Can Siberian alder N-fixation offset N-loss after severe fire? Quantifying post-fire Siberian alder distribution, growth, and N-fixation in boreal Alaska

PLoS One. 2020 Sep 2;15(9):e0238004. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238004. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Fire severity affects both ecosystem N-loss and post-fire N-balance. Climate change is altering the fire regime of interior Alaska, although the effects on Siberian alder (Alnus viridis ssp. fruticosa) annual N-fixation input (kg N ha-1 yr-1) and ecosystem N-balance are largely unknown. We established 263 study plots across two burn scars within the Yukon-Tanana Uplands ecoregion of interior Alaska. Siberian alder N-input was quantified by post-fire age, fire severity, and stand type. We modeled the components of Siberian alder N-input using environmental variables and fire severity within and across burn scars and estimated post-fire N-balance using N-loss (volatilized N) and N-gain [biological N-fixation and atmospheric deposition]. Mean nodule-level N-fixation rate was 70% higher 11-years post-fire (12.88 ± 1.18 μmol N g-1 hr-1) than 40-years post-fire (7.58 ± 0.59 μmol N g-1 hr-1). Structural equation modeling indicated that fire severity had a negative effect on Siberian alder density, but a positive effect on live nodule biomass (g nodule m-2 plant-1). Post-fire Siberian alder N-input was highest in 11-year old moderately burned deciduous stands (11.53 ± 0.22 kg N ha-1 yr-1), and lowest in 11-year old stands that converted from black spruce to deciduous dominance after severe fire (0.06 ± 0.003 kg N ha-1 yr-1). Over a 138-year fire return interval, N-gains in converted black spruce stands are estimated to offset 15% of volatilized N, whereas N-gains in burned deciduous stands likely exceed volatilized N by an order of magnitude. High Siberian alder density and nodule biomass drives N-input in burned deciduous stands, while low N-fixer density (including Siberian alder) limits N-input in high severity black spruce stands not underlain by permafrost. A severe fire regime that converts black spruce stands to deciduous dominance without alder recruitment may induce progressive N-losses which alter boreal forest ecosystem patterns and processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alaska
  • Alnus / growth & development*
  • Alnus / metabolism
  • Ecosystem*
  • Fires*
  • Nitrogen / analysis*
  • Nitrogen / metabolism*
  • Nitrogen Fixation*
  • Taiga
  • Trees / growth & development*
  • Trees / metabolism

Substances

  • Nitrogen

Grants and funding

This research was supported in part by the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research Program which is funded by the National Science Foundation (award number DEB-1636476) (RR, TH); the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station (RJVA-PNW-01-JV-11261952-231) (TH); and a student research grant from the UAF Center for Global Change & Arctic System Research (15-010) (BH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.