Soil Characteristics Following a Lightning-Initiated Fire at MacKenzie Flats, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (1998)

We evaluated soil characteristics after a lightning-initiated fire. Following the fire in July 1998, 25 experimental plots were established on the eastern edge of MacKenzie Flats at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. Ten of these plots were located in a Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama)-dominated site, while 15 were established in another area dominated by Bouteloua eriopoda (black grama). All plots were oriented along a topographic gradient that ran in an east-west direction. At three topographic locations within each plot, soil samples were taken at two depths from an area covered by perennial grass as well as an area devoid of vegetation. Soil samples were collected in July 1998 and analyzed for moisture content and soil texture.