1.problem statement poorly drained soils store substantial amounts of organic matter that have accumulated over an extended period

Yet the future of this organic carbon stock remains uncertain partially due to the recent and projected rise in severe wildfires. Wildfires not only directly consume organic matter but also disturb environmental conditions potentially resulting in increased postfire carbon loss. Regular prescribed burning of surface fuels provides managers an effective tool for reducing the risk of severe fires but also holds the potential to mitigate carbon loss through altered soil water regimes and soil organic matter SOM chemistry that creates resistance to fire. However some studies suggest less prescribed fires would increase ecosystem carbon storage highlighting that a direct assessment is needed on the effects of prescribed burning on SOM storage especially in poorly drained soils with enriched SOM.2.objectives here we focus on pine forests and savannas occurring on poorly drained and carbon rich soils in florida. Our overall goal is to assess prescribed burning efficacy in mitigating carbon loss from poorly drained soils in response to severe wildfires. To achieve this we will 1 compare vegetation characteristics and fuel loads between sites subjected to prescribed burning and those without IT using remote sensing products and terrestrial laser scanning 2 quantify how vegetation characteristics correspond to soil water dynamics and potential SOM loss 3 determine if prescribed burning corresponds to altered SOM chemistry and soil microbial respiration contributing to carbon accumulation 4 conduct a direct assessment of the efficacy of regular prescribed burning in mitigating carbon loss by comparing post wildfire carbon storage and fluxes between sites that have experienced frequent prescribed burning VS. Those that have not and 5 develop predictive models of SOM loss under different forest management regimes and vegetation characteristics.3.benefits the outcomes of this proposal will offer tangible evidence for the development of efficient and actionable management strategies intended to protect the carbon stored in poorly drained soils which has accumulated over periods ranging from several hundred to thousands of years. Our project will evaluate the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of a widely utilized fuel treatment prescribed burning in countering carbon loss from deep organic and mineral soils in response to wildfires. Therefore the findings are expected to apply across a substantial portion of ecosystems in the united states characterized by poorly drained soils. While we focus on evaluating the efficacy of prescribed burning to mitigate the risk of carbon loss our framework could equally apply to various other fuel treatments such as mechanical thinning and pile burning.4.task statement relevancy our proposal directly addresses all three themes of the task statement. Firstly our comprehensive analysis of the effects of prescribed burning on vegetation characteristics fuel loads soil water regimes and SOM chemistry and decomposition OBJ. 1 2 and 3 will shed light on the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the potential of prescribed burning in mitigating the risk of carbon loss during severe wildfires. Secondly our comparison of post wildfire carbon storage and fluxes between sites with a recurring history of regular prescribed fires and those with long term fire suppression OBJ. 4 provides not only robust measurements for assessing carbon recovery after wildfires but also offers a direct evaluation of the effectiveness of prescribed burning in reducing carbon loss in the aftermath of wildfire events. Lastly this direct assessment also holds significant implications for the development of predictive models and evidence based strategies for managing carbon within ecosystems with thick organic layers and large reserves of mineral SOM OBJ. 5.