Belowground community responses to fire: meta‐analysis reveals contrasting responses of soil microorganisms and mesofauna

• Published in: Oikos Vol. 128; no. 3; pp. 309 - 327
• Main Authors: Pressler, Yamina, Moore, John C., Cotrufo, M. Francesca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2019
• Subjects: Abundance; Arthropods; Bacteria; Biology; Biomass; Biota; Communities; Community structure; Ecosystem disturbance; Ecosystems; Empirical analysis; Environmental changes; fire; Fire resistance; Fires; Fungi; Interactions; Land use; Meta-analysis; Microorganisms; Soil; Soil biology; soil fauna; Soil investigations; Soil microorganisms; Soil structure; Trends

Global fire regimes are shifting due to climate and land use changes. Understanding the responses of belowground communities to fire is key to predicting changes in the ecosystem processes they regulate. We conducted a comprehensive meta‐analysis of 1634 observations from 131 empirical studies to in...