Impacts of wildfire on soil microbiome in Boreal environments
Kajar Köster, Heidi Aaltonen, Frank Berninger, Jussi Heinonsalo, Egle Köster, Caius Ribeiro-Kumara, Hui Sun, Leho Tedersoo, Xuan Zhou, Jukka Pumpanen
Abstract
The temperature changes for the future climate are predicted to be the most pronounced in boreal and arctic regions, affecting the stability of permafrost and fire dynamics of these areas. Fires can affect soil microbiome (archaea, bacteria, fungi, and protists) directly via generated heat, whereas fire-altered soil properties have an indirect effect on soil microbiome. Fires usually decrease microbial biomass and alter microbial community composition. These changes can take decades to recover to prefire states. As the fire occurrence times are expected to change in the future, and the fire return intervals, intensity, and severity are expected to increase in boreal environments, the fire-related changes in the soil microbiome, including its recovery and resilience, are inevitable.