Abstract
Background: In order to maximize the resiliency of Pinus halepensis in semiarid forests, we analyzed direct seeding methods to recover burned stands by simulating post-fire soil treatments. Methods: Seeding was done by installing spot seeding (100 seeds in a 50 × 50 cm plot), using five methods: (1) covering seeding with wood chips; (2) seeding in branch piles; (3) seeding along trunks on contour-felled logs (on the shaded side); (4) seeding next to grass (Stipa tenacissima); and (5) seeding on the bare ground (control). The experiment was replicated according to aspect (northern and southern aspects). The response variables were seed germination (%), and seedling survival after the summer (measured in autumn 2015 and 2016). Direct seeding was carried out in 32 plots with 160-spot seeding, and data were analyzed using general linear models, including nested random effects. Results: Wood chips as a surface-covering material represented the only treatment that significantly improved seed germination and seedling survival (by 12.4%, and 17.4 seedlings m−2 in year 2, respectively) compared with the control in the two topographic aspects. Conclusions: Covering seeding with wood chips, and thus chipping wood within the burned stand, form a recommended post-fire treatment to improve regeneration in Pinus halepensis semiarid stands.
Highlights
Fire is a determinant factor that plays a key role in vegetation distribution in the Mediterranean region [1,2,3]
Direct seeding has been defined as a difficult regeneration tool in severely drought-affected areas [25,26] our results show that this revegetation method can help to recover burned Pinus halepensis stands, and that the wood chips as a surface-covering material form a post-fire treatment that improves both seed germination and seedling survival compared with seeding on the bare ground
Our results suggest that Pinus halepensis seedlings were unable to tolerate the shady conditions created by contour-felled logs
Summary
Fire is a determinant factor that plays a key role in vegetation distribution in the Mediterranean region [1,2,3]. In Mediterranean conifer species, a critical component of the regeneration strategy after forest fires is initial seedling recruitment in the burned stand [4,5,6]. Is a Mediterranean species that is well adapted to forest fires due to its cone characteristics, seed ecology, and physiology (it is a light-demanding species) [2]. Semiarid Pinus halepensis woodlands that have experienced wildfire are susceptible to erosion, as wildfires occur prior to precipitation in the fall [3]. In order to maximize the resiliency of Pinus halepensis in semiarid forests, we analyzed direct seeding methods to recover burned stands by simulating post-fire soil treatments
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