Modelling interacting effects of invasive earthworms and wildfire on forest floor carbon storage in the boreal forest |
| |
| Institution: | 1. University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada;2. University of Helsinki, Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences, Helsinki, FI 00014, Finland;3. Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Edmonton, AB T6H 3S5, Canada;4. Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M5, Canada;1. Department of Forest and Landscape Ecology, National Forest Centre – Forest Research Institute Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 22, Zvolen, Slovakia;2. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Prague, Kamýcká 22, Czech Republic;3. Department of Meteorology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. s. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary;4. Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Alkotmány 2-4, H-2163 Vácrátót, Hungary;5. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Technical University Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, Zvolen, Slovakia;6. Space Research Group, Department of Geophysics and Space Science, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Hungary;7. Institute of Geography, Humboldt University of Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 16, 12489 Berlin, Germany;1. North Carolina State University, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA;2. University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;3. Texas State University, Department of Biology, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA;4. National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc., Clemson, SC 29634, USA;1. Faculty of Natural Resources & Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, 46417-76489 Noor, Mazandaran, Iran;2. Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, 4432-3136 Sowmeh Sara, Guilan, Iran;3. Department of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems, Department of Agricultural Soil Science, University of Göttingen, Göttingen 37077, Germany;4. Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420049, Russia;5. Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow 117198, Russian Federation;6. Department of Microbiology, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25d, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria;7. Faculty of Natural Resources & Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, 46417-76489 Noor, Mazandaran, Iran |
| |
| Abstract: | In forest ecosystems, earthworms and wildfire are two ecological agents that cause carbon (C) stored in the forest floor to be transferred to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, either through heterotrophic respiration (earthworms) or through periodical combustion (wildfire). For centuries, wildfire has been an important ecological driver in the boreal forests of Canada where most fire emissions to the atmosphere originate from the forest floor. In contrast, earthworms are recent invaders, having been introduced to the Canadian boreal during the 20th century. Their spread is mainly associated with anthropogenic activities. We examined stand-level effects of earthworms and wildfire on forest floor C by adapting an earthworm-C simulation model for the boreal and using it in combination with a forest C accounting model. Because the overall impact of an invasive species depends on its areal extent, we used a spatial model of earthworm spread to calculate the total predicted change in C storage at the landscape-level following earthworm invasions in northeastern Alberta. Depending on the ecological groups of earthworms modelled in stand-level simulations, the forest floor C stock was reduced by 49.7–94.3% after 125 years, although the majority of this reduction occurred 35–40 years after initiation of the invasion. Because earthworm activities reduced the amount of forest floor C available for burning, emissions from wildfire were lower in the presence of earthworms. Spatial modelling of earthworm effects within the 5,905,400 ha Alberta–Pacific Forestry Management Area projected that forest floor C stocks in the invaded stands decreased 50,875 Mg C by 2006, and 2,706,354 Mg C by 2056, compared with the same area if earthworms were not present. Loss of forest floor C averaged over the 50 year simulation was 10 g m2 yr?1; similar in magnitude to estimates for C loss in the Canadian boreal due to wildfire or harvesting. These results indicate effects of non-native earthworms on the forest floor should be included in predictions of forest ecosystem C budgets to ensure accurate attribution of emissions to heterotrophic respiration versus combustion. |
| |
| Keywords: | Boreal forest Carbon Earthworms Fire Invasive spread Non-native species |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
