Immediate effects of prescribed burning on terrestrial testate amoebae in a continental Calluna heathland

► Prescribed burning was applied on two heathland sites. ► Fire did not cause any significant short-termed effects on soil microfauna (testate amoebae). ► Transient fires are useful tools for habitat management without affecting soil functioning (indicated by testate amoebae). Testate amoebae play an important role in food and energy turnover of terrestrial ecosystems. These protists had been used to analyze possible immediate effects on soil functioning caused by prescribed burning deployed for habitat management. Soil samples from two test sites had been taken within 1h before and after burning. Small, short and superficially burning fires did not severely affect soil testate amoebal communities, as shown by ANOVA, PCA, and cluster analysis. The results from this study corroborate a previously conducted study and highlight the fact that prescribed burning (transient fires) is a useful tool for habitat management without affecting soil testate amoebae communities (important for soil function), as shown for continental Calluna heathlands.