Short-term impacts of wildfire and post-fire mulching on ecosystem multifunctionality in a semi-arid pine forest

• Published in: Forest ecology and management 2023-08, Vol.541, p.121000, Article 121000
• Main Authors: Carmona-Yáñez, Maria Dolores, Francos, Marcos, Miralles, Isabel, Soria, Rocio, Ahangarkolaee, Saeed Shahabi, Vafaie, Elahe, Zema, Demetrio Antonio, Lucas-Borja, Manuel Esteban
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ecosystem functions; Ecosystem properties; Ecosystem structure; Plant diversity; Post-fire management; Soil characteristics
• ISSN: 0378-1127; 1872-7042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121000

•The effects of mulching on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) have been little explored.•EMF increased from burned and untreated to mulched and to unburned sites.•No significant difference in EMF between the two mulches was found.•Mulching only partially dampened the impact of fire on EMF.•Almost all ecosystem functions were associated to soil or vegetation parameters. Straw and wood chips have been widely used as mulch materials to control post-fire erosion in burned forests. However, their effects on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) have been little explored. This information is essential to give forest managers insight about the effectiveness of these strategies for restoration of severely-burned forests. To fill this gap, this study has evaluated the short-term (one year after wildfire) changes in ecosystem properties (associated to soil characteristics), structure (linked to plant diversity), individual ecosystem functions, and EMF in a Mediterranean forest. This delicate ecosystem was burned by a wildfire and then mulched with straw or wood chips, and EMF in these conditions was compared to burned and untreated, and unburned sites. The results have shown that: (i) neither wildfire nor mulching significantly changed soil properties with the exception of pH; (ii) in contrast, ecosystem structure significantly declined in mulched plots due to wildfire, and mulching did not limit the alteration in species richness; (iii) among the analysed ecosystem functions, waste decomposition and nutrient cycling, which were significantly higher in unburned soils compared to burned sites, showed intermediate and similar values in mulched plots, while water cycle and wood production (the latter with the exception of unburned plots) were similar among all soil conditions, and climate regulation was significantly higher only in soils mulched with wood chips compared to burned sites; (iv) EMF increased from burned and untreated soils to unburned sites; (v) mulching was effective at limiting the reduction in EMF due to wildfire, but only partially dampened the impact of the fire. Moreover, the combined analysis of ecosystem properties, structure and functions, and EMF revealed that: (i) all functions, except water cycle, were associated to one or more soil or vegetation parameters; (ii) species community composition noticeably influenced several ecosystem functions, and, therefore, EMF; (iii) species richness is a key driver of wood production; (iv) pH, which was found