The phosphorus-rich signature of fire in the soil–plant system: a global meta-analysis

Orpheus M. Butler; James J. Elser; Tom Lewis; Brendan Mackey; Chengrong Chen

doi:10.1111/ele.12896

The phosphorus-rich signature of fire in the soil–plant system: a global meta-analysis

Orpheus M. Butler, James J. Elser, Tom Lewis, Brendan Mackey, Chengrong Chen

Flathead Lake Biological Station

Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review

108 Scopus citations

Abstract

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 higher concentrations 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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	335-344
Number of pages	10
Journal	Ecology Letters
Volume	21
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12896
State	Published - Mar 2018

Funding

We thank the many authors whose work was used in our meta-analyses, particularly those who provided additional information. We also acknowledge the support of the Griffith Environmental Biogeochemistry Research Lab, particularly Drs Mehran Rezaei Rashti, Maryam Esfandbod and Zhong-ming Lan, and our peer reviewers, whose input significantly improved our manuscript. This work was supported by a grant of Australian Research Council Future Fellowship project (FT0990547). Orpheus Butler is a recipient of the South- East Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium scholarship. The authors have no conflicting interests to declare.

Funders	Funder number
Australian Research Council	FT0990547

Keywords

biogeochemistry
burning
ecosystem decline
fractionation
nutrient limitation
pedogenesis
stoichiometry
succession

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10.1111/ele.12896

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title = "The phosphorus-rich signature of fire in the soil–plant system: a global meta-analysis",

abstract = "The biogeochemical and stoichiometric signature of vegetation fire may influence post-fire ecosystem characteristics and the evolution of plant {\textquoteleft}fire traits{\textquoteright}. 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 higher concentrations 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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author = "Butler, {Orpheus M.} and Elser, {James J.} and Tom Lewis and Brendan Mackey and Chengrong Chen",

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year = "2018",

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doi = "10.1111/ele.12896",

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T2 - a global meta-analysis

AU - Butler, Orpheus M.

AU - Elser, James J.

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AU - Mackey, Brendan

AU - Chen, Chengrong

PY - 2018/3

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N2 - 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 higher concentrations 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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KW - burning

KW - ecosystem decline

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KW - nutrient limitation

KW - pedogenesis

KW - stoichiometry

KW - succession

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The phosphorus-rich signature of fire in the soil–plant system: a global meta-analysis

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Keywords

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