Effects of burning on soil macrofauna in a savanna-woodland under different experimental fuel load treatments
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Sabine Marie Flore Doamba, Patrice Savadogo, Hassan Bismarck Nacro. (10/4/2014). Effects of burning on soil macrofauna in a savanna-woodland under different experimental fuel load treatments. Applied Soil Ecology, 81, pp. 37-44.
Abstract
In West African savanna-woodland, the use of prescribed burning as a management tool has ecological
implications for the soil biota. Yet, the effects of fire on soil inhabiting organisms are poorly understood.
The aim of this study was to examine the responses of soil macro-invertebrates to early fires in a Sudanian
savanna-woodland on a set of experimental plots subject to different fuel load treatments. The
abundance of major macro-invertebrate taxa and functional groups, and taxon richness were quantified
in soil cores collected from three different soil layers before and immediately after burning. The results
indicated that, overall, there was substantial spatial and temporal variation in the composition of macroinvertebrate
assemblages. The immediate effects of fire were to reduce total invertebrate numbers and
numbers of many invertebrate groups dramatically. This is probably due to the fact that many of the
surface-dwelling macrofauna perished as a result of less favorable microclimate due to fire, diminished
resources, or migrate to safer environments. Fuel load treatment did not affect the community taxonomic
richness or abundance of the soil-dwelling fauna. Furthermore, annual changes in community
composition were more pronounced at the burnt site than in the control. This could be related to the
inter-annual difference in precipitation pattern recorded during the two-year study period at our site.
Since soil macrofauna population declines in fire-disturbed areas, increasing fire prevalence may jeopardize
the long-term conservation of fire sensitive macrofauna groups. Special fire management attention
is therefore recommended with due consideration to the type of burning and fuel properties to avoid the
detrimental effects of intense fire affecting the resilience of savanna soil macrofauna species.
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Savadogo, Patrice https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6997-424X