Effects of Log Erosion Barriers on Soil Fungal Communities Ten Years After a Severe Wildfire in a Semi-Arid Forest

Abstract

Fungi are involved in several biotic processes in soil. Many studies have investigated the impacts of wildfire on fungal communities, but few have explored their diversity after post-fire management. This study seeks to fill this gap by evaluating the species richness, diversity, and evenness of fungi, and many soil properties in a severely burned forest in Central-Eastern Spain 10 years after installing log erosion barriers (LEBs) as a post-fire management treatment. When compared to the unburned soils, all diversity indices of fungal communities—especially species richness and abundance, +39%,—significantly increased in burned and untreated sites. This was mainly due to the long time elapsed from wildfire and post-fire treatment and the high cover of dead wood, which supported soil humidity for fungi development. Compared to burned areas, LEBs further increased fungal biodiversity, +43% in species richness, and +22% in abundance. This increased biodiversity was supported by a higher content of organic matter, nutrients, and some enzymes. Therefore, LEBs used in post-fire management can be suitable for the increased development of some fungi species and their diversity in semi-arid forests affected by severe wildfires.