Forest fire induces short‐term shifts in soil food webs with consequences for carbon cycling

• DOI: 10.1111/ele.13657
• Publication Date: 2020-12-11T14:19:23Z
• Authors: Konstantin B. Gon...; Andrey S. Zaitsev; Daniil I. Korobus...; Ruslan A. Saifutd...; Konstantin O. But...; Franciska T. de V...; Klemens Ekschmitt; Maksim I. Degtyarev; Anastasia Yu. Gor...; Natalia V. Kostina; Anna A. Rakhleeva; Svetlana V. Shakhab; Taisia E. Yazrikova; Volkmar Wolters; Richard D. Bardgett
• Keywords: Soil mesofauna; Microfauna; Soil Food Web; Biota; Soil carbon; Cycling

Abstract We tested for fire‐induced (5–6 years post‐fire) changes in the structure and functioning of soil food web along a 3000‐km north–south transect across European Russia, spanning all major forest types northern hemisphere outside tropics. The total biomass detrital web, including microbes invertebrates, was not affected by fire. However, fire reduced microfauna mites, but had no impact on mesofauna or macrofauna. Fire also rates carbon (C) mobilisation biota. Our results demonstrate that shifts webs have significant short‐term effects C cycling, these vary geographic locations.