As a consequence to climate change and resulting severe weather events such as prolonged hot and dry periods, wildfire frequency increases globally. Progressively, these effects are noticeable in high latitude countries such as Sweden where a megafire burned 13 100 ha of managed coniferous forest in 2014. While the effect of fire on species communities has been much studied, species surveys often only collect data opportunistically after a wildfire, making inferences about the fire effect uncertain. In this study my aim was to examine the response of peatland dwelling beetles (Coleoptera) to fire by comparing beetle communities of burned drained Swedish peatlands and adjacent non-burned (reference) areas. The first beetle survey took place in 2009, the second was carried out in 2020, 6 years after the fire occurred. Both surveys used pitfall traps in a burned and un-burned area, which were divided into two types of mires, fen and bog, respectively. As a result of the post-fire recovery, dead wood accumulated in the burned area and shrubs and young trees replaced the original vegetation. The reference area did not show significant changes in vegetation. Over all 188 species were found in 2009 and 256 in 2020. In 2009 most species were found in the pre-fire area while in 2020 most species were found in the reference area. Further, two red-listed species (conservation category NT) were found in the fire area as well as two new species for Västmanland country. As expected, the fire had a large impact on the beetle community, where once dominant species declines and got replaced by more dispersive or more moisture striving species. In contrast to my expectations, not only the fire area showed notable changes in the beetle community regarding diversity and composition, also the reference area showed changes in species dominance and a high species turnover. Although the before-after-control-impact study design illustrates the independence of the fire impact to the changes in species composition over time, the results suggest that the time between the surveys (10 years) was the main factor for the community change.

Climate change is causing larger wildfires and more extreme precipitation events throughout the world. As these ecological disturbances increasingly coincide, they are altering lateral fluxes of sediment, organic matter, and nutrients. Increased lateral flux of nutrients could exacerbate eutrophication and associated harmful algal blooms, and increased sediment and organic matter flux could degrade the water supply. Here, we report the immediate stream chemistry response of watersheds in central Utah (USA) that were affected by a megafire followed by an extreme precipitation event in 2018. The wildfires burned throughout the summer of 2018 until the remnants of Hurricane Rosa released torrential rain on the still smoldering, 610-km2 burn scar. To assess how these multiple stressors affected lateral material fluxes, we collected daily to hourly water samples at 10 stream locations starting immediately before the storm event until three weeks after it finished. We quantified suspended sediment, solute and nutrient concentrations, water isotopes, and the concentration, optical properties, and reactivity of dissolved organic matter. For all land-use types, the wildfire caused substantial increases in sediment concentration and flux, increasing total suspended sediment by over 20-fold, attributable to the loss of stabilizing vegetation and increased runoff. Unexpectedly, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was 2.1-fold higher in burned watersheds, despite the decrease in plant and soil organic matter, and this DOC was 1.3-fold more biodegradable and 2.0-fold more photodegradable than in unburned watersheds based on 28-day light and dark incubations. However, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were higher in watersheds with high anthropogenic influences, regardless of burn status. Likewise, direct human land use had a greater effect than wildfire on runoff response, with rapid storm water signals in urban and agricultural areas and a slow arrival of storm water in unburned areas without direct human influence. These findings indicate how megafires and intense rainfall fundamentally increase short-term sediment flux and alter organic matter concentration and characteristics, confirming previous research. These fluxes of degradable dissolved and particulate organic matter could exert short-term pressure on ecosystems already fragmented by human infrastructure. However, in contrast with previous research, which overwhelming focuses on burned-unburned comparisons in pristine watersheds, we found that the presence of urban and agricultural activity exerted a much greater influence on nutrient status than the wildfire. This novel finding suggests that reducing nutrient fluxes from urban and agricultural areas could make ecosystems more resilient to megafire and extreme precipitation events. Together with reducing anthropogenic climate change to reduce the frequency and extent of large wildfires, improving nutrient management should be a priority in semi-arid regions such as Utah.

Human activities are increasing the occurrence of megafires that have the potential to alter the ecology of forest ecosystems. The objective of this study was to understand the impact of a 610 km2 megafire on patterns of forest regeneration and herbivory of three forest types (aspen/fir, oak/maple, and pinyon/juniper) within the burn scar. Sapling density, meristem removal, and height were measured across a transect network spanning the area of the burn scar over three years from 2019-2021. The network consisted of 17 burned/unburned transect pairs in adjacent burned/unburned forest stands (6 aspen/fir, 5 oak/maple, and 6 pinyon/juniper). Species that regenerated through sprouting generally responded positively to fire while regeneration from seed showed very little post-fire response. Browse pressure was concentrated on deciduous tree species and tended to be greater in burned areas but the effect diminished over time. Meristem removal of sprouting species was below the critical threshold resulting in positive vertical growth across years. Our results indicate that forest regeneration within the megafire scar was generally positive and experienced sustainable levels of ungulate browsing that are likely to result in forest recruitment success. Novel fire regimes are becoming increasingly common and megafires have burned across ecotonal boundaries across multiple forest types. Plant community structure and composition may be critically affected by changing fire regimes. Our objective was to investigate how a megafire that burned across multiple forest types impacted understory plant community assembly and biodiversity. Paired vegetation transects were installed in burned and unburned areas across aspen/fir, oak/maple, and pinyon/juniper forests within the 2018 Pole Creek Megafire burn scar. Percent cover of understory plants was measured in the summer of 2022 and plants were identified to the species level. Richness and diversity indices were then calculated and analyzed using mixed effects models. Fire decreased species richness of the aspen/fir forest understory and increased plant cover in pinyon/juniper forests, while not significantly impacting oak/maple understories. The significant effects of fire were largely driven by changes in forb species. Fire decreased the richness of native plants in aspen/fir forests but increased the richness of non-native plants in oak/maple and pinyon/juniper forests. Non-native plant abundance also increased in post-fire pinyon/juniper forests. Our results suggest that forest understory communities show variable responses to megafires that burn across multiple forest types with important implications for post-fire plant community structure, diversity, and invasibility. Large mammal herbivores (ungulates) are increasing in number and spreading into novel habitats throughout the world. Their impact on forest understory plant communities is strong and varies by herbivore, plant growth form, and season. The objective of this study was to determine the individual and collective herbivory impacts of native versus domestic ungulates on the understory plant community composition of post-fire aspen forests. Four-way fencing treatments were installed in 2012 to separate ungulate species, and Daubenmire frames were used to collect percent cover estimates for each understory plant species. Vegetation data were later used to calculate richness and diversity indices. Total understory plant cover, richness, and diversity were not significantly impacted by the herbivory fencing treatment. However, woody plant species' percent cover was 90% greater in full ungulate exclusion plots than in the fenceless controls. Herbivores likely targeted woody plant species due to their high nutrient levels that last longer into the winter than those of forb or graminoid species. Herbivory treatment did not affect non-native species. Our results indicate that herbivore fencing can protect forest understory plant communities, particularly the woody species. Successful regeneration of woody species can benefit the diversity of the entire understory plant community and preserve forest structure.