Microbial Characteristics of a Forest Soil After Twenty Years of Prescribed Burning

SUMMARY

Populations of soil microorganisms were examined to determine the effects of prescribed burning in loblolly pine stands on the coastal plain. Burning had no effect on the number of fungi per gram of soil, although annual burning did reduce their total numbers through a decrease in the weight of the organic horizon (F + H layer). The number of bacteria and actinomycetes in the F+H layer was reduced by annual burning. Treatment produced only minor differences in the number of genera or species of fungi isolated.