SGER: Wildfire Effects on a Sierran Forest Soil: Setting a New Trajectory for Ecosystem Development

Board Of Regents, Nshe, Obo University Of Nevada, Reno, Reno NV

Investigators

Abstract

An unparalleled opportunity to study the before and after effects of a recent wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin in Nevada presently exists. Sixteen replicated plots had been laid out and sampled before the fire in anticipation of conducting prescribed fire and harvesting studies. An accidental wildfire set on 3 July 2002 burned 7 of the plots completely, allowing both before/after and control treatments with which to assess fire effects. This project will explore some details of possible fire effects on soil minerals, soil organic Ca pools, and hydrophobicity. We hypothesize that wildfire, by causing major changes in soil chemistry, hydrology and possibly weathering, causes a re-setting of the course of ecosystem development along a vector unlike that it was on prior to the burn. The current conceptual model of biogeochemical cycling in forest ecosystems considers only slow, steady processes such as atmospheric deposition, leaching, and uptake is in need of improvement to include the effects of catastrophic events such as wildfire.