Poster Presentation Society for Freshwater Science 2026 Annual Meeting

How does fire stewardship affect carbon cycling in wetlands? (136107)

Victoria Secondine 1 , Amy Hansen 1
  1. University of Kansas, Lawrence, KANSAS, United States

Wetlands influence global carbon (C) cycling through high rates of C sequestration and methanogenesis. The net greenhouse gas impact of wetlands is still being debated. Wetlands are highly valuable to Indigenous peoples, who hold cultural connections to these ecosystems. Indigenous peoples have long understood that water and fire are interconnected, practicing fire stewardship in wetlands for ecological and cultural objectives. Fire suppression led to an accumulation of flammable undergrowth, and together with climate change, creates conditions that favor larger, more destructive wildfires. My doctoral research focuses on human-fire regimes in wetland ecosystems through Indigenous fire stewardship (also known as cultural fire) and Western science-informed fire stewardship (also known as prescribed fire). Alterations in wetland fire regimes can influence greenhouse gas accumulation; therefore, research on fire stewardship in wetlands is essential.

My experiment compares three treatments: cultural fire, prescribed fire, and no fire (control) in a wetland in northeastern Kansas. I will measure C in wetland soils, vegetation, water, and gas emissions before and after prescribed and cultural fire, and in the control plot. I will monitor water depth in both treatment plots and the control, and measure temperature during the two fire treatments. Soil cores will be used to collect data on physical soil characteristics and to determine LOI, which provides an estimate of soil organic matter. I will perform elemental analysis to obtain an accurate estimate of the C stored in the soil. I will determine above-ground plant biomass from vegetation quadrat samples. Elemental analysis will also be performed to quantify the amount of C stored in the plants. Gas samples collected from static chambers will be analyzed for gaseous C (carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4)) and other greenhouse gases. I will monitor water table depth in minipeizometers and collect water samples for water quality testing, including parameters for organic C. Studying C in various forms before and after the fire treatments and in the control plot will clarify the effects of fire on C cycling in wetlands, highlighting wetland fire stewardship as a prospect for climate change adaptation.

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