Reduce revenue vs. increase expenditure: Fires and plant invasion drive soil carbon loss with different mechanisms in a Mediterranean shrubland

Fires and plant invasions pose substantial threats to Mediterranean ecosystems, particularly in the context of a changing climate. Our study utilized a data-model integration approach to assess the response of soil organic carbon (SOC) to fires and plant invasion under three Shared Socio-Economic Pathway (SSP) scenarios (SSP1-26, SSP2-45, and SSP5-85). We parameterized the CLM-Microbe model and then investigated the individual and interactive impacts of fires and plant invasion on soil C by comparing factorial simulations of initialization (fire/no wildfire in 2021), fire module on/off, and with and without plant invasion during 2023-2100 in a Mediterranean ecosystem. The simulations indicated a marked C loss due to the 2021 wildfire, projected fires, and plant invasion across all future climate scenarios. Specifically, the 2021 wildfire, projected fires, and plant invasion reduced the SOC (0-30 cm) by 0.12, 0.26, and 0.15 kg C m-2 under SSP1-26, 0.12, 0.30, and 0.12 kg C m-2 under SSP2..., , # Reduce revenue vs. increase expenditure: Fires and plant invasion drive soil carbon loss with different mechanisms in a Mediterranean shrubland

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.n8pk0p37j](10.5061/dryad.n8pk0p37j)

## Description of the data and file structure

Supplementary data and code used to create figures in our JGR publication, doi: [10.1029/2025JG008964](https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JG008964 \"Opens in new tab\")

Data included in each file:

* Supplementary_information_S2.csv: NDVI in both control and fire-burned plots included in this study for analysis
* code.zip: Code used to produce figures in this study
* data.zip: Model output for simulations of with and without wildfire in 2021 (ctrl vs. burn as named in output), projected fires (noire vs. fire as named in output), and plant invasion (noinv vs. inv as named in output) during 2023-2100 forced by three models (CESM, EC-Earth3, and BCC-CSM2-MR as named in output) under three climate scenarios (SSP1-26, SSP2-45, and SSP5-85 as na...,