The Long-Term Effects of Prescribed Fire and Harvesting Techniques On Forest Floor Soil Biogeochemistry in a Mixed Conifer Forest in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Prescribed fire is a useful and common tool used in management practices in order to eliminate thick fuel load buildup that could otherwise cause a harmful wildfire. The objective of this study is to quantify the lasting effects of prescribed fire and harvesting techniques on forest floor and soil nutrients approximately 8-9 years after a burn occurred within two study areas around the Lake Tahoe basin. The study sites include prescribed fire at each location after various harvest and understory removal treatments, including whole-tree (WT) thinning, cut-to-length (CTL) thinning, mastication, and no harvest. We compiled data collected before, immediately after, and 8-9 years after the prescribed burns at each site.  All soils and organic layer samples were analyzed for nutrients. Resin lysimeters, resin capsules, and resin stakes were instrumented in both sites in order to assess soil leaching.  These results will add to the data base on long-term effects of harvesting and prescribed fire on carbon and nutrient status of Sierran forest ecosystems.