Life-history traits predict recovery patterns in Collembola species after fire: A 10 year study

Fire is the most dominant natural large scale disturbance regime in many of the world's ecosystems, including boreal forests. Fires usually destroy vegetation and litter and, if the fires are severe enough, parts of the humus layer. Soil animals that are using those resources are therefore expected to be sensitive to fire. Collembola are a species rich group of soil animals that shows a broad variability in life-history traits. In this study I use a fire experiment with burnt clear-cut, unburnt clear-cut and unburnt forest to examine the recovery of the collembolan community at species level during 10 years after a fire of moderate severity. I also investigate if there are certain life-history traits that are advantageous for recovery after fire. Neither total abundances nor species composition had recovered at burnt plots compared to unburnt plots 10 years after fire. A few species had recovered during the study period and the recovering species shared common traits, i.e. they were mainly surface living and sexually reproducing species with traits for fast active dispersal. Community weighted trait means showed that for the whole community life-history traits varied between treatments only the first years after fire.

► The recovery of collembolan communities after fire were studied over a period of 10 years.
► Species composition, species diversity, species number and species turn-over rates were assessed.
► The availability of species recovery data also allowed for assessing important life-history traits.
► Species able to recover were mainly surface living and sexually reproducing with traits for fast active dispersal.
► Whole-community life-history traits varied between treatments only the first years after fire.