Post-fire management and recovery of a pine forest in Greece

Abstract

Abstract. The effects of management after fire in Pinus halepensis forests were assessed in northern Greece. Seeding, logging and building of log barriers were applied in burned sites and compared to a control site. Two years after treatment application, 70–80% of the ground in all sites was covered with vegetation. Seeding with herbaceous plants did not increase plant cover. Logging and building of log barriers negatively affected herbaceous species but increased woody species. During the first spring after fire, the highest numbers of P. halepensis seedlings were observed in the control site and the lowest number in the logged site. Logging and log barrier building had a negative effect on pine regeneration compared to control and seeding treatments. Woody plant composition was similar in control and seeding sites, with dominance of P. halepensis and Cistus species. A different pattern was observed in the logging and log-barrier sites with a low number of seeders and a high number of resprouter species.