Abstract Detail

Ecology/Pathology

Oliver, Alena [1], Callaham Jr., Mac [2], Brown, Shawn [1], Jumpponen, Ari [1].

Soil community responses to recurring prescribed fires in yellow pine forests: effects of fire intervals and season.

       Prescribed fire is a common management tool used to control fuel loads in forest ecosystems. However, the effects of recurring prescribed fires in the long-term on soil fungal communities remain largely unknown, particularly in the southeastern United States. This study takes advantage of a long-term experiment established in 1988 using southern yellow pine stands within the Hitichiti Experimental Forest, Georgia, USA. The experiment compares 2-, 3-, and 6- year burn intervals to unburned controls to reveal soil fungal community responses after a quarter century of prescribed fires administered at different intervals during winter or summer. Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) amplicons were PCR-generated with proofreading (Phusion; ThermoScientific) and non-proofreading (Phire; ThermoScientific) polymerases for Illumina MiSeq pair-end sequencing. The two polymerases yielded data of different qualities. While the number of chimeric sequences did not differ, the non-proofreading Phire polymerase yielded greater numbers of rare sequences confirming the value of proofreading enzymes for data generation from complex environmental samples. Comparisons among experimental treatments suggest that long fire intervals have minimal impacts on soil fungal community richness and composition, even after 25 years. These data suggest that management goals other than maintenance of below ground fungal community richness can be used as the basis of decision when determining a long-term fire management.

1 - Kansas State University, Division of Biology, 421 Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
2 - USDA , Center for Forest Disturbance Science , 320 Green St. , Athens, GA, 30602, USA

Keywords:
southern yellow pine
soil fungi
prescribed fire
proofreading polymerase.

Presentation Type: Offered Paper - Paper
Session: 16
Location: Room 104 AB/Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
Date: Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: 16002
Abstract ID:33
Candidate for Awards:Graduate Student Oral Presentation Award