Post-Fire Regeneration and Diversity Response to Burn Severity in Pinus halepensis Mill. Forests
Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
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Forests 2018, 9(6), 299; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9060299
Received: 20 April 2018
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Revised: 23 May 2018
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Accepted: 24 May 2018
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Published: 26 May 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Management of Pine Forests)
In recent decades, fire regimes have been modified by various factors such as changes in land use, global change or forest management policies. The vulnerability of Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems is increasing due to more severe and frequent droughts. This study aimed to determine the plant response of ecosystems during the short-term post-fire period by relating alpha diversity, floristic richness and tree recruitment dynamics to burn severity 5 years after a wildfire. Our results conclude that in the short term, Pinus halepensis Mill. stands in southeastern Spain quickly recovered alpha diversity values, mainly in areas burned with low severity. We observed that moderate and high severities affected the ecosystem more significantly, showing higher values for the Shannon Index but lower for the Simpson index. Pine recruitment was higher in burned areas, and we found the highest number of Aleppo pine seedlings under a moderate burn severity. Post-fire regeneration functional groups (obligate seeders and resprouters) were promoted under moderate and high burn severity, increasing their abundance. Annual species (mainly herbs) colonized burned areas, persisting with higher presence under moderate burn severity. Restoration tools should be focused on reducing fire severity, mainly in areas at high risk of desertification, and promoting resistance, vulnerability and resilience of these ecosystems.
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Keywords:
burn severity; fire ecology; ecosystem recovery; natural regeneration; Aleppo pine recruitment; post-fire restoration
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MDPI and ACS Style
González-De Vega, S.; De las Heras, J.; Moya, D. Post-Fire Regeneration and Diversity Response to Burn Severity in Pinus halepensis Mill. Forests. Forests 2018, 9, 299. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9060299
AMA Style
González-De Vega S, De las Heras J, Moya D. Post-Fire Regeneration and Diversity Response to Burn Severity in Pinus halepensis Mill. Forests. Forests. 2018; 9(6):299. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9060299
Chicago/Turabian StyleGonzález-De Vega, Sonsoles, Jorge De las Heras, and Daniel Moya. 2018. "Post-Fire Regeneration and Diversity Response to Burn Severity in Pinus halepensis Mill. Forests" Forests 9, no. 6: 299. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9060299
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