Towards better practices of salvage logging for reducing the ecosystem impacts in Mediterranean burned forests

Abstract

An average of 213,000 ha of European forest is affected by fire every year, with 90% of this area corresponding to Mediterranean countries. The timber of the burned forests is usually harvested by clearcutting over large areas to be used mainly as bioenergy. Recent scientific evidence has shown the strong impact that these "salvage logging" practices have on the ecosystem. However, forest owners and companies largely ignore academic debate, and salvage logging decisions are usually taken for economic, practical and emotional reasons. We propose a process to connect scientists and practitioners with the aim of providing evidence-based guidelines to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services, which can be used as a general model. The process involves five steps: (1) to review the available scientific knowledge on post-fire forest management; (2) to synthesize the information to produce a handbook of best practices in Mediterranean burned forests; (3) to provide a tool to help decision-making in post-fire management; (4) to actively disseminate this knowledge to the forest sector; and (5) to fill knowledge gaps with new experimental studies aimed to assess the environmental impact of some of the most feasible management alternatives. The feedback of the forest sector has been obtained along the process, and recommendations for better practices are already being promoted among forest owners by the administration. We suggest that similar processes can be conducted in other socio-environmental contexts to improve the management of disturbed forests and to generalize our knowledge on the topic.

Mice and Habitat Complexity Attract Carnivorans to Recently Burnt Forests

“…However, the widespread management of recently burnt areas by post-fire salvage logging can influence plant regeneration, prey abundance [31], and, consequently, carnivoran presence. In this scenario, effort should be made to provide recommendations for more biodiversity-friendly harvesting practices [65] that allow the ecosystem services provided by mammals to recover in burnt and logged landscapes [66][67][68].…”

Climate-Smart Silviculture in Mountain Regions

“…Besides, sanitary and aesthetic reasons are of some importance with this respect, too. On the other hand, the salvage logging practices indicate its strong impact on the functioning of the forest ecosystem, such as ecosystem restoration due to deterioration of the regenerative capacity of forests (Pons et al 2020) and to threats to biodiversity conservation (Thorn et al 2018). In order to maintain populations of the saproxylic species, Lonsdale et al (2008) strongly suggest reducing salvage logging intensity in damaged tree-stands.…”

Effects of Post-Fire Management on a Mediterranean Small Mammal Community

“…Less severe management options, including non-intervention, are recommended under the assumption that snags and decaying burned wood are biological legacies that promote ecosystem recovery and diversity [32][33][34]. In addition, it is important to maintain biological legacies, such as unburned trees or stone walls [34], for forest recovery [35].…”

“…Less severe management options, including non-intervention, are recommended under the assumption that snags and decaying burned wood are biological legacies that promote ecosystem recovery and diversity [32][33][34]. In addition, it is important to maintain biological legacies, such as unburned trees or stone walls [34], for forest recovery [35]. For example, post-fire woody debris remains on the landscape as forests regenerate, providing nutrient pools for regenerating the ecosystem and facilitating microsite conditions for seedling survival; it is also an important structural habitat component [7,[36][37][38][39].…”