Watershed grassland fires drive nutrient increases in replicated experimental ponds

Kelly, AG, Harris, TD. 2024. Watershed grassland fires drive nutrient increases in replicated experimental ponds. Lake Reserv Manage. 40:303–316. Forest and grassland fires have been increasing in frequency due to anthropogenic climate change and fire suppression-focused land management practices. Fire has frequently been observed in lake watersheds, yet links between fire ecology and limnology are not well understood, especially in grassland ecosystems. We conducted a 21-d replicated whole pond experiment to determine the effects of burning on lakes within grassland ecosystems. We examined physicochemical parameters and the phytoplankton concentration and community composition in control and treatment (burned) ponds. Total phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, and nitrate increased significantly following burning. The total nitrogen:total phosphorus and total dissolved nitrogen:total dissolved phosphorus ratios decreased significantly following burning. Increased nutrient inputs from burned material led to greater mean phytoplankton concentrations in the treatment ponds compared to the control ponds; however, no statistically significant changes were observed in phytoplankton concentration nor the community composition. Increases in nutrient concentrations in the treatment ponds were observed within the first half of the study and were short-lived, whereas increases in phytoplankton concentrations were not observed until experiment day 21. Our results indicate that increased prevalence of fire may worsen eutrophication issues in grassland water bodies, but more research is needed to understand the persistence of these impacts in pond ecosystems.