Abstract
We found that the expansion of Pinus cembra, a long-lived species, occurred in a context of moderate fire frequency during the early Holocene. Nevertheless, a high fire frequency period could have depleted the local population in the short term. The predicted increase in drought in the future could thus affect the cembra pine ecosystem in the Alps only if intervals are reduced to less than 80 years. Both photos show subalpine forest dominated by cembra pine (Pinus cembra L.) in the Stelvio National Park, Valtellina Valley, North Italy. These photographs illustrate the article “The effect of fire frequency on local cembra pine populations,” by A. Genries, L. Mercier, M. Lavoie, S. D. Muller, O. Radakovitch, and C. Carcaillet, tentatively scheduled to appear in Ecology 90(2), February 2009.
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