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Vol. 51 No. 7, 2012
Forest Fire Modifies Soil Free-Living Nematode Communities in the Biriya Woodland of Northern Israel
Stanislav Pen-Mouratov1, Orit Ginzburg1, Walter G. Whitford2, and Yosef Steinberger1,*
1The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
2USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, MSC 3JER, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
Stanislav Pen-Mouratov, Orit Ginzburg, Walter G. Whitford, and Yosef Steinberger (2012) We
hypothesized that differential tree damage caused by fire in a
Mediterranean conifer forest would reduce soil free-living nematode
abundances and species diversity and affect the nematode communityʼs
trophic structure. Nematode communities were examined in soil
samples collected from 4 subsites according to damage caused by the
fire: all trees completely burned; burned trees with some live canopy
foliage; burned trees removed by salvage logging, and a patch of
unburned forest. Abundances of 2 bacterium-feeding nematode
genera (Cephalobus spp. and Acrobeloides
spp.) were higher in burned forest soils than in unburned forest
soils. Other species of bacteria-feeding nematodes were less
abundant in burned forest soils than in unburned forest soils.
There was no effect of fire on the abundances of fungus-feeding
nematodes. Eight of 13 species of omnivore-predator nematode
genera were more abundant in unburned forest soils than in burned
forest soils. Only 2 omnivore-predators with very low abundances
were found in soils of the burned forest but were absent from unburned
forest soils. Fire resulted in a lower trophic diversity, lower
generic diversity, and lower generic richness in burned forest soils
than in unburned forest soils. The fungivore-bacterivore ratio
was similar in burned and unburned areas. Maturity indices were
lower in burned than in unburned forest soils. The reported
increased abundance of bacterium-feeding nematodes 6 wk after the fire
remained consistent in burned forest soils 2 yr post-burn in this
study. Other short-term changes in nematode communities did not
persist in this study during the 2nd year post-burn.
Key words: Bacteria-feeding nematodes, Diversity, Fungivores, Omnivore-predators, Plant-parasitic nematodes.
*Correspondence: Tel: 972-3-5318571. Fax: 972-3-7384058. E-mail:yosef.steinberger@biu.ac.il
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