Fire-type and forestry management effects on the early postfire vegetation dynamics of a Pinus pinaster woodland
Published source details Pérez B. & Moreno J.M. (1998) Fire-type and forestry management effects on the early postfire vegetation dynamics of a Pinus pinaster woodland. Plant Ecology (formerly Vegetatio 1948-1996), 134, 27-41.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
| Action | Category | |
|---|---|---|
Remove burned trees Action Link |  | |
Thin trees within forests: effects on understory plants Action Link | |
Remove burned trees
A replicated, controlled study in 1991-1994 in maritime pine Pinus pinaster woodland in Spain (Pérez & Moreno 1998) found that removing burned trees increased the cover and species richness of legumes but not of all herbaceous plants, or of the dominant shrub gum rockrose Cistus ladanifer. Legume cover (removed: 7-29%; control: 3-26%) and species richness (removed: 3-6; control: 2-5/plot) were higher in removal plots. There were no differences between treatments for: total herbaceous cover (removed: 8-47%; control: 3-49%), species richness (removed: 5-16; control: 6-14), gum rockrose cover (removed: 8%-25%; control: 10%-46%) and gum rockrose density (removed: 1-5; control: 5-11/m2). Data were collected in 12 removal plots (burned trees removed after fire) and 12 control plots (trees not removed, 5 × 5 m). Treatments were three years after the entire study site was burned by wildfire fire in 1991.
Thin trees within forests: effects on understory plants
A replicated, controlled study in 1991-1994 in maritime pine Pinus pinaster woodland in Spain (Pérez & Moreno 1998) found that thinning before wildfire increased post-fire biomass and species richness of herbaceous species, but not of the dominant shrub gum rockrose Cistus ladanifer. Herbaceous biomass (g/m2) (pre-thinned: 37-93; unthinned: 2-10) and species richness (species/plot) (pre-thinned: 6-16; unthinned: 5-7) were higher in pre-thinned plots. Herbaceous cover (pre-thinned: 13%-49%; unthinned: 3%-11%) and gum rockrose cover (pre-thinned: 8%-46%; unthinned: 16%-32%) and density () (pre-thinned: 1-10/m2; unthinned: 2-7/m2) were similar between treatments. Data were collected in six thinned (1975-1991) and six unthinned plots (5 × 10 m), three years after the entire study site was burned by wildfire fire in 1991.
