RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Changes in leaf nutrient traits in a wildfire chronosequence
A1 Durán, Jorge
A1 Rodríguez, Alexandra
A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María
A1 Gallardo, Antonio
K1 Nitrogen
K1 Phosphorus
K1 Forest fire
K1 Pinus canariensis
K1 Nutrient limitation
AB The effect of wildfire on ecosystem function is gaining interest since climate change is expected to increase fire frequency and intensity in many forest systems. Fire alters the nutritional status of forest ecosystems, affecting ecosystem function and productivity, but further studies evaluating changes in leaf nutrient traits induced by forestwildfires are still needed. We used a 17-year-old Pinus canariensis wildfire chronosequence to elucidate the nature of nutrient limitations in natural and unmanaged pine forest in the Canary Islands. Pine needles were sampled in winter and spring and analysed for N and P concentrations. As expected, we found the lowest leaf N and leaf P in recently burned plots. However, the leaf N:P ratio was higher in burned versus unburned plots, suggesting that thedecrease in P availability due to the fire is larger than that of N. For all leaf traits and sampling dates, leaf trait values in burned plots matched those observed in unburned plots 17 years after a fire. The N:P ratio found in P. canariensis needles was one of the lowest values reported in the literature for woody species, and suggests that all pine trees in the chronosequence are unambiguously limited by low N availability. Our results show that these N-limited pine forests retained N more efficiently than P 4 years after a wildfire; however, leaf N recovery is slower than P recovery,suggesting that the mechanisms responsible for pine N limitation operate continuously in these forests.
SN 0032-079X
YR 2010
FD 2010
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/17676
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/17676
LA en
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 27-abr-2024