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Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Effects on Pine Barrens Soils and Succession

AJAS · 2025

Amalie Werner · New Jersey Academy of Science

Overview

Wildfires are a worldwide threat and climate change is increasing their intensity and frequency. They burn the soil, its nutrients, and surrounding vegetation. The Pine Barrens are protected forests in southern New Jersey, there are few recent studies about the small fire-adapted Pygmy Pine ecosystems there. A wildfire and prescribed (controlled, less intense) fire burned through Warren Grove Bombing Range and Pygmy Pine forest on April 15 and 16, 2023. It was hypothesized that the soil nutrient levels in the areas burned by the wildfire would spike right after; however, the soil nutrient spikes in the prescribed site would be less intense: the growth of successional plants would reflect the nutrient levels - herbaceous plants would regrow fastest. Every six weeks after, fifteen samples were collected from the wildfire, prescribed, and control sites. They were tested for compaction, nitrates, phosphates, pH, carbon, sand and silt (%), soil conductivity, and plant diversity (N = 105). The hypothesis was partially supported; there were fluctuations in the soils during the first twelve weeks, however, there were minimal significant differences between the soils at different sites, possibly caused by previously unstudied wind deposition of nutrients from ash/smoke. Even when the nutrient levels could not indicate burn severity, the number of plants and diversity was greater at the prescribed burned site, likely because of less intense temperatures; additionally, herbaceous growth was first (as hypothesized). The specific adaptations of Pygmy Pine's post-burn nutrient levels affect the successional growth, and more should be understood about this unexplored, important ecosystem.

Competition history

  • AJAS 2025 Category not listed

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Source: AAAS Annual Meeting (Confex) / American Junior Academy of Science

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