Plant and Soil 209: 233–243, 1999. © 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 233 Wildfire effects on carbon and nitrogen in inland coniferous forests

located on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state, USA, were examined following severe wildfire to compare total soil carbon and nitrogen capitals with unburned (control) forests. One year after fire, the average C content (60 cm depth) of PP/DF and LP/ES soil was 30 % (25 Mg ha1) and 10 % (7 Mg ha1) lower than control soil. Average N content on the burned PP/DF and LP/ES plots was 46 % (3.0 Mg ha1) and 13% (0.4 Mg ha1) lower than control soil. The reduction in C and N in the PP/DF soil was largely the result of lower nutrient capitals in the burned Bw horizons (12–60 cm depth) relative to control plots. It is unlikely that the 1994 fire substantially affected nutrient capitals in the Bw horizons; however, natural variability or past fire history could be responsible for the varied nutrient capitals observed in the subsurface soils. Surface erosion (sheet plus rill) removed between 15 and 18 Mg ha1 of soil from the burned plots. Nutrient losses through surface erosio