Long-term effects of fire on the composition and activity of the soil microflora of a subalpine, coniferous forest

The biomass, community composition, and metabolic activity of soil microorganisms were studied in adjacent burnt and unburnt areas of spruce–fir subalpine forest razed 6 years previously by a moderately severe natural fire. Similar levels of microbial biomass were observed at comparable burnt and unburnt sites, although the ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass was higher in the unburnt soils. The decreased acidity of the surface horizons in the burn probably tended to favor the development of a bacterial flora rather than a fungal flora. Microbial biomass in the burnt sites peaked earlier in the season than in the unburnt sites in response to the warmer soil temperatures and earlier thaw in the spring in the burn area.Significant differences in the species composition of the mycoflora in the organic soil horizons were observed between the burnt and unburnt sites. Apparently, these were related to qualitative differences in the recent litter. Phoma, Cladosporium, and Botrytis, which are usually associated ...