Fire-Induced Vegetation Dynamics: An In-Depth Discourse on Revealing Ecological Transformations of the Mahaban and Surrounding Forests

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I am glad to review this paper present by Mr/Mrs. Israr and his/her co-authors. This study presents research in the field of impact of fire on vegetation and physicochemical nature of the soil in fire-affected and fire-free regions in Pakistan. The authors have carried out detailed data collection and sampling work, and the result is very interesting. However, the comparisons and differences between fire-affected and fire-free sites are insufficient and more detailed figures should be added to this paper to support your idea and discussion.

Here are some more details on these points, as well as some general remarks:

(1) A more detailed comparison between fire-affected and fire-free regions should be added, to support you conclusion in abstract “The incidence of fire resulted in elevated organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and lower calcium carbonate concentrations in the soil”. Please add a figure to show the physicochemical nature of the soil in fire-affected and fire-free sites in your manuscript, and the results should also be added to reflect the influence of fire to soil.

(2) You have made a series of detailed data collection and sampling work on the fire-affected and fire-free region, however, I cannot find the difference between these two regions. Your vegetation sampling and soil analysis results should be added:

a. the species names that occur more frequently in the quadrat survey should be given to show species differences between the two regions,

b. the species richness, shannon diversity index, and species evenness on a figure should be plotted in a figure, and it will be better than descripted by text to support you view “although average species richness, Shannon diversity index, and species evenness were high in fire-free areas, the highest and lowest values of species richness were observed in fire-affected areas while fire-free areas had a relatively narrow range of species richness.” (lines 310-313).

c. in lines302-307, you said “Regular fire harms the major woody species, but it appears to be advantageous to perennial and annual herbs”, But there is no comparison between the two regions, and it is not clear whether there are more herbaceous species in the fire-affected region than in the fire-free region. In the fire-affected region, do annuals or short-lived perennials tend to increase compared to non-fire zones, or do perennial grasses tend to decrease? Therefore, the dominant species in the two regions should be compared and displayed.

(3) shorten the introduction and make it more valuable for your paper.

(4) section 3.1 is missing?

(5) Specific comments:

Figure 1, the font of the latitude and longitude label is too small, add a legend to show the meaning of the colors on the figure, sites of fire-free and fire-affected should be plotted by different color.

Figure 2, add the species distribution of the fire-affected and fire-free regions respectively.

Figure 3, put (a) and (b) in the same coordinate system and distinguishing them by different colors to better compare the differences between fire affected and fire free regions

Line 169, 178, the full name of EC and IVI should be given

Lines 236-248 “The results indicated that …… a strongly positive correlation with species richness….”, the correlation coefficients or R values should be given.

Lines 239-241: “Phosphorus concentration in fire-free regions showed a strongly positive correlation whereas in fire-free regions it showed a slightly positive correlation with species richness”, there are two “fire-free regions”, how about the fire-affected region?

Lines 254-255, “…showed a negative correlation when going from…”, the negative correlation should be shown as text, or in a table, or note on Figure 4&5.

Lines 302-303, “Our study revealed that herbs were the dominant life form in Mahaban forest representing 79 % (175 Species) of the total (219) plant species”, the species number can reflect the species richness, however, the dominant life form in a forest should not only be defined by the species number, the abundance, biomass, and richness should also be considered.

Lines 324-330, the concentrations of phosphorus, organic matter, nitrogen, calcium carbonate and pH.etc in the soils of fire-affected and fire-free regions should also be shown in Figure3.

Lines 355-361, so what is the true relationship between CaCO3 and species richness? It’s better to explain this controversy here.

Lines 378-391, the impact of environmental gradients on species richness should also be added to the conclusion.

Lines 388-391, the influence of monsoon season have not been shown and discussed in the results and discussion section, how can you conclude “the investigation of the burned and unburned areas revealed that the forest, particularly during monsoon season….” 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English is ok, it will be better if it can be polished further.

Author Response

We thank the Reviewers for the comments and insightful feedback on our manuscript, which may help to improve the readability and impact of our manuscript. We provide a point-by-point response to each of the referee’s comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The submitted manuscript explores the impact of fire on vegetation and soil physico-chemical properties in Mahaban and the surrounding forests in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study utilized quadrat quantitative ecological techniques for vegetation sampling in both fire-free and fire-affected sites. The content has certain significance, but the following issues need to be noted：

1.      The manuscript appears well-structured and informative, contributing to our understanding of fire-induced vegetation dynamics. However, to enhance clarity and precision, it is suggested to provide more details on the specific methodologies employed for soil analysis and vegetation sampling. Additionally, incorporating statistical analyses to support the observed differences between fire-affected and fire-free sites would strengthen the scientific rigor of the study.

2.      The manuscript mentions assessing Mahaban and the surrounding forests to understand the impact of fire regimes. It would be helpful to include more details on the methodology employed for this assessment. Clarify the sampling strategy, data collection procedures, and any statistical analyses performed.

3.      The introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the importance of vegetation in ecosystems, emphasizing the complex interactions between living and nonliving components. It would be beneficial to explicitly state the research question or objective at the end of the introduction to guide readers on the study's focus. But there are too many introductory paragraphs, which are written in a scattered way. I suggest merging them into 3-5 paragraphs.

4.      The chart of the research area is not beautiful enough

5.      Figure 4's font is not clear, it is recommended to be redone.

6.      Line253-261. To enhance the coherence and readability of the sentence, it is possible to merge some content and adjust the sentence structure. It is also possible to add some specific details or examples to further explain and support the observed phenomenon

7.      In the discussion, the description of the relationship between calcium carbonate and species richness can further emphasize the uniqueness of the study results, and the comparison with previous studies can be more prominent. When describing the impact of mountain topography on the ecosystem, some specific data or cases can be added to increase the credibility of the content. As for the conclusion that slope angle and aspect have no obvious influence on species richness, the possible reasons can be further discussed to make the conclusion more convincing.

8.      The conclusion section can summarize the results more concisely and clearly, avoiding too much detail description. Emphasis on the significance of research could be appropriately increased, such as the importance of research for fire management and ecological protection. For the interpretation and inference of the research results, the possible causes and influencing factors can be further discussed to increase the depth and breadth of the research.

Author Response

We thank the Reviewers for the comments and insightful feedback on our manuscript, which may help to improve the readability and impact of our manuscript. We provide a point-by-point response to each of the referee’s comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In the introduction section, a more detailed presentation of the research background and significance should be provided. This includes a comprehensive review of the history and current state of the research field, highlighting the knowledge gaps your study fills or the existing problems it solves. Additionally, emphasizing the innovative aspects of your research and its potential impact on the future development of the field is crucial. More literature support can be provided to clearly show how your research connects with previous work and offers new perspectives or methods for solving key issues.

In the discussion section, the focus should be on a deep analysis of the research results. This means not only describing the results but also exploring their significance, possible interpretations, and their impact on theory and practice. The discussion should cover the limitations of the results and how these limitations affect the interpretation and application of the research. Moreover, future research suggestions should be proposed in the discussion, including how to address issues not resolved in the current study and potential future research directions.

Finally, strengthening the coherence between the introduction and discussion sections is important. Ensure that the discussion is closely related to the problems and objectives set out in the introduction, forming a logically connected whole. Such integration not only helps to enhance the coherence of the article but also highlights the importance and impact of your research in the broader field.

Author Response

I am cordially thankful to both reviewers especially reviewer 2 for his extensive reviews. In light of your valuable comments and suggestions, we make the quality of our MS better than first.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf