Post-fire Mediterranean vegetation dynamics and diversity: A discussion of succession models

Capitanio, Raimondo; Carcaillet, Christopher

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2007.09.010

Cited by 164 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Forthcoming changes in fire regimes, yet largely unknown (Fulé & Covington 1998), and the need to study the response of fireprone Mediterranean vegetation over several decades (Capitanio & Carcaillet 2008), make it necessary to further investigate post-disturbance structural dynamics, also through a long-term monitoring approach (Beghin et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Marzano¹,

Lingua²,

Garbarino³

2012

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionFire is recognized as the most important natural disturbance in Mediterranean ecosystems (Trabaud 1994, Whelan 1995. In the Mediterranean basin, given the long historical human impact on ecosystems, the incidence of fire has always been particularly high (Le Houérou 1987, Trabaud 1987a. In addition to natural causes of ignition, burning was one of the management tools commonly used by man (Naveh 1975, Lloret & Marí 2001. Fire thus acted as a fundamental factor on ecosystem functioning and as a major ecological driver of vegetation changes (Attiwill 1994, Moreno & Oechel 1994, Lavorel et al. 1998, by modeling landscapes (Gillson 2009) and contributing to maintain habitat heterogeneity and biological diversity (Moreira et al. 2001, Blondel et al. 2010.Even though fires have been a major factor in Mediterranean ecosystems for millennia, the general trend in number of fires and area burned in European Mediterranean areas has dramatically increased during the last decades, principally due to land-use and climatic changes (Piñol et al. 1998, Lloret & Marí 2001, Mouillot et al. 2002, González & Pukkala 2007, Pausas & Fernández-Muñoz 2012. According to the predicted climate change scenarios for the Mediterranean region, further increases in wildfire frequency and burned areas are expected (Carvalho et al. 2008, Good et al. 2008.Although Mediterranean vegetation is able to cope with fire (Trabaud 1987a, Pausas 1999a, alterations in the fire regime (in terms for instance of higher fire recurrence or incidence of large events) can generate important consequences for Mediterranean ecosystems (Zedler et al. 1983, Vázquez & Moreno 2001 and their plant diversity. Given the very strong effect of fire on vegetation, plant distribution and ecosystem function could likely be more heavily affected by the ongoing modifications in fire regime consequent to global changes than by the direct effect of climate changes (Pausas & Fernández-Muñoz 2012). Moreover, the combined impact of these fire regime changes and enlarged environmental limitations for post-fire tree recruitment could deeply affect the species composition of Mediterranean forests (Peñuelas & Filella 2001, Peñuelas et al. 2002, Lloret et al. 2004, 2009.It is well documented that Mediterranean ecosystems recover readily after fire through an autosuccessional process (Hanes 1971, Trabaud 1994) based on efficient regeneration strategies. Post-fire recovery is usually realized by direct regeneration, i.e., the fast recovery of a plant community made up by the same species pool that existed before the disturbance (Rodrigo et al. 2004). Two main plant regeneration strategies conferring resilience to Mediterranean ecosystems are the capacity to resprout after fire (resprouter species), and the stimulation of the recruitment by fire (seeder species -Bond & van Wilgen 1996, Verdú et al. 2007). In several fire-prone communities varying proportions of woody sprouters and seeders are included (Hodgkinson 1998. Fire regime may influenc...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Marzano¹,

Lingua²,

Garbarino³

2012

iForest

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“…From a community perspective, variation in species composition is often studied with metrics related to species diversity (e.g., Belsky 1992, Warwick and Clarke 1993, Capitanio and Carcaillet 2008 or with ordination analyses through interpretation of the "spread of points" (e.g., Gibson andHulbert 1987, Warwick andClarke 1993) or "length of axes" (e.g., Biondini et al 1989, Fuhlendorf et al 2006. We chose Clarke and Warwick's (2001) "index of multivariate dispersion" (IMD), a descriptive measure that ranges from +1 (indicating that non-burned vegetation is maximally more homogeneous than burned vegetation-i.e., all similarities among non-burned transects are higher than any similarities among burned transects)-to -1 (indicating the converse).…”

Section: Effects On Diversity and Variation In Species Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant community response to the East Amarillo Complex wildfires in the Southern High Plains, USA

Wester¹,

Rideout-Hanzak²,

Britton³

et al. 2014

Community Ecology

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Abstract:Severe wildfires are increasing in extent in the western US. We used a matched-pairs design with plots in burned and non-burned areas to study effects of the East Amarillo Complex (EAC) wildfires on mixed grass prairie mean community composition and variability in composition. Species composition and ground cover data were collected at 5 study sites each year for three years following the EAC. Fire effects on mean species composition were analyzed with permutational analyses of variance; temporal patterns were analyzed with permutational anova and nonmetric multidimensional scaling; and an index of multivariate dispersion was used to assess variability in plant community composition. We found weak immediate impacts (year 1) of wildfire on mean species composition, but strong impacts by year three. Two general patterns of changes in mean species composition emerged: at 3 study sites, there was a progressive divergence in similarity between burned and non-burned areas following wildfire whereas at 2 study sites, wildfire effects lessened over time. In contrast, a trend of increased homogeneity in burned vegetation relative to non-burned vegetation was apparent at all 5 study sites 2 to 3 years post-fire; burned areas also had higher species diversity, higher evenness but similar species richness 3 years post-fire. Ground cover composition, which was immediately impacted by wildfire through removal of residual dry matter, was fully recovered to non-burned conditions 3 years after wildfire. We observed little seedling recruitment either of native or exotic species following wildfire. Community composition changes in burned areas were likely the result of changing dominance relationships among plants that survived the wildfires rather than the result of recruitment of new individuals in gaps created by dead plants. Given the growth form of perennial C 4 grasses and the fact that these grasslands evolved in the context of repeated fire, it is likely that changes in mean species composition and compositional variability are short-term responses.

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“…In the areas in which this type of vegetation occurs, fire is a crucial process controlling vegetation dynamics and structure (Baeza et al 2006;Capitanio and Carcaillet 2008). Fire could also lower the ''tampon'' capacity with repercussion on the stability of slope areas and thus, reduce the capacity for resilience (Dallari et al 2006).…”

Section: Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Environmental Factors and Agriculturalists’ Observations of Environmental Changes in the Traditional Terrace System of the Amalfi Coast (Southern Italy)

Savo

Caneva

McClatchey

et al. 2013

AMBIO

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Terraces are traditional engineered ecosystems that affect the hydro-geological equilibrium, slope stability, and local communities. The aims of this paper are (i) identifying environmental factors that affect terrace stability in the Amalfi Coast, (ii) defining agriculturalists' observations on environmental changes within that system and (iii) exploring potentiality of these observations to better define conservation strategies. All available data on physical and ecological factors recognized to affect the terrace system were collected and analyzed. Interviews were conducted with agriculturalists to obtain long-term observations on environmental factors that interact with this system. Landslides are more frequent where rainfall is high and during winter. Fires have an uneven annual distribution, with higher frequency during summers. Agriculturalists detailed complex interactions among environmental factors, economic elements, and terraces. These observations represent a valuable resource for defining causes and effects of abandonment and for better addressing conservation strategies.

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Post-fire Mediterranean vegetation dynamics and diversity: A discussion of succession models

Cited by 164 publications

References 49 publications

Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Plant community response to the East Amarillo Complex wildfires in the Southern High Plains, USA

Combining Environmental Factors and Agriculturalists’ Observations of Environmental Changes in the Traditional Terrace System of the Amalfi Coast (Southern Italy)

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