Fall prescribed burns deplete surface soil C pools more than spring burns in a young mixed-conifer forest

Wildfires burn as much as 3% of Earth’s surface annually and remove carbon (C) stored in surface soils. Prescribed burns may offer an opportunity to preserve soil C stocks by limiting the extent and severity of wildfires. However, there is a limited number of days that are dry enough to conduct prescribed burns but wet enough to prevent the unintentional spread of fire. While prescribed burns mostly occur during the historical fire season—late summer and fall—burning during other favorable seasons, like spring, would facilitate forest management. Yet, it is not clear how burning in the spring versus the fall affects soil C stocks. To assess how burn season affects soil C dynamics, we measured bulk soil C, mineral-associated organic C (MAOC), particulate organic C (POC), pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM), microbial respiration, and extracellular enzyme activity in surface soils for two years after burning young mixed-conifer forest stands in either the fall or spring. We found that fall bu..., , # Data from: Fall prescribed burns deplete surface soil C pools more than spring burns in a young mixed-conifer forest

**GENERAL INFORMATION**

Data for: \"Fall prescribed burns deplete surface soil C pools more than spring burns in a young mixed-conifer forest\" which includes data on soil carbon, microbial respiration, ash depth, and extracellular enzyme activity for the manuscript submitted to Forest Ecology and Management. Cells with \"n/a\" indicate that data were not collected or did not pass quality control measures. Please refer to the publication for methodologies used to generate these data and for the experimental design.

Title of Dataset: Data for: Fall prescribed burns deplete surface soil C pools more than spring burns in a young mixed-conifer forest

Authors: Alexander H. Krichels, Chloe L. Reid, Basubi B. Zhilik, Jacob Kemner, Robert A. York, Sydney I. Glassman, Peter M. Homyak

Corresponding author: Alexander H. Krichels, Rocky Mountain Research Station, [alexander.kriche...,