{
  "id": 5307063,
  "title": "Persistent but variable effect of experimental laboratory burns on microbial community resistance, resilience, and function across contrasting boreal forest soils",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/persistent-but-variable-effect-of-experimental-laboratory-burns-on",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.748615v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Boreal forests, which cover large areas of the northern hemisphere, are influenced by frequent wildfires and play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Microorganisms contribute significantly to soil nutrient cycling within these ecosystems, but the effects of wildfire on microbially-mediated soil biogeochemical cycles remain largely unexplored. To address this gap, a study was conducted using laboratory burns and soil incubations of soil cores originating from two distinct soil types, Histosols and Gleysols, within Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, Canada. The primary objective was to evaluate the impact of burns on soil bacterial and fungal community composition and function, as well as the relationships between these changes and alterations in soil pH and respiration rates. The study aimed to understand how burn-induced shifts in microbial community composition affect microbial activity and soil carbon cycling.\n\nThe researchers observed varying resistance and resilience of microbial communities to burning across different soil types. Histosols exhibited greater resistance to microbial community disruption compared to the O horizons of Gleysols. This observation could be attributed to the thinner O horizons in Gleysols, which are more susceptible to the immediate effects of burning. Additionally, the study found that microbial communities experienced limited resilience to burning, with recovery taking years rather than months, supporting earlier reports on the slow nature of post-burn microbial community recovery. The findings also revealed that burning led to a decrease in carbon use efficiency (CUE) in microbial communities, with larger decreases observed following longer and hotter burns. This decrease in CUE correlated with an increase in the weighted mean predicted 16S rRNA gene copy number, suggesting that copy number could potentially serve as an indicator of post-fire CUE in boreal forest soils. However, further research is necessary to confirm this relationship and account for the effects of environmental conditions, substrates, and time since fire on this connection.\n\nOverall, the study suggests that burn-induced shifts in microbial community composition significantly impact microbial community function, thereby influencing soil carbon cycling. These results provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between wildfires, microbial communities, and soil biogeochemical processes in boreal forests, emphasizing the need for continued research in this field.",
  "summary": "Boreal forests stretch across vast swaths of the northern hemisphere, are shaped by wildfire, and play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Microorganisms play a critical role in soil nutrient cycling in these ecosystems, yet there are many open questions about the impacts of wildfire on microbially mediated soil biogeochemical cycles. In this study, we used laboratory burns and soil…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}