Abstract
The high density of fuel accumulated in the Mediterranean ecosystems due to land abandonment results in high severity fires. Traditional fire practices and livestock grazing have played an important role in shaping the structure and composition of Mediterranean landscapes, and both can be efficient tools to manage them now that land abandonment is widespread. Attempts at controlling forest fires are essential for landscape management practices that, in their turn, seek to maintain a specific species composition. Against this backdrop, this study aims to determine the short- and long-term effects of the combined management practices of prescribed fires and goat grazing on the chemical properties of soils in Tivissa, Tarragona (NE Iberian Peninsula). Forty-two samples were collected in a 4 × 18 m plot before the prescribed fire of 2002 (1), immediately after the 2002 prescribed fire (PF) (2), one year after the 2002 PF (3), three years after the 2002 PF (4), and thirteen years after the 2002 PF (5). Soil samples were taken at each sampling point from the top layer (0–5 cm), sieved to obtain a <2 mm fraction, and soil pH, EC, Total C, total N, available P, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ were determined. The results indicate that the short-term effects of fire are more relevant than those attributable to the livestock over the long term due to the low grazing intensity of less than one goat per ha. The long-term effects of prescribed fires were not visible in the research, suggesting that they recovered after burning with all their functions intact and with enhanced levels of natural fertility. Combined land management practices of prescribed fire and livestock grazing did not affect soil chemical properties. The applied management enhanced soil fertility and boosted the ecosystem’s resilience.
Highlights
Fire is a global phenomenon and a key ecological factor in the Earth’s dynamics, especially in fire-prone ecosystems [1,2] such as that of the Mediterranean basin, where climate, flammable vegetation, and rugged terrain exacerbate the role of fire [3]
We reviewed a number of publications/reports that provide information about the optimum ranges of different soil properties in this area in order to determine if soil conditions remained good on the plot after recurrent prescribed fire (PF) and after being exposed to livestock grazing (Table 3)
The short-term effects of burning were clearly detected in the immediate aftermath of the first PF but were not visible after the second, essentially because of the time allowed to elapse between this fire management episode and the sampling
Summary
Fire is a global phenomenon and a key ecological factor in the Earth’s dynamics, especially in fire-prone ecosystems [1,2] such as that of the Mediterranean basin, where climate, flammable vegetation, and rugged terrain exacerbate the role of fire [3]. The Mediterranean has been exposed to the effects of fire during the Quaternary Period, modifying its landscapes and endowing many species with adaptive mechanisms that allow them to persist and regenerate after recurrent fires [4]. Seen in this light, Mediterranean fires should not be considered as disasters, but rather as natural processes. Today, forest fires (or wildfires) represent a major concern for many Mediterranean countries owing to the socio-economic changes such as the industrialization and rural population exodus in recent decades [3,4].
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