas A&M University

Location: United States of America

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University Of Calgary

Location: Canada

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University Of Canterbury School Of Biological Sciences

Location: New Zealand

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Umea University

Location: Sweden

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Texas AgriLife Research

Location: No location found

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Texas AgriLife Research

Location: United States of America

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Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP170100152

Start Date: 04-2018

End Date: 06-2022

Amount: $645,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council