Table 3.
Species richness, diversity, and abundance/percent cover of various taxonomic groups in forest, edge, and seismic line habitats at burned and unburned peatlands along the southwest perimeter of the 2016 Horse River wildfire (Fort McMurray).
| Group | Burned forest | Burned edge | Burned line | Unburned forest | Unburned edge | Unburned line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species richness | ||||||
| Spiders | 138.0 (13.97)B | 146.1 (12.40) | 147.5 (8.40) | 110.3 (8.39)A,a | 130.9 (16.72)ab | 151.7 (15.34)b |
| Carabids | 41.3 (10.35)B,c | 17.2 (2.48)B,a | 24.7 (2.25)b | 13.7 (3.21)A,ab | 9.1 (2.60)A,a | 19.5 (5.03)b |
| Ants | 19.0 (6.65) | 19.5 (4.96) | 16.1 (2.34) | 21.5 (5.34) | 14.5 (1.89) | 16.1 (1.69) |
| Understory plants | 13.7 (1.82)a | 12.7 (1.71)a | 21.6 (3.45)b | 13.7 (2.23)ab | 11.0 (2.09)a | 21.5 (4.23)b |
| Overstory plants | 2.5 (0.46) | 2.3 (0.36) | 3.7 (0.69) | 2.7 (0.46)ab | 1.8 (0.44)a | 4.7 (0.84)b |
| Species diversity | ||||||
| Spiders | 19.4 (0.91)A,a | 21.5 (0.89)A,b | 30.7 (1.08)c | 31.0 (1.73)B,b | 27.1 (1.30)B,a | 31.5 (1.35)b |
| Carabids | 5.5 (1.04)B,c | 4.9 (0.72)B,a | 10.0 (0.99)b | 4.5 (1.05)A,ab | 3.2 (0.52)A,a | 8.0 (1.54)b |
| Ants | 12.7 (2.71) | 14.6 (2.47) | 13.4 (1.64) | 16.1 (3.10) | 12.6 (1.85) | 14.7 (1.47) |
| Understory plants | 6.8 (0.99) | 6.7 (0.91) | 9.4 (1.58) | 6.3 (1.21) | 4.8 (1.11) | 9.1 (1.94) |
| Overstory plants | 1.7 (0.27) | 1.7 (0.17) | 2.3 (0.39) | 2.2 (0.27)b | 1.2 (0.21)a | 2.6 (0.47)b |
| Abundance/percent cover | ||||||
| Spiders† | 656.9 (62.41)B | 602.9 (37.06)B | 604.5 (81.62) | 442.2 (62.71)A | 474.3 (40.26)A | 541.3 (94.60) |
| Carabids‡ | 29.6 (6.07) | 28.9 (7.22) | 46.2 (12.08)B | 21.2 (5.32) | 21.1 (6.46) | 18.0 (5.75)A |
| Non‐vasc.† | 17.5 (3.91)A,a | 21.6 (6.12)A,b | 47.1 (11.64)b | 96.1 (11.21)B | 91.7 (14.88)B | 79.6 (18.55) |
| Understory plants | 19.0 (4.48)A,a | 24.0 (4.15)A,a | 60.1 (8.54)b | 37.6 (4.48)B | 41.6 (5.08)B | 47.1 (10.46) |
| Overstory plants | 1.5 (1.63)A | 3.1 (1.77)A | 7.0 (1.89) | 9.9 (1.64)B,a | 18.5 (2.17)B,b | 9.3 (2.31)a |
Values are averages (with SE in parentheses), except for arthropod richness, which are estimated via coverage‐based rarefaction (95% confidence interval; differences are assessed by visual inspection). Different letters denote significant differences (α = 0.05). Uppercase letters denote differences between burned and unburned sites by habitat (e.g., burned forest vs. unburned forest). Lowercase letters denote differences between habitats by fire category (e.g., forest vs. edge vs. line in unburned sites). Non‐vasc., non‐vascular plants.
Square root (†) and logarithm (‡) transformations were applied to meet model assumptions; estimated means and standard errors obtained from back‐transformed data.