The effects of prescribed fire on soil nematodes in an arid juniper savanna

Prescribed fire produced a landscape with two types of\r\nseverely burned patches: charred shrub patches and charred patches with tree\r\ntrunks at the center. Soil nematodes were more abundant in burned and unburned\r\njuniper (Juniperus monosperma) tree\r\npatches than in yucca-shrub patches. There were no differences in nematode\r\nabundance between burned and unburned patches during the late spring and summer\r\nsamples. Nematode abundance was significantly (p i.e., by loss of tree canopies, litter\r\naccumulation, and shrub foliage, which affects soil temperatures and water\r\nredistribution.