Key Factors Influencing Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery in Pinus halepensis Forests: Divergent Effects for Canopy and Shrub Species

IF 2.7 3区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY

Journal of Vegetation Science Pub Date : 2025-08-28 DOI:10.1111/jvs.70062

Mara Paneghel, Judith Solé, Gil Torné, Teresa Valor, Aitor Ameztegui, Josu G. Alday, Lluís Coll

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aims

Rapid revegetation of burnt forest is essential for recovering ecosystem functioning, especially in the context of climate change–driven shifts in fire regime. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of how abiotic factors (topography, fire behaviour) and biotic factors (pre-fire forest characteristics, plant reproductive strategies, land-use trajectories) influence the recovery of Pinus halepensis forests, identifying regeneration vulnerabilities that could inform management practices.

Location

A P. halepensis forest burnt in 2019 (4000 ha) in NE Iberian Peninsula.

Methods

We established 72 sampling sites within the burnt forest, covering gradients of pre-fire canopy cover (PCC), topography, fire severity and land-use history. At each site, we recorded the abundance of P. halepensis seedlings within a 100-m² plot. We also conducted a floristic inventory of all associated woody species along two parallel 20-m transects to assess woody species cover, richness and distribution. Woody species were classified based on their post-fire reproductive strategies (obligate seeding, facultative resprouting and resprouting) to explore the relationship between functional characteristics and plant distribution along the studied gradients.

Results

Northern exposures enhanced the abundance of P. halepensis, whereas coexisting woody species cover was higher on southern ones, probably due to the contribution of obligate seeders, as fire-responsive reproductive traits vary along the north–south gradient. PCC boosted pine regeneration and species richness, while high fire severity reduced both cover and richness of woody species, likely due to damage to reproductive structures.

Conclusions

We show that the drivers of post-fire regeneration influence in different and even divergent ways the vegetation components considered (canopy and shrub layer), as in the case of aspect. From a management perspective, post-fire forest interventions should be tailored to restoration objectives and to the post-fire vegetation communities that better respond to them.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

火后影响halepensis森林植被恢复的关键因素：冠层和灌木物种的分化效应

目的在气候变化驱动的火情变化背景下，被烧毁森林的快速植被恢复对恢复生态系统功能至关重要。本研究旨在全面了解非生物因素（地形、火灾行为）和生物因素（火灾前森林特征、植物繁殖策略、土地利用轨迹）如何影响halepensis森林的恢复，确定可为管理实践提供信息的再生脆弱性。2019年，伊比利亚半岛东北部的一片halepensis森林（4000公顷）被烧毁。方法在烧毁森林内建立72个采样点，覆盖火灾前冠层覆盖度（PCC）梯度、地形、火灾严重程度和土地利用历史。在每个样地，我们记录了100 m2样地内halepensis幼苗的丰度。我们还对两个平行的20 m样带的所有伴生木本物种进行了植物区系清查，以评估木本物种的覆盖、丰富度和分布。根据木本植物火灾后的生殖策略（专性播种、兼性繁殖和再繁殖）对其进行分类，探讨其功能特征与梯度分布的关系。结果北方暴露增加了halepensis的丰度，而南方暴露的共存木本物种覆盖度更高，这可能是由于专性种子的贡献，因为火响应生殖性状在南北梯度上存在差异。PCC促进了松树的更新和物种丰富度，而高火灾严重程度降低了木本物种的盖度和丰富度，这可能是由于生殖结构的破坏。研究表明，火灾后更新的驱动因素以不同甚至不同的方式影响植被成分（冠层和灌木层），例如坡向。从管理的角度来看，火灾后的森林干预措施应根据恢复目标和能够更好地响应这些目标的火灾后植被群落进行调整。

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来源期刊

Journal of Vegetation Science 环境科学-林学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

3.60%

发文量

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Vegetation Science publishes papers on all aspects of plant community ecology, with particular emphasis on papers that develop new concepts or methods, test theory, identify general patterns, or that are otherwise likely to interest a broad international readership. Papers may focus on any aspect of vegetation science, e.g. community structure (including community assembly and plant functional types), biodiversity (including species richness and composition), spatial patterns (including plant geography and landscape ecology), temporal changes (including demography, community dynamics and palaeoecology) and processes (including ecophysiology), provided the focus is on increasing our understanding of plant communities. The Journal publishes papers on the ecology of a single species only if it plays a key role in structuring plant communities. Papers that apply ecological concepts, theories and methods to the vegetation management, conservation and restoration, and papers on vegetation survey should be directed to our associate journal, Applied Vegetation Science journal.