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Forests
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Forest Responses to Fires
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Forest Responses to Fires

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 3403

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonio Parra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Interests: plant ecophisiology and population/comunity ecology in response to fire, drought and others disturbances
Dr. María Belén Hinojosa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Interests: soil ecology; biogeochemistry and microbiology; to address the impact of different perturbations

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fire is a natural disturbance that plays an important role in numerous terrestrial ecosystems, being a key ecological factor for understanding the composition and structure of many forest environments around the world. However, the anthropogenic influence on the fire regime has become increasingly pronounced in recent decades as a result of climate change effects and land use changes, and the subsequent development of firefighting and fuel management. In this sense, the increase in temperatures and drought events in many areas of the world due to climate change has contributed to substantially increase the fire risk. This could even worsen in the coming decades, with large fires becoming increasingly frequent and reaching areas where they did not usually occur before.

This Special Issue invites contributions that report new research and findings about fire ecology and management in forest ecosystems, either through observational, experimental and applied studies, as well as syntheses and reviews. The focus of the studies can be broad, ranging from the response of soil biogeochemistry to fire to the effects of fire at the landscape level, as well as the ecophysiological and functional response of plants or population and community dynamics. The outputs of this Special Issue will be very helpful in order to establish future guidelines for the adaptation and management of forest ecosystems to face climate change and land use changes.

Dr. Antonio Parra
Dr. María Belén Hinojosa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change
  • forest
  • grassland
  • land use change
  • management
  • prescribed fire
  • shrubland
  • wildfire

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 6263 KiB  
Article
Interspecific Responses to Fire in a Mixed Forest Reveal Differences in Seasonal Growth
by Jesús Efrén Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, José Alexis Martínez-Rivas, Andrea Cecilia Acosta-Hernández, Felipa de Jesús Rodríguez-Flores and Marín Pompa-García
Forests 2025, 16(4), 633; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16040633 - 5 Apr 2025
Viewed by 299
Abstract
Despite recurring episodes of fire exacerbated by climate change, post-fire dynamics in trees remain to be fully understood. In a mixed forest in northern Mexico that experiences frequent fires, we aimed to determine how tree growth responds to surface fire by examining earlywood [...] Read more.
Despite recurring episodes of fire exacerbated by climate change, post-fire dynamics in trees remain to be fully understood. In a mixed forest in northern Mexico that experiences frequent fires, we aimed to determine how tree growth responds to surface fire by examining earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) responsiveness, as well as their connection with canopy activity, using UAV-acquired NDVI data. We compared EW and LW growth from mini cores of burned and unburned trees (n = 100) across four species, correlating this with NDVI data from 33 UAV monthly flights at the individual tree level from 2021 to 2023. Our results identified Quercus durifolia Seemen as the species that presented the highest growth following exposure to surface fire. Arbutus arizonica (A. Gray) Sarg. was the species most affected by fire in terms of EW production immediately after burning but showed benefits in subsequent summers. Juniperus deppeana Steud. demonstrated adaptive plasticity by responding more quickly to fire, with notable growth in EW. Pinus engelmannii Carrière responded in 2023, and its NDVI was associated to the least extent with seasonal growth. Thus, there is an evident seasonal response in trees subjected to low-intensity fire, which can act to shape the stand habitat. However, there is a divergence in response between broadleaf and evergreen species that could be attributed to fire-adaptive traits and hydraulic strategies. Although combining the tree-ring data with the NDVI served to improve our understanding of the effects of fire, further research is required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Responses to Fires)
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18 pages, 7222 KiB  
Article
The Short-Term Effects of Prescribed Burning on the Root Biomass and Soil Carbon Dynamics of Larch Plantations
by Fei Li, Jiacun Gu, Binqing Zhao, Gong Jinhua and Long Sun
Forests 2025, 16(1), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010143 - 14 Jan 2025
Viewed by 731
Abstract
The mechanism through which fine root biomass affects soil carbon accumulation after prescribed burning remains unclear. In this study, the biomass of fine roots in different life forms (larch, shrub, and grass) and the total soil carbon (STC) were determined after prescribed burning. [...] Read more.
The mechanism through which fine root biomass affects soil carbon accumulation after prescribed burning remains unclear. In this study, the biomass of fine roots in different life forms (larch, shrub, and grass) and the total soil carbon (STC) were determined after prescribed burning. Relative to a control, the total soil carbon increased one week after the fire (11.70 mg·g−1; 28.1%) and decreased after 8 months (7.33 mg·g−1; 16.7%), returning to control levels 10 months post-fire. There was a reduction in the larch fine root biomass (FRB) (0.20–0.48 t·ha−1; 35.3%–46.1%; these ranges represent the significant variation interval of fine root biomass after the fire across different time periods, compared to the control) but an increase in the shrub FRB (0.06–0.14 t·ha−1; 101.6%–158.4%) and herb FRB (0.06–0.13 t·ha−1; 591%–3200%) during the vegetation recovery process after the fire. The complementary growth of different plant life forms contributed to the changes in FRB. This also caused changes in the different life forms of FRBs’ effects on STC. Prescribed burning increased the contribution of FRB to STC. The compensatory growth of fine roots from different life forms drives the stabilization of the soil carbon pool after prescribed burning. Prescribed burning reduced the litter fuel and changed the FRB of different life forms, but it did not affect the long-term accumulation of STC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Responses to Fires)
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17 pages, 4760 KiB  
Article
Study on the Combustion Characteristics of Seven Common Broadleaf Plant Species in Southern China
by Yuanfan Ji, Rui Huang, Jiacheng Jia, Jiangjiang Yin and Yige Chen
Forests 2025, 16(1), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010044 - 30 Dec 2024
Viewed by 792
Abstract
Due to the frequent occurrence of forest fires worldwide, which cause severe economic losses and casualties, it is essential to explore the mechanisms of forest fires. In this study, seven common broadleaf plant species from southern China were selected to observe their microscopic [...] Read more.
Due to the frequent occurrence of forest fires worldwide, which cause severe economic losses and casualties, it is essential to explore the mechanisms of forest fires. In this study, seven common broadleaf plant species from southern China were selected to observe their microscopic structural parameters. The combustion performance parameters of the leaves of these seven species were measured using a cone calorimeter, and the relationship between the microscopic structure and combustion performance was analyzed. Additionally, factor analysis was used to study the combustion intensity factor (F1), fire resistance intensity factor (F2), and the comprehensive fire risk degree (F) of the leaves of the seven plant species. Finally, regression analysis was performed between the microscopic structural parameters and the comprehensive fire risk factor. The results show the following: (1) The ratio of spongy mesophyll to palisade cells (S/P) affects the combustion performance of plant leaves. (2) The ranking of the comprehensive fire risk factor for the leaves of the seven plant species is as follows: Osmanthus fragrans var. semperflorens (OFS) > Cinnamomum camphora (CC) > Loropetalum chinense (R. Br.) Oliv. (LC) > Pterocarya stenoptera C. DC. (PS) > Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum (LCVR) > Photinia beauverdiana C. K Schneid. (PB) > Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott (SJ). (3) There is a strong exponential relationship between the comprehensive fire risk factor and the microscopic structural parameters. This study is beneficial for selecting fire-resistant tree species and monitoring species with higher comprehensive fire risk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Responses to Fires)
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Review

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17 pages, 7093 KiB  
Review
Recent Advancements in the Emission Characteristics of Forest Ground Smoldering Combustion
by Shuyuan Tang, Yanlong Shan, Sainan Yin, Lili Cao, Xiang Chen, Wenjun Xie, Miaoxin Yu and Shilong Feng
Forests 2024, 15(12), 2099; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15122099 - 27 Nov 2024
Viewed by 838
Abstract
The occurrence of forest ground smoldering combustion has been increasingly frequent in recent years, resulting in significant emissions that have a detrimental impact on the ecological environment. Current research on smoldering emissions, however, is relatively scarce and fragmented across the fields of ecology, [...] Read more.
The occurrence of forest ground smoldering combustion has been increasingly frequent in recent years, resulting in significant emissions that have a detrimental impact on the ecological environment. Current research on smoldering emissions, however, is relatively scarce and fragmented across the fields of ecology, environmental protection, medicine, and forestry. The present paper offers a comprehensive review of the research methodologies employed in emissions, emission quantification results, the correlation between emissions and fire behaviors, and the potential for identifying smoldering combustion through emissions. Due to various factors such as the research region, characteristics of the samples, and experimental methods, it becomes challenging to arrive at comprehensive and accurate conclusions regarding the carbon cycle, dynamics of smoke plumes, and toxicological hazards. The limited research on the correlation between emissions and fire behaviors hampers the development and application of smoldering combustion identification technology based on emissions. It is suggested that standardized and universal methods for studying emissions should be popularized among researchers. In addition, the research on the correlation between emission characteristics and combustion temperature, spread direction, and spread velocity needs to be further strengthened. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Responses to Fires)
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