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Prescribed burning shifts soil carbon stock from particulate to mineral-associated fractions through microbial processes in subtropical pine forests
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DOI：10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.107306.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Fire is an important ecological disturbance shaping soil biogeochemical processes and forest carbon cycling, yet its effects on the physical fractions of soil organic carbon (SOC), particularly particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), remain poorly understood across seasons and soil depths. This study investigated how prescribed burning of different intensities regulates SOC fractions, nutrient stoichiometry, and microbial resource allocation in Pinus yunnanensis forests of southwestern China by integrating SOC fractionation with measurements of soil nutrients, microbial biomass, extracellular enzyme stoichiometry, and microbial carbon-use efficiency to elucidate the mechanisms linking fire disturbance to SOC stabilization. We found that moderate-intensity burning significantly increased SOC (78%), total nitrogen (49%) and phosphorus (70%) content in surface soils during winter, resulting in an ~80% increase in the MAOC:SOC ratio. These changes were accompanied by higher microbial biomass and phosphatase activity, indicating enhanced microbial processing of organic substrates and transformation of microbial residues into mineral-associated carbon pools. Ecoenzymatic vector analysis revealed widespread microbial phosphorus limitation (vector angle > 45°), while random forest and structural equation modeling analyses identified microbial enzyme activity and nutrient availability as dominant drivers of MAOC formation (R2 = 0.74). Seasonal contrasts showed that winter burning promoted MAOC accumulation through coupled microbial–mineral interactions, whereas summer burning accelerated SOC mineralization due to stronger enzymatic activity. Together, these results demonstrate that prescribed burning regulates stable SOC content through interactions among nutrients, microbial metabolism, and mineral protection processes, and that moderate winter burns can enhance long-term SOC stabilization in subtropical pine forest soils.
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