Postfire Regeneration in Pinus pinea L. and Pinus pinaster Aiton in Andalucia (Spain)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine postfire regeneration of tree, shrub, and dwarf shrub species, in relation to levels of damage in four planted pine forests (Pinus pinea, Pinus pinaster) in Andalusia. A prefire vegetation map was used for detailing species composition, vertical structure, and density and another for detailing the extent and intensity of fire damage. Between 3 and 7 years after the fires, an inventory was made of the vegetation in each area, using the step-point method. The information thus obtained was used to determine the amount of cover in the dwarf/shrub and tree layers, the frequency of species in each of the layers, floristic richness, and diversity (Shannon index). The botanical composition of the dwarf and shrub layer was analyzed using TWINSPAN. Variables were poorly correlated with level of fire damage, which suggests that the forests in this study followed the autosuccession model. Because of the artificial origin or seminatural condition, regeneration of the dominant tree species is poor, and it seems unlikely that forests will recover to their prefire state. Therefore action is recommended to restore these ecosystems.

A Remote Sensing and GIS Approach to Study the Long-Term Vegetation Recovery of a Fire-Affected Pine Forest in Southern Greece

“…This is mainly due to the fact that these ecosystems usually return to their previous state after 10-12 years [9], as well as to the difficulty in analyzing the process of long-term vegetation recovery following wildfires, since the recovery depends on a great variety of biological and environmental factors, as well as on the interactions between them. Nevertheless, the different rates of recovery for each vegetation type and the slower rate for certain forest types [26] lead to a dwarf/low shrub domination of ecosystems in the first months, in agreement with the results of other similar studies [17,27,28]. Moreover, long-term changes in landscape are often subjected to socioeconomic factors that can weaken correlations between vegetation types and physical environment [17].…”

Environmental influences on post-harvest natural regeneration of Pinus pinaster Ait. in Mediterranean forest stands submitted to the seed-tree selection method

“…in Mediterranean ecosystems have focused on post-fire aspects (Calvo et al 2008;Fernandes and Rigolot 2008;Perula et al 2003). However, the site factors that drive natural regeneration in silvicultural treatments are not well understood, even though this widespread conifer covers close to 1,200,000 ha of the Iberian landscape, (Gil et al 1990).…”

Seed and cone diversity and seed germination of Pinus pinea in Strofylia Site of the Natura 2000 Network

“…The cones ripen in April, 3 years after pollination (the longest maturation period of any pine, Frankis 1999); they are not serotinous and open at low temperatures (28°C or less) (Tapias et al 2001). As a result, P. pinea distribution is reduced by wildWres (Rodrigo et al 2007), and it seems unlikely that P. pinea forests will recover to their pre-Wre state; therefore, action is recommended to restore their ecosystems (Perula et al 2003).…”