Post-fire plant diversity and abundance in pine and eucalypt stands in Portugal: Effects of biogeography, topography, forest type and post-fire management

Maia, Paula; Keizer, Jan Jacob; Vasques, Ana; Abrantes, Nélson; Roxo, L.; Fernandes, Paulo M.; Ferreira, António; Moreira, Francisco

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.08.030

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…An alternative explanation could be the somewhat limited cover of the understory vegetation, typically in the order of 15 to 30%. Maia et al () reported markedly higher shrub covers, averaging 78%, for eucalypt and pine plantations in northern and central Portugal that had burnt 5 to 7 years earlier.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐Term Impacts of Post‐Fire Mulching on Ground‐Dwelling Arthropod Communities in a Eucalypt Plantation

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the past decades, Portugal like several other Mediterranean countries has been affected by frequent wildfires. This has led to various field tests of post‐fire soil conservation measures and, in particular, mulching with forest slash residues. While forest residue mulching was shown to be highly effective in reducing post‐fire erosion, its side effects on soil fauna communities have not been studied and are also difficult to predict from the – scarce – literature on mulch effects in general. Therefore, this study compared the abundance, diversity and taxonomic and functional composition of the ground‐dwelling arthropod communities of three mulched and, as control, three untreated erosion plots of roughly 100 m2 that had been installed in a eucalypt plantation almost immediately after a wildfire in 2010, some five years earlier. This was done using three pitfall traps per plot, placed at the lower, middle and upper part of the study slope. Roughly five years after mulching, its impacts on the ground‐dwelling arthropod were rather limited, especially compared to its effect on overall soil erosion rates. One of the few exceptions was the abundance of the Hymenoptera – one of the most frequently occurring orders – which was significantly lower in the mulched than control plots. This and other near significant mulching impacts found in this study plainly justify a follow‐up study on short‐term effects. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐Term Impacts of Post‐Fire Mulching on Ground‐Dwelling Arthropod Communities in a Eucalypt Plantation

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Reported mean values of density after the fire, for maritime pine, are scarce and the ones being circulated, quite variable (due, in part, to a plot-size dependency as noticed by Freitas [7]), bringing additional inaccuracy to the expected density values at a given age. For example, three years after the occurrence of fires, Rodrigues [8] and Alegria et al [9], respectively, report densities of 42.5 seedlings of maritime pine per 25 m 2 and 960 plants per 500 m 2 (17,(0)(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)190 plants per ha, respectively), while Calvo et al [10] refer to average values of 6.53-11.53 seedlings per m 2 (65,300-115,300 plants per hectare). Secondly, there is a gap of knowledge about the attainable maximum densities at a given size for young stands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the purposes of both post-fire management and biodiversity conservation, it is important to increase the knowledge of the factors determining the dynamics of growth and the amount of natural regeneration of these forest systems. Most Mediterranean pines originate from post-fire regeneration, as maritime pine is exclusively dependent on germination [11][12][13][14]. After the initial stage of germination, it is expected that the evolution of the young plants in the stands goes toward crown closure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size–Density Trajectory in Regenerated Maritime Pine Stands after Fire

Enes

Lousada

Aranha

et al. 2019

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research Highlights: This study bridges a gap of knowledge about the maximum size-density trajectory for juvenile stands of maritime pine. The continuity of the trajectory along the development stages to maturity is assured with a straightforward approach providing support to determine optimum density along all the revolution periods for the species. Background and Objectives: Forest fire is a significant threat to forests in the Mediterranean regions, but also a natural disturbance that plays a vital role in the perpetuation of forest stands. In recent decades, there has been an increase of burnt area in maritime forests in Portugal, followed by an increased interest in managing the natural and usually abundant regeneration occurring after the fires. The gap in the knowledge of growth dynamics for juvenile stages, for these forest systems, currently constrains their correct management, for forest planning, particularly in determining the optimal densities. The study aims to identify the maximum attainable density trajectory at the early stages of development of the species that could support a non-empirical definition of silvicultural prescriptions and thinning decisions, along the revolution. Materials and Methods: A representative data set collected in stands regenerated after fire supports the analysis of the maximum size-density trajectory for the species. Results: The maximum size-density trajectory for the juvenile stands deviates from the expected trajectory defined in the self-thinning line published for the species. Significant deviation occurs at the lower end of the line, indicating the need for a reevaluation of the existing self-thinning line. We propose a new self-thinning model for the species that explicitly considers the behavior of size-density for juvenile stands. The new model assures a logical continuity for the trajectory from the young stages of development to maturity. Conclusions: The proposed model based on the maximum attainable size-density trajectory provides ecological-based support to define silvicultural guidelines for management of the species.

show abstract

“…The current research gap on the direct and indirect impacts of forest fires on PAH contents of forest soils was addressed here by (i) comparing PAH concentrations and profiles of ash and topsoil immediately after wildfire for two common types of managed forest and for two areas burnt with contrasting fire severities; (ii) analyzing their postfire evolution in the topsoils of one of these areas; and (iii) assessing whether topsoil and ash OM contents can be used as indicators of postfire PAH loads. Plantations of maritime pine and eucalypt occur widely in the Mediterranean Basin and across the world, respectively, and are both fire-prone (Maia et al, 2014;Moreira et al, 2013) and, on sloping terrain in Portugal, susceptible to relevant OM exports by postfire runoff (Malvar et al, 2011;Prats et al, 2012;Prats, Malvar, Vieira, MacDonald, & Keizer, 2016). PAH contents were studied before in burnt pine soils, albeit in mixed stands of Scots and maritime pine (García-Fálcon et al, 2006), but they appear to have never been studied in burnt eucalypt soils.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest fires as potential triggers for production and mobilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to the terrestrial ecosystem

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although forest fires have been identified as an important source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), this problematic has not been thoroughly studied yet. This study addressed the role of wildfires and time since fire in the production and mobilization of PAHs to the terrestrial compartment. Levels of 15 priority PAHs were assessed in topsoil and ash samples (by GC–MS analysis) collected in two burnt areas and an unburnt one, comprising two types of vegetation coverage and four sampling occasions after fire. The fire had triggered an immediately increase of PAH levels in topsoil, according to the comparison of burnt and unburnt samples, but this impact had largely faded 4 months later. Although the fire severity did not play a role in immediate postfire PAH contents in topsoil and ashes, variations were found with the type of vegetation coverage being higher in pine slopes. The wildfire event markedly changed PAHs composition through enrichment in three‐ring PAHs (69% vs. 27%, burnt and unburnt, respectively), which dwindled more markedly in topsoil than in ashes. This study pointed out the key role of wildfires as a source of PAHs to the terrestrial compartment, as unveiled by the increased levels in topsoil and ashes. Additionally, it was found that PAHs could be mobilized from these matrixes over the first year after the fire, possibly leading to aquatic contamination. This finding suggests wildfires as a diffuse source of PAH contamination to freshwater systems, which need to be considering in future monitoring/management programs on the environmental impact of wildfires.

show abstract

Post-fire plant diversity and abundance in pine and eucalypt stands in Portugal: Effects of biogeography, topography, forest type and post-fire management

Cited by 25 publications

References 39 publications

Long‐Term Impacts of Post‐Fire Mulching on Ground‐Dwelling Arthropod Communities in a Eucalypt Plantation

Long‐Term Impacts of Post‐Fire Mulching on Ground‐Dwelling Arthropod Communities in a Eucalypt Plantation

Size–Density Trajectory in Regenerated Maritime Pine Stands after Fire

Forest fires as potential triggers for production and mobilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to the terrestrial ecosystem

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About