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Postfire nitrogen balance of Mediterranean shrublands: Direct combustion losses versus gaseous and leaching losses from the postfire soil mineral nitrogen flush.

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Title Postfire nitrogen balance of Mediterranean shrublands: Direct combustion losses versus gaseous and leaching losses from the postfire soil mineral nitrogen flush.
 
Creator Dannenmann, M.
Diaz‐Pines, E.
Kitzler, B.
Karhu, K.
Tejedor, J.
Ambus, P.
Parra, A.
Sanchez‐Martin, L.
Resco, V.
Ramírez, D.
Povoas‐Guimaraes, L.
Willibald, G.
Gasche, R.
Zechmeister‐Boltenstern, S.
Kraus, D.
Castaldi, S.
Vallejo, A.
Rubio, A.
Rubio, J.M.
Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus
 
Subject FIRE ECOLOGY
SOIL
COMBUSTION
NITROUS OXIDE
 
Description Fire is a major factor controlling global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. While direct C and N losses caused by combustion have been comparably well established, important knowledge gaps remain on postfire N losses. Here, we quantified both direct C and N combustion losses as well as postfire gaseous losses (N2O, NO and N2) and N leaching after a high‐intensity experimental fire in an old shrubland in central Spain. Combustion losses of C and N were 9.4 Mg C/ha and 129 kg N/ha, respectively, representing 66% and 58% of initial aboveground vegetation and litter stocks. Moreover, fire strongly increased soil mineral N concentrations by several magnitudes to a maximum of 44 kg N/ha 2 months after the fire, with N largely originating from dead soil microbes. Postfire soil emissions increased from 5.4 to 10.1 kg N ha−1 year−1 for N2, from 1.1 to 1.9 kg N ha−1 year−1 for NO and from 0.05 to 0.2 kg N ha−1 year−1 for N2O. Maximal leaching losses occurred 2 months after peak soil mineral N concentrations, but remained with 0.1 kg N ha−1 year−1 of minor importance for the postfire N mass balance. 15N stable isotope labelling revealed that 33% of the mineral N produced by fire was incorporated in stable soil N pools, while the remainder was lost. Overall, our work reveals significant postfire N losses dominated by emissions of N2 that need to be considered when assessing fire effects on ecosystem N cycling and mass balance. We propose indirect N gas emissions factors for the first postfire year, equalling to 7.7% (N2‐N), 2.7% (NO‐N) and 5.0% (N2O‐N) of the direct fire combustion losses of the respective N gas species.
Peer Review
 
Date 2018-12-20T03:54:15Z
2018-12-20T03:54:15Z
2018-07
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Dannenmann, M.; Díaz‐Pinés, E.; Kitzler, B.; Karhu, K.; Tejedor, J.; Ambus, P.; Parra, A.; Sanchez‐Martin, L.; Resco, V.; Ramírez, D.A.; Povoas‐Guimaraes, L.; Willibald, G.; Gasche, R.; Zechmeister‐Boltenstern, S.; Kraus, D.; Castaldi, S.; Vallejo, A.; Rubio, A.; Rubio, J.M.; Butterbach‐Bahl, K. 2018. Postfire nitrogen balance of Mediterranean shrublands: Direct combustion losses versus gaseous and leaching losses from the postfire soil mineral nitrogen flush. Global Change Biology. ISSN 1365-2486. 24:10. pp. 4505-4520.
1365-2486
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98840
 
Language en
 
Rights All rights reserved; no re-use allowed
 
Format 4505-4520
 
Source Global Change Biology