Post-fire succession of collembolan communities in a northern hardwood forest

Forest fire intensity can impact the survival and recovery of soil fauna at local scales. We compared three contiguous sites differing in fire history to explore post-fire succession of collembolan (Hexapoda: Apterygota) communities in a maple-oak forest in southern Quebec, Canada. We found a total of 22 collembolan species from 8 families and 17 genera at sites burned 0, similar to 50, and similar to 100 years in the past; samples from the most recent fire were collected in both lightly and intensely burned patches. Shifts in community composition were significantly related to time since a fire disturbance, burn intensity, and consumption of litter and organic soil horizons during recent fire events. Using a trait-based approach we demonstrate that species that remain following high-intensity fire are smaller-bodied than species in unburned areas. Additional character states (eyeless, unpigmented) suggest these species are endogeaic versus epigeaic, and that litter loss associated with high-intensity fire is the main driver of collembolan community compositional changes. We suggest that understanding Collembola community dynamics in response to a fire disturbance will require a better understanding of the spatial configuration of remnant habitat patches within heterogeneous burn sites, and patterns of collembolan dispersal and recolonization in three dimensional space. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.