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

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.