Journal
ECOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 21, Issue 3, Pages 335-344Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/ele.12896
Keywords
biogeochemistry; burning; ecosystem decline; fractionation; nutrient limitation; pedogenesis; stoichiometry; succession
Categories
Funding
- Australian Research Council [FT0990547]
- South-East Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium scholarship
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The biogeochemical and stoichiometric signature of vegetation fire may influence post-fire ecosystem characteristics and the evolution of plant 'fire traits'. Phosphorus (P), a potentially limiting nutrient in many fire-prone environments, might be particularly important in this context; however, the effects of fire on P cycling often vary widely. We conducted a global-scale meta-analysis using data from 174 soil studies and 39 litter studies, and found that fire led to significantly higherconcentrations of soil mineral P as well as significantly lower soil and litter carbon:P and nitrogen:P ratios. These results demonstrate that fire has a P-rich signature in the soil-plant system that varies with vegetation type. Further, they suggest that burning can ease P limitation and decouple the biogeochemical cycling of P, carbon and nitrogen. These effects resemble a transient reversion to an earlier stage of ecosystem development, and likely underpin at least some of fire's impacts on ecosystems and organisms.
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