Effects of repeated burning on Mediterranean communities of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

Question: In relation to a single fire, do repeated wildfires in Mediterranean type ecosystems (1) reduce plant species richness or diversity; (2) modify patterns of abundance or dominance of plant species or (3) alter plant composition? Location: Pinus halepensis dominated communities of Catalonia, northeastern Iberian Peninsula, western Mediterranean Basin. Methods: Regional, paired design with 14 study sites, each consisting of a once burnt area (1994) and a twice burnt area (1975–1993 and 1994). Ten years after the last fire, we recorded all vascular plant species present in nested plots and quantified their relative abundances on transects. We compared species richness, diversity, dominance and relative abundance and species-area correlations between paired once and twice burnt areas and assessed their floristic composition similarity. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in species richness or diversity. Slopes of species-area correlations were higher in once burnt areas. In twice burnt areas, dominance by one or two species was higher. P. halepensis showed lower relative abundance and nanophanerophytes showed higher relative abundance. No differences were found for resprouter, seeder or resprouter-seeder species. Floristic composition similarity between paired areas tended to be higher in less productive sites. Conclusions: Fire recurrence had contrasting effects on species richness at different spatial scales. Repeated burning reduced the relative abundance of the dominant tree species, which resulted in a higher relative abundance of shrubs. It also promoted the dominance of herbs, particularly Brachypodium retusum. However, it did not change the relative abundance of regenerative groups. Paired areas were more similar as they were more Mediterranean in terms of climatic conditions.