First results on early post-fire succession in an Abies cephalonica forest (Parnitha National Park, Greece)

Abstract

Due to climate changes, the interest in the post-fire recovery of forest communities not adapted to wildfires, such as Greek fir (Abies cephalonica) forests, has increased. In this study, the post-fire recovery of the burned A. cephalonica forest of Parnitha National Park (central Greece) was investigated after a stand-replacing fire occurred in summer 2007, as well as the performance of A. cephalonica plantings in the post-fire conditions. The research focused on the estimation of the A. cephalonica stand reproductive capacity without fire, the evaluation of the post-fire regeneration of the burned stands, and the monitoring of the plantations performance after the fire in the area. Then, based on the field and laboratory data, the post-fire recovery process of A. cephalonica was evaluated by application of a simplified form of the comprehensive causal framework for ecological succession estimation in open site, developed by Pickett et al. (1987), adapted to the study conditions. According to the findings of the study, stand seed crop without fire was high, while seed quality was found extremely low. In the burned area, no A. cephalonica seedling recruitment was observed during the three years after the fire. A. cephalonica plantings exhibited a medium overall survival rate (65.3%), while seedlings growth was very slow. Thus, we can suppose that an ecological succession process may occur in the burned area, if no human interventions applied, and species adapted to wildfires (mainly shrubs and herbaceous) will dominate in the area. However, planting of A. cephalonica seedlings could contribute to the species participation in the post-fire communities

Erosion rate predictions from PESERA and RUSLE at a Mediterranean site before and after a wildfire: Comparison & implications

“…The main land use/cover types in the area consist of coniferous forests, transitional woodland-shrubs, heterogeneous agricultural areas and sclerophilous vegetation. On June 27th, 2007, a fire erupted approximately 15 km west of the core of mount Parnitha National Park (Ganatsas et al, 2012) which was suppressed three days later (July 1st, 2007).…”

“…However, the high frequency and severity of these fires, especially over the last decades, have been a cause of forest ecosystem degradation (EEA, 2007;Ganatsas et al, 2012). Fire incidents leave the ground partially covered or uncovered by vegetation.…”

Regeneration of Abies cephalonica Loudon after a Large Fire in Central Greece

“…Similar studies report a mean seedling density from 362 stems•ha -1 [17] to 1603 stems•ha -1 [18]. However, two studies on Greek fir regeneration reported that, 2 and 3 years after fire, no fir seedlings were observed although a considerable amount of healthy seeds was counted on the ground at distances up to 70 m from remnant trees [11,16]. It seems that time since fire is positively correlated with seedling abundance for late successional conifer species such as firs that will dominate in the absence of fire [19].…”

“…Arianoutsou et al [10] concluded that the postfire recovery of Greek fir would be a slow process where unburned patches would play an important role. For the same site, Ganatsas et al [11] suggested that without human intervention, shrubs and herbaceous species would dominate and planting could be the only solution for the reintroduction of Greek fir.…”

Assessing the influence of atmospheric and topographic correction and inclusion of SWIR bands in burned scars detection from high-resolution EO imagery: a case study using ASTER

“…The climate is continental, characterized by cold winters and warmer summers. Summer temperatures do not usually exceed 18°C, while in winter temperatures are frequently around 0°C, with an annual average of 11°C (Ganatsas et al 2012). Average rainfall in the area is 822 mm (at 1000 m elevation), with approximately 70 rainy days per year.…”