Postfire Burnt-Wood Management Affects Plant Damage by Ungulate Herbivores

Jorge Castro

doi:10.1155/2013/965461

Abstract

I analyze the effect of post-fire burnt wood management on herbivore attack on a woody plant species (Ulex parviflorus). Two experimental plots of ca. 20 hectares were established at two elevations in a burnt area in a Mediterranean mountain (Sierra Nevada, Spain). Three replicates of three treatments differing in post-fire burnt wood management were established per plot: “no intervention” (NI, all trees remained standing), “partial cut plus lopping” (PCL, felling the trees, cutting the main branches, and leaving all the biomassin situ), and “salvage logging” (SL; removal of logs and elimination of woody debris). Risk of herbivory and damage intensity were monitored for two years. The pattern of attack by ungulate herbivores varied among treatments and years. In any case, there was an overall reduction in the risk of herbivory in the PCL treatment, presumably because the highest habitat complexity in this treatment hampered ungulate movement and foraging. As a result, the burnt logs and branches spread over the ground acted as a physical barrier that protected seedlings from herbivores. This protection may be used for the regeneration of shrubs and trees, and it is of interest for the regeneration of burnt sites either naturally or by reforestation.

Highlights

A current controversial issue among restoration ecologists and forest managers concerns the appropriate management of dead burnt trees after fire
Little information is available on the effect of salvage logging versus other post-fire management alternatives on the damage of vegetation by ungulate herbivores
I hypothesise that post-fire burnt-wood management will influence the rate of herbivore damage, as the experimental treatments used contrast sharply in habitat characteristics, ranging from a landscape without tree overstory in salvaged areas to a habitat that still has an overstory of branches and logs in the other treatments

Summary

Introduction

A current controversial issue among restoration ecologists and forest managers concerns the appropriate management of dead burnt trees after fire. It is likely that the post-fire management of the burnt wood will alter the use of the habitat by ungulate herbivores, as it has the potential to alter accessibility or protection against predators, among other factors (e.g., [20, 27, 28]).

Results

Conclusion