Burned forest soils stay nitrogen-poor decades after trees fully regrow
Keller T, Cleveland C, Heumann R, Link A, McGuire L, Turner M.
Soil Health
A forest that looks lush and recovered after a fire may still be rebuilding from nutrient-starved soil underneath, which matters if you're replanting after a burn or wondering why new growth in a fire-scarred area seems to stall.
Nitrogen is a nutrient plants need to grow, and after a big fire burns through a forest, that nitrogen gets scattered or lost. Scientists checked a forest 35 years after a severe fire and found the trees, branches, and leaves had built back up plenty of nitrogen, but the topsoil itself still hadn't recovered its original nitrogen levels. It's a reminder that what's happening below the ground can lag far behind what you see above it.
Key Findings
Nitrogen stored in aboveground tree biomass (wood, bark, foliage) increased substantially over the 35-year post-fire period.
Nitrogen pools in surface soil showed no significant recovery during the same timeframe.
The disconnect indicates aboveground and belowground nitrogen cycling recover on very different timescales after stand-replacing fire.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Thirty-five years after a severe forest fire, researchers found that nitrogen has steadily built back up in tree trunks, branches, and leaves, but the nitrogen in the topsoil hasn't recovered at all, suggesting forest soils can stay nutrient-poor for decades even as the trees above them look fully regrown.
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