Soil-vegetation relationships in Mediterranean forests after fire

P.1-13Background Wildfires are one of the major environmental concerns in Mediterranean ecosystems. Thus, many studies have addressed wildfire impacts on soil and vegetation in Mediterranean forests, but the linkages between these ecosystem compartments after fire are not well understood. The aim of this work is to analyze soil-vegetation relationships in Mediterranean burned forests as well as the consistency of these relationships among forests with different environmental conditions, at different times after fire, and among vegetation with different functional traits. Results Our results indicate that study site conditions play an important role in mediating soil-vegetation relationships. Likewise, we found that the nature of soil-vegetation relationships may vary over time as fire effects are less dominant in both ecosystem compartments. Despite this, we detected several common soil-vegetation relationships among study sites and times after fire. For instance, our results revealed that available P content and stoichiometry (C:P and N:P) were closely linked to vegetation growth, and particularly to the growth of trees. We found that enzymatic activities and microbial biomass were inversely related to vegetation growth rates, whereas the specific activities of soil enzymes were higher in the areas with more vegetation height and cover. Likewise, our results suggest that resprouters may influence soil properties more than seeders, the growth of seeders being more dependent on soil status. Conclusions We provide pioneer insights into how vegetation is influenced by soil, and vice-versa, in Mediterranean burned areas. Our results reflect variability in soil-vegetation relationships among study sites and time after fire, but consistent patterns between soil properties and vegetation were also detected. Our research is highly relevant to advance in forest science and could be useful to achieve efficient post-fire management.S

The role of fire frequency and severity on the regeneration of Mediterranean serotinous pines under different environmental conditions

P. 59-68Fire frequency and burn severity may increase in pine forests in the Mediterranean Basin under the warmer and drier climate projected for this region. Our study aims to evaluate the role of fire frequency and burn severity in the post-fire recruitment and development of Mediterranean serotinous pines under different environmental conditions. Two pine forests representing contrasting climatic conditions and soil types that support serotinous pines in the Iberian Peninsula and affected by large wildfires in summer 2012, were selected. In these two study sites, we determined the number of wildfires between 1978 and 2012 and the burn severity of the last fire (2012 at both sites) through the dNBR spectral index. Three and four years after the wildfires, we sampled the density, cover and height of pine seedlings and the cover of woody understory species in 1296 1 m2 plots. The results indicated that the density and cover of pine seedlings was low after two fires combined with high severities, as well as after three fires, regardless of burn severity. Seedling recruitment after three fires was particularly threatened in the most arid study site (0.01 seedlings m−2), resulting in low seedling cover (0.01%). Seedling height decreased with fire frequency in both study sites, and with burn severity owing to fire-induced shifts in soil fertility and microclimatic conditions. There was a significant negative effect of the cover of woody understory species on the recruitment and cover of pine seedlings. Our results suggest that the effects of increasing fire frequency and severity on pine regeneration may be aggravated under arid conditions. Additionally, this study encourages forest managers to avoid the occurrence of frequent crown fires in order to prevent the loss of serotinous pine forest, and provides useful information to predict the scenarios in which post-fire restoration actions would be helpful.S

Interactions between large high-severity fires and salvage logging on a short return interval reduce the regrowth of fire-prone serotinous forests

P. 54-63New fire disturbance regimes under accelerating global environmental change can have unprecedented consequences for ecosystem resilience, lessening ecosystem natural regeneration. In the Mediterranean Basin, fire-dependent obligate seeder forests that are prone to increasingly frequent stand-replacing fires and then salvaged logged repeatedly can be vulnerable to additional disturbances for decades. In this study, we investigated, for the first time, the cumulative and interactive effects of two large high-severity fires at a short (<15-year) return interval and the subsequent burned timber harvesting with biomass removal on the post-disturbance recovery of such forests. We further assessed the type and amount of the material legacies (deadwood) that persisted through the different post-disturbance successional trajectories, as well as the influence of these legacies on forest regeneration. The early recovery of the studied forests after two consecutive large fires and post-fire logging was, in the first place, driven by fire repetition, which led to reduced seedling recruitment and enhanced regrowth of resprouter shrubs. Despite no interactive effects between fire and logging were detected after a single large fire event, two repeated fires followed by salvage harvesting had a greater negative impact than two fires alone (synergistic effects) on seedling establishment; while a lower positive impact (subadditive effects) on the recovery of resprouter shrubs. There was also an interaction modification effect in which fire repetition worsened the per-unit impact of salvage logging on forest regeneration. Nonetheless, the residual legacies, i.e., fine and coarse woody debris (unburned needles, downed branches, pieces of deadwood, and burned pine cones) that remained after the manual harvesting of the burned trees, aided seedling re-establishment and hindered the regrowth of the shrubby understorey. These findings indicate that high-intensity salvage logging after two large high-severity fires at a short return interval is inadvisable in fire-prone serotinous pine forests, unless it explicitly retains the key material legacies that help tree natural regeneration and enhance ecosystem resilience to the next disturbance.S

Wildfire effects on soil properties in fire-prone pine ecosystems: Indicators of burn severity legacy over the medium term after fire

P. 147-156The aim of this study was to determine the effects of burn severity on soil properties (chemical, biochemical and microbiological) in fire-prone pine ecosystems three years after fire. To achieve these goals, we selected two large wildfires that occurred in summer 2012 within the Iberian Peninsula: the Sierra del Teleno wildfire, which burned 119 km2 dominated by Pinus pinaster forests developed over acidic soils, and the Cortes de Pallás wildfire, which burned 297 km2, part of them dominated by Pinus halepensis ecosystems with calcareous soils. We classified the burned areas into low or high burn severity categories using spectral indices. Three years after the wildfires, we distributed 56 field plots proportionally to the extent of each severity category. In each field plot, we collected samples of mineral soil from a depth of 0–3 cm. We analysed soil chemical (pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus) biochemical (β-glucosidase, urease and acid phosphatase enzymatic activities) and microbiological (microbial biomass carbon) properties in each soil sample. The relationship between burn severity and soil properties was analysed by a Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Generalized Linear Models. The results showed a significant influence of the original ecosystem and of burn severity on the overall soil status over the medium term after fire. Available P content increased with burn severity in the acidic soils of the P. pinaster ecosystem. However, the three enzymatic activities and microbial biomass carbon decreased with burn severity in both types of pine ecosystems. β-glucosidase, urease and microbial biomass carbon showed common patterns in relation to burn severity in the two different Pinus ecosystems (acidic and calcareous soils), and therefore we suggest that they could be potential indicators of the burn severity legacy on soils over the medium term after fire in fire-prone pine Mediterranean forests. Available P and acid phosphatase could be potential indicators in the P. pinaster ecosystem. This study provides useful knowledge for developing hazard reduction and restoration strategies after large wildfiresS

Changes in a Humic Cambisol heated (100–500 °C) under laboratory conditions: The significance of heating time

P. 237-246La influencia de la temperatura y su duración, que son algunos de los componentes más importantes para determinar los efectos del fuego en suelo propiedades, fueron estudiados en la capa de 0-5 cm de un Humic Cambisol desarrollado durante los conglomerados silíceos y bajo un arbusto de Erica australis. El suelo era arenoso con 8,5 g 100 g-1 de materia orgánica, pH de 4.7 y P disponible aproximadamente 0,16 mg kg-1. El índice de estabilidad en agua (ISA) fue 64.9, que se consideraba bueno. Análisis térmico diferencial (DTA) mostró la presencia de dos picos, uno endotérmico hasta 177 ° C y otra exotérmica entre 229 ° C y 579 ° C. Las muestras se calentaron a 100 ° C, 200 ° C y 500 ° C durante 5, 15, 30 y 60 min después de alcanzar la temperatura seleccionada. Para evitar un gradiente de temperatura en el perfil se utilizó una capa de muestra de 2 cm de profundidad. Calentamiento del suelo a 100 ° C en el cuatro tiempos de calentamiento y 200 ° C durante 5 min no produjo cambios significativos en el pH, materia orgánica, N total, relación C / N, P disponible, cationes extraíbles y WSI. Los suelos calentados a 200 ° C durante 15, 30 y 60 min y 500 ° C durante 5 min, mostró un aumento significativo en P disponible (de 0,9 a un máximo de 17,6 mg kg-1) y cationes divalentes (Ca2 + 4,4 a 46,3 y Mg2 + 1,5 a 8,7 mg kg-1). Para suelos calentados a 500 ° C durante 15, 30 y 60 min, un claro incremento en soluble contenido de Na + (0,5 a 1,8 mg kg-1) y pH (5,5 a 8,1), además de una disminución significativa de la materia orgánica (de 8,7% a 2,4%) se detectó. Como consecuencia de ello se encontró una disminución importante de WSI (del 64,9% al 54,3%)S

Physiological and Regenerative Plant Traits Explain Vegetation Regeneration under Different Severity Levels in Mediterranean Fire-Prone Ecosystems

15 p.In Mediterranean fire-prone ecosystems, plant functional traits and burn severity have decisive roles in post-fire vegetation recovery. These traits may reflect plant fitness to fire regimes in the Mediterranean Basin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of burn severity on post-fire vegetation regeneration through plant functional (physiological and regenerative) traits in two Mediterranean ecosystems: one more humid and colder (Cabrera in León province, NW Spain), and another characterized by a longer summer drought (Gátova in Valencia province, SE Spain). A total of 384 and 80 field plots (2 m 2 m) were fixed in Cabrera and Gátova, respectively. In each burned plot, we quantified burn severity by means of the composite burn index (CBI), differentiating three severity levels (low, moderate, and high), and evaluated post-fire vegetation regeneration one and two years after wildfires. We measured the percentage cover of each species and classified them according to physiological (specific leaf area and N2-fixing capacity) and regenerative traits (reproductive strategy, bud bank location, and heat-stimulated germination). The main results showed that in Cabrera, burn severity had significant effects on vegetation cover independently of plant functional traits. In Gátova, burn severity effects differed among functional traits. In this site, the cover of plants with low specific leaf area and without heat-stimulation and N2-fixing capacity was negatively related to burn severity. On the contrary, the cover of N2-fixers and species with resprouting ability and heat-stimulated germination rose with increasing burn severity. In general, vegetation cover showed a more pronounced increased over time in the more humid area, mainly under the effect of high severity. The results of this research highlighted the importance of the use of plant functional traits as a driver to understand the response of different ecosystems to current fire regimes, which could be relevant for pre- and post-fire management.S

Interactions between mediterranean shrub species eight years after experimental fire

p. 235-241Este trabajo es parte de un estudio más amplio en el que se analizaron diferentes combinaciones de especies para la revegetación de forma experimental quemado brezales. En este caso particular, se determinó si había alguna interacción entre la especie dominante, Erica australis, que se recuperaron por rebrote vegetativo, y la Cytisus sp., ocho años después del fuego y siete años después de la siembra. El estudio detallado se realizó sobre cada metro cuadrado de la cubierta y la altura de ambas especies en tres parcelas 160 m2. La cobertura total superó el 100 % en todas las subtramas sembradas con Cytisus, mientras que no alcanzó el 65% en los otros, cuando ambas especies conviven juntos. Hubo una correlación inversa entre las tapas de ambas especies y una correlación positiva entre la altura Erica australis y de la cubierta y la altura de Cytisus No hubo diferencia significativa en Erica cubren en parcelas sembradas con Cytisus y parcelas no sembradas. Podría haber alguna competencia por la luz, pero ambas especies son capaces de coexistir con alta superposición dosel, por lo menos durante algún tiempo. Cytisus se está expandiendo desde la cabeza de serie argumentos secundarios, lo que sugiere que la cubierta densa de Erica australis no impide el establecimiento de CytisusS

Changes on albedo after a large forest fire in Mediterranean ecosystems

P. 1-7Fires are one of the main causes of environmental alteration in Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Albedo varies and evolves seasonally based on solar illumination. It is greatly influenced by changes on vegetation: vegetation growth, cutting/planting forests or forest fires. This work analyzes albedo variations due to a large forest fire that occurred on 19- 21 September 2012 in northwestern Spain. From this area, albedo post-fire images (immediately and 1-year after fire) were generated from Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) data. Specifically we considered total shortwave albedo, total-, direct-, and diffuse-visible, and near-infrared albedo. Nine to twelve weeks after fire, 111 field plots were measured (27 unburned plots, 84 burned plots). The relationship between albedo values and thematic class (burned/unburned) was evaluated by one-way analysis of variance. Our results demonstrate that albedo changes were related to burned/unburned variable with statistical significance, indicating the importance of forestry areas as regulators of land surface energy fluxes and revealing the potential of post-fire albedo for assessing burned areas. Future research, however, is needed to evaluate the persistence of albedo changes.S

Predicting potential wildfire severity across Southern Europe with global data sources

.The large environmental and socioeconomic impacts of wildfires in Southern Europe require the development of efficient generalizable tools for fire danger analysis and proactive environmental management. With this premise, we aimed to study the influence of different environmental variables on burn severity, as well as to develop accurate and generalizable models to predict burn severity. To address these objectives, we selected 23 wildfires (131,490 ha) across Southern Europe. Using satellite imagery and geospatial data available at the planetary scale, we spatialized burn severity as well as 20 pre-burn environmental variables, which were grouped into climatic, topographic, fuel load-type, fuel load-moisture and fuel continuity predictors. We sampled all variables and divided the data into three independent datasets: a training dataset, used to perform univariant regression models, random forest (RF) models by groups of variables, and RF models including all predictors (full and parsimonious models); a second dataset to analyze interpolation capacity within the training wildfires; and a third dataset to study extrapolation capacity to independent wildfires. Results showed that all environmental variables determined burn severity, which increased towards the mildest climatic conditions, sloping terrain, high fuel loads, and coniferous vegetation. In general, the highest predictive and generalization capacities were found for fuel load proxies obtained though multispectral imagery, both in the individual analysis and by groups of variables. The full and parsimonious models outperformed all, the individual models, models by groups, and formerly developed predictive models of burn severity, as they were able to explain up to 95%, 59% and 25% of variance when applied to the training, interpolation and extrapolation datasets respectively. Our study is a benchmark for progress in the prediction of fire danger, provides operational tools for the identification of areas at risk, and sets the basis for the design of pre-burn management actions.S

The Role of Weather Types in Assessing the Rainfall Key Factors for Erosion in Two Different Climatic Regions

P. 1-15This paper compares two different geographical sites, Aveiro and León, from different climatic regions, oceanic and continental, but which share the same type of weather (according to Lamb’s classification). The analysis was carried out over one year, and has revealed that rainfall in Aveiro is heavier and more abundant, with a higher number of raindrops and a longer duration of rain events (on average, 10 min longer than in Leon). Mean raindrop size is 0.45 mm in Aveiro and slightly smaller (0.37 mm) in Leon; in addition, the kinetic energy and linear momentum values in Aveiro are three times higher than those in Leon. A comparison of raindrop size distributions by weather type has shown that for both locations westerly weather presented a higher probability of rainfall, and the gamma distribution parameters for each weather type were independent of the study zone. When the analysis is done for the characteristics of rain related with erosion, the westerly cyclonic weather types (cyclonic west (CW) and cyclonic south-westerly (CSW)) are among the most energetic ones in both locations. However, comparing their five weather types with higher kinetic energy, in Aveiro a westerly component implies higher kinetic energy, while in Leon a southerly component involves more energy in the rain.S