Effect of fire on the diversity and trophic levels of soil fauna in Hyrcanian forests after 5 years (case study: Galandroud forest)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Arid Land Forestry, Faculty of Desert Studies, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

2 Department of Arid Land Forestry, Faculty of Desert Studies, Semnan University, Semnan , Iran

3 Department of Arid Land Forestry, Faculty of Desert Studies, Semnan University,Semnan ,Semnanو Iran

4 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Crop Sciences, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Sari, Iran

Abstract

Introduction:
The diversity and abundance of soil fauna in the forest have an important role in nutrient cycle, and destructive factors (e.g., fire) would cause a disturbance in the balance of soil communities. In the current study, the effect of fire on biodiversity, richness, abundance, fresh biomass and trophic levels of soil-dwelling invertebrates in Galandroud forest were investigated and discussed.
Material and methods:
This research was conducted in districts 20 and 21 of series 11 from watershed 48 of Natural Resources and Watershed Management Department of Nowshahr. Ten 30×30 cm quadrates with 30 cm depth were randomly placed in both fired and control forests (20 quadrates in total) across two distinct using hand-sorting methods. The soils were collected into a pan, and transferred to the laboratory for identification and measuring the fresh biomass after separating the fauna into plastic bags. Then, the fresh biomass of soil animals was separately measured using a digital balance (with an accuracy of 0.0001 g) and then identified at family and order levels. The PAST software was used to calculate the dominance, biodiversity and richness indices of the soil fauna. Statistical comparisons were done with independent sample t-test using SPSS software. Moreover, the trophic levels of the soil fauna were determined and the abundance and biomass of each five main trophic groups were investigated within two fired and control forests.
Results and discussion:
Among the identified macrofauna, the earthworms were the most abundant. The abundance of almost all species was more in the control forests rather than the fire-burned ones, except for coleopteran beetles and the ants. The total biomass of trophic levels did not show any significant difference between the two forests, while it’s amount in the burned and control forests was 2.35 and 1.70 g.m-2,respectively. Among detritivore biomass, the biomass of earthworms and coleopteran beetles increased, while it decreased for millipedes, slaters, and Diplura in the burned forests compared to the control. According to the similar studies that have been done so far, most faunal assemblages have shown a negative response to the fire in the short term, and then their populations revived or even increased compared to the control area.
Conclusion:
The results revealed that almost all indices did not show a significant difference between fired and control forests after 5 years, with an exception for evenness and dominance. These findings reflect the restoration of the forest and soil fauna communities and return to the conditions before the fire. However, comparison of the faunal population at trophic levels showed that detritivores in the burned forests experienced the most reduction among all groups and damaged the most from the fire.

Keywords


  1. Andersen, D.C., 1987. Below-ground herbivory in natural communities: a review emphasizing fossorial animals. The Quarterly Review of Biology. 62(3), 261–286.‏
  2. Auclerc, A., Le Moine, J.M., Hatton, P.J., Bird, J.A. and Nadelhoffer, K.J., 2019. Decadal post-fire succession of soil invertebrate communities is dependent on the soil surface properties in a northern temperate forest. Science of the Total Environment. 647, 1058–1068.
  3. Badia, D. and Marti, C., 2003. Plant ash and heat intensity effects on chemicaland physical properties of two contrasting soils. Arid Land Research and Management. 17(1), 23–41.
  4. Badia-Villas, D., Gonzalez-Perez, J.A., Aznar, J.M., Arjona-Gracia, B. and Marti-Dalmau, C., 2014. Changes in water repellency, aggregation and organic matter of a mollic horizon burned in laboratory: soil depth affected by fire. Geoderma. 213, 400–407.
  5. Callaham, M.A., Blair, J.M., Todd, T.C., Kitchen, D.J. and Whiles, M.R., 2003. Macroinvertebrates in North American tallgrass prairie soils: effects of fire, mowing, and fertilization on density and biomass. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 35(8), 1079–1093.
  6. Doamba, S.W., Savadogo, P. and Nacro, H.B., 2014. Effects of burning on soil macrofauna in a savanna-woodland under different experimental fuel load treatments. Applied Soil Ecology. 81, 37–44.‏
  7. Emberlin, J.C., 1989. Introduction to Ecology. Macdonald & Evans, Plymouth. 308 pp.
  8. Encinas, L.H., White, S.H., del Rey, A.M. and Sanchez, G.R., 2007. Modelling forest fire spread using hexagonal cellular automata. Applied mathematical modelling. 31(6), 1213–1227.
  9. Farahi, E., Daryaei, M.G., Mohamadi Samani, K. and Amlashi, M.A., 2013. Review of fire sensitive areas with emphasis on drought impact with the joint use of PDSI, AHP and GIS (Case study: Forest Saravan, Guilan province). Iranian Journal of Forest and Range Protection Research. 10(2), 83–110. (In Persian with English abstract).
  10. Flannigan, M.D., Amiro, B.D., Logan, K.A., Stocks, B.J. and Wotton, B.M., 2006. Forest fires and climate change in the 21st century. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. 11(4), 847–859.‏
  11. Gongalsky, K.B. and Persson, T., 2013. Recovery of soil macrofauna after wildfires in boreal forests. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 57, 182–191.‏
  12. Gongalsky, K.B., Gorshkova, I.A., Karpov, A.I. and Pokarzhevskii, A.D., 2008. Do boundaries of soil animal and plant communities coincide? A case study of a Mediterranean forest in Russia. European Journal of Soil Biology. 44(4), 355–363.‏
  13. Hall, D.G. and Cherry, R.H., 1993. Effect of temperature in flooding to control the wireworm Melanotus communis (Coleoptera: Elateridae). Florida Entomologist. 155–160.‏
  14. Hawksworth, D.L., 1995. Biodiversity: Measurement and Estimation. Chapman and Hall, Londan.
  15. Heltshe, J.F. and Forrester, N.E. 1985. Statistical evaluation of the jackknife estimate of diversity when using quadrat samples. Ecology. 66:107–111.
  16. Jafari, F., Kartoolinejad, D, Amiri, M., Shayanmehr, M. and Akbarian, M., 2017. Long term effect of oil mulch on richness and biodiversity of soil macro-fauna and vegetation in Jask, Iran. Arid Biome Scientific and Research Journal. 7(1), 27–38.‎ (In Persian with English abstract).
  17. Kartoolinejad, D., Najafi, A. and Kazemi-Najafi, S., 2017. Long-term impacts of ground skidding on standing trees: assessment of decay using stress waves. Environmental Engineering & Management Journal. 16(10), 2283–2291.
  18. Kartoolinejad, D., Najafi, A. and Shayanmehr, M., 2013. Long term impacts of ground skidding on structure of soil macrofauna associations in Hyrcanian Beech Forests. Journal of Entomological Research. 5(2): 115–131. (In Persian with English abstract).
  19. Kazemnezhad, F., Hasanpour Lima, A.R., Haghverdi, K. and Asadollahi, F., 2012. Plant biodiversity in the altitude gradient of forest north Iran (case study: 45 water shed). Natural Ecosystems of Iran. 2(3), 1–12. (In Persian with English abstract).
  20. Khanmohammadi, M., Rahimi, M. and Kartoolinejad, D., 2016. Wildfires risk assessment of North-East Hyrcanyan forests of Iran by using Keetch-B-yram and Mc-Arthur indices. Iranian Journal of Forest and Range Protection Research. 14 (1), 48–57.
  21. Kheiri, M., Habashi, H., VaezMoosavi, S.M. and Moghimian, N., 2012. Effects of canopy gap on soil macrofauna in mixed beech stand (Case study in Shast- Kalate forest). Journal of Human and Environment. 10, 101–108.
  22. Kling, L.J., Juliano, S.A. and Yee, D.A., 2007. Larval mosquito communities in discarded vehicle tires in a forested and unforested site: detritus type, amount, and water nutrient differences. Journal of Vector Ecology. 32(2), 207–217.‏
  23. Kolovos, D., Rose, L., Paige, R. and Garcıa-Domınguez, A., 2010. The epsilon book. Structure, 178, 1-10.‏
  24. Marozas, V., Plausinyte, E., Augustaitis, A. and Kaciulyte, A., 2011. Changes of ground vegetation and tree-ring growth after surface fires in Scots pine forests. Acta Biologica Universitatis Daugavpiliensis. 11(2), 156–162.
  25. Matelck, C.R., 2001. Effects of prescribed burning on soil chemical properties and nutrient availability. Ashville, New York. 86–99.
  26. Matelck, C.R., 2001. Effects of prescribed burning on soil chemical properties and nutrient availability. Ashville, New York. 86–99.
  27. Mathieu, J., Rossi, J.P., Mora, P., Lavelle, P., Martins, P.D.S., Rouland, C. and Grimaldi, M., 2005. Recovery of soil macrofauna communities after forest clearance in Eastern Amazonia, Brazil. Conservation Biology. 19(5), 1598–1605.‏
  28. McSorley, R., 1993. Short-term effects of fire on the nematode community in a pine forest. Pedobiologia (Germany).
  29. Mehrafrooz Mayvan, M. and Shayanmehr, M., 2015. A Study on Faunestic, and Biodiversity and Population Dynamics of Edaphic Millipedes (Diplopoda) during Different Seasons in Semeskandeh Forests, Mazandaran Province, Iran. Journal of plant protection. 29(1), 113–122.
  30. Miraki, M., Akbarinia, M., Ghazanfari, H., Ezzati, S. and Haidari, A., 2014. Presentation of management solutions for firefighting, using the decision support system at northern Zagros forests (Case study: Marivan forests). Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research. 21(4), 742–755. (In Persian with English abstract).
  31. Moslehi, M., Habashi, H. and Ahmadi, A., 2014. Effect of fire on physical, chemical and biological properties of soil in forest ecosystems. Journal of Human and Environment. 11, 31–41. (In Persian with English abstract).
  32. Mugendi, D.N., Mwangi, M., Kung'u, J.B., Swift, M.J. and Albrecht, A., 2004. Soil invertebrate macrofauna composition within agroforestry and forested ecosystems and their role in litter decomposition in Embu, Kenya. CIAT.‏
  33. Neary, D.G., Ryan, K.C. and DeBano, L.F., 2005. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on soils and water. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 4. Ogden, UT: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 250 p.
  34. Panzer, R., 2002. Compatibility of prescribed burning with the conservation of insects in small, isolated prairie reserves. Conservation Biology. 16(5), 1296–1307.‏
  35. Pflug, A. and Wolters, V., 2001. Influence of drought and litter age on Collembola communities. European Journal of Soil Biology. 37(4), 305–308.‏
  36. Pourreza, M., Hosseini, S.M., Safari Sinegani, A.A., Matinizadeh, M. and Dick, W., 2014. Effect of fire severity on soil macrofauna in Manna Oak coppice forests. Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research. 21(4), 729–741. (In Persian with English abstract).
  37. Prieto-Fernandez, A., Acea, M.J. and Carballas, T., 1998. Soil microbial and extractable C and N after wildfire. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 27(2), 132–142.
  38. Rahimi, D., Kartoolinejad, D., Nourmohammadi, K. and Naghdi, R., 2016. Increasing drought resistance of Alnus subcordata CA Mey. seeds using a nano priming technique with multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Journal of Forest Science. 62(6), 269–278.
  39. Rahmani, R. and Saleh Rastin, N., 2000. Abundance, Vertical Distribution and Seasonal Changes in Earthworm Populations of Oak-Hombeam, Hombeam and Beech Forests in Neka, Caspian Forests, Iran. Iranian Journal of Natural Resources. 53(1), 37–52. (In Persian with English abstract).
  40. Schwilk, D.W., Knapp, E.E., Ferrenberg, S.M., Keeley, J.E. and Caprio, A.C., 2006. Tree mortality from fire and bark beetles following early and late season prescribed fires in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 232, 36–45.
  41. Shayanmehr, F., Jalali, S.G., Colagar, A.H., Zare, H., Kartoolinejad, D. and Yousefzadeh, H., 2018. Leaf cuticle and wax ultrastructure of genus Alnus Mill. in Hyrcanian forests of Iran. International Journal of Environmental Studies. 1–14.
  42. Sheldon, A.L., 1969. Equitability indices: dependence on the species count. Ecology 50: 466–467.
  43. Simpson, E.H., 1949. Measurement of diversity. Nature. 163: 688.
  44. Staley, J.T., Hodgson, C.J., Mortimer, S.R., Morecroft, M.D., Masters, G.J., Brown, V.K. and Taylor, M.E. 2007. Effects of summer rainfall manipulations on the abundance and vertical distribution of herbivorous soil macro-invertebrates. European Journal of Soil Biology. 43(3), 189–198.‏
  45. Stoops, G., 1997. Application of micromorphological methods to the study of soil sequences in the tropics. In Libro de Ponencias, Congreso Extraordinario 50 Aniversario Sociedad Espanola de Ciencia del Suelo, Madrid, 145–159.‏
  46. Yousefzadeh, H., Saidi, A., Tayebi, S., Kartoolinejad, D. and Naghdi, R., 2017. Molecular approach to determine taxonomic status of Septoria sp. causing leaf blotch of Castanea sativa in Hyrcanian forests. Journal of Forestry Research. 28(4), 661–670.