Linking Post-fire Tree Density to Carbon Storage in High-Latitude Cajander Larch (Larix cajanderi) Forests of Far Northeastern Siberia

Abstract

With climate warming and drying, fire activity is increasing in Cajander larch (Larix cajanderi Mayr.) forests underlain by continuous permafrost in northeastern Siberia, and initial post-fire tree demographic processes could unfold to determine long-term forest carbon (C) dynamics through impacts on tree density. Here, we evaluated above- and belowground C pools across 25 even-aged larch stands of varying tree densities that established following a wildfire in ~ 1940 near Cherskiy, Russia. Total C pools increased with increased larch tree density, from ~ 9,000 g C m⁻² in low-density stands to ~ 11,000 g C m⁻² in high and very high-density stands, with increases most pronounced at tree densities < 1 stem m⁻² and driven by increased above- and belowground (that is, coarse roots) and live and dead (that is, woody debris and snags) larch biomass. Total understory vegetation and non-larch coarse root C pools declined with increased tree density due to decreased shrub C pools, but these pools were relatively small compared to larch biomass. Fine root, soil organic matter (OM), and near surface (0–30 cm) mineral soil (MS) C pools varied little with tree density, although soil C pools held most (18–28% in OM and 44–51% in MS) C stored in these stands. Thus, if changing fire regimes promote denser stands, C storage will likely increase, but whether this increase offsets C lost during fires remains unknown. Our findings highlight how post-fire tree demographic processes impact C pool distribution and stability in larch forests of Siberian permafrost regions.