Jorge de Las HerasETSIAMUniversidad de Castilla-La Mancha

Mediterranean ecosystems extend over 75million hectares, composed by 25,5 millionhectares of forests and by 50 million of otherwooded lands, and contribute to make theMediterranean a biodiversity hotspot. Wood and non-wood products: e.g. biomass based energy

Climate regulation: e.g. C-sequestration

Pollution control

Soil protection and formation: e.g. erosion control

Nutrients cycling

Biodiversity protection

Water regulation and supply

Recreation

Disturbance regulation

Pollution Climate Change Landscape changes (land use,

fragmentation) Exotic species

FIRE

FOREST MANAGEMENT must consider this new scenario of GLOBALCHANGE Effects Mitigation

Assure Ecosystem Services

WoodlandsForests / Shrublands / Grasslands

* Carbon reserves and flows

* Water resources

* Biodiversity

Management

Global change

* Changes atmospheric comp.

* Climate change

* Fires

* Land use changes

* Introduction of species

1

2

3

WoodlandsForests / Shrublands / Grasslands

* Carbon reserves and flows

* Water resources

* Biodiversity

Management

Global change

* Changes atmospheric comp.

* Climate change

* Fires

* Land use changes

* Introduction of species

1

2

3

1. Influence of global change on the structure and function of woodlands.2. Ways in which woodlands may modify the consequences of global change.3 Modification through management of the effects of global change on woodlands and of thelatter on global change itself.

Adapted from Alcamo& Beenet (2003)

Human land use and deforestation since Neolithic have led to a gradual decoupling between the occurrence of wildfires and climate

Ruddiman (2007)

Fire danger is expressed by the Seasonal Severity Rating (SSR)

Fire have been present since last Quaternary(Carrión et al. 2003)

Phylogenetic diversity of plants and communitiesare linked to fire regime

(Pausas et al., 2009)

SOIL LOSS: AN INDICATOR OF

ECOLOGICAL “DISASTER”

Ryan (2002)

Adapted from Ryan (2002)

“There is no succession (in the general

sense of the word), but a progressive

reappearance of the species belonging

to the original community”

(Trabaud & Lepart, 1980)

Postfire resprouting (R): the ability togenerate new shoots from dormant budsafter stems have been fully scorched by fire:resprouters (R+) or nonresprouters (R-)

Postfire seeding (S): the ability to generate afire-resistant seedbank with seeds thatgerminate profusely after fires (fire-cuedgermination): seeders (S+) or nonseeders (S-)

Obligate resprouters (R+S-): resprouterswithout postfire seeding ability).

Facultative seeders (R+S+): both mechanismsfor regenerating after fire

Obligate seeders (R-S+): nonresprouters withpostfire seeding ability.

Postfire colonizers (R-S-): recruiting after firefrom seeds dispersed from unburned patches(metapopulation dynamics).

Pausas (2013)

Shrublands dominated by resprouting species

Quercus coccifera garrigue: vigorous resprouting

Arbutus unedo and Erica sp.: reduced resprouting after recurrent fires

Juniperus oxycedrus, Calluna vulgaris, Phyllirea angustifolia.. Different responses depending on populations, age, size

Shrublands dominated by non-resprouting species (seeders, recruiter species)

Rosmarinus, Ulex parviflorus…Changes in species dominance depending on post-fire conditions and community age

Broadleaved evergreen sclerophyllous woodlands

Q. ilex, Q. calliprinos, : Vigorous resprouting.

Q. suber: vulnerability due to cork harvest Pine forests

P. halepensis, P. brutia and P. pinaster: post-fire regeneration relies on the canopy seed bank protected in the serotinous cones

Montane pines P. nigra and P. sylvestris show almost nil regeneration after crown-fire Other coniferous trees forests

Juniperus communis, J. thurifera, Abies pinsapo, Cedrus sp. pl.: neither resprout nor have serotinous cones: sensitive to crown-fire

Four ecological groups of spanish pine species1. Serotiny and early flowering in Pinus halepensis and P. pinaster;

Different traits2. Late flowering and absence of serotinous cones in P. nigra, P.

sylvestris and P. uncinata indicate that their natural forest did not evolve under frequent crown fires.

3. P. canariensis (resprouting capability)4. P. pinea (high seed size, thick bark)

Tapias et al (2004)

What to do with the burned logs? What to do in the short term to prevent

erosion? Active, Passive or Assisted Restoration?

post-fire management of

burnt forests should

consider a variety of

treatment options to help

reconcile and better

balance competing

societal needs ranging

from economic benefits

to ecological restoration.

http://wiki.landscapetoolbox.org/doku.php/remote_sensing_methods:normali

zed_burn_ratio

2014

Could reduce the diversity of plants, birds (Castro et al.,

2010) and hollow-dependent mammals (Lindenmayer and

Ough, 2006)

Could negatively affect ecosystem propertiesand functions such as:

Soil retention (Reeves et al., 2006)

Soil respiration (Marañón-Jiménez et al., 2011)

Nutrient cycling (Marañón-Jiménez and Castro, 2013)

Carbon sequestration (Serrano-Ortiz et al., 2011)

Hydrological regimes (Lindenmayer and Noss, 2006)

Castro et al. (2014)

Low density

Low economic value Economic value

High densityExtraction by zones

Juvenile(< 4 m)

1. No Extraction

2. Felling3. Felling and

Limbing

Juvenile(< 4 m)

1. No Intervention

2. Felling3. Felling and

Limbing

Adults(> 4 m)

In transited areas

1. Felling2. Felling and

Limbing

Adults(> 4 m)

In selected zones

1. Felling2. Felling and

Limbing

SalvageLogging

RemainingWoody debris

SalvageLogging

forbiomass

1. Remaining tres standing2. RemainingWoody debris

BAER (Burned Area Emergency Response): focuses on short-termmitigation of the secondary (physical) fire effects and stabilization of theburned area.(Robichaud et al., 2000)

LandTreatments• Mulching (aerial, ground)

• Erosion barriers

Spreading of logging debris

Invasive species control

Silt fences

Log erosion barriers

Seeding

Some risks and problems:

-Introduction of competing plants

-Modification of postfire dynamics

-Effects on microorganisms

-Amplification of disturbance?

-Not well contrasted effectiveness

-Expertise tasks

-Costs

Hellín (SE, 2012)

Galicia (NW, 2011)

•High dependence on weather conditions

•Low efectiveness if not accompanyed by mulching

•Predation

•Risk of introduction of competitive species

•More studies about long term effects are needed

1. Passive restoration: Let Nature do the work2. Assisted Restoration: Helping Nature3. Active Restoration: Nature substitution

“Use” of adaptive traits of plants

Silvicultural treatments (thinning, prunning, scrub

clearing, coppice) appropriate to support natural

regeneration and reach mature stages of succession

faster (Impulse to post- fire dynamics )

Increasing Resilience

Improving growth and reproduction through decreasing intra- and

interspecific competition

Súria (Barcelona), 10 years after fire del fuego

Are

a F

olia

r (c

m2

/Arb

ol)

Bio

mas

a se

ca (k

g /A

rbo

l)

NI c1 c2 C1 C2 c1+C2 NI c1 c2 C1 C2 c1+C2

Diferencias entre tratamientos selvícolas en pinares regenerados tras incendio, 15 años

después del fuego (Yeste, SW Albacete). NI: No intervención; c1: Clareos a intensidad media

(1500 pies/ha), 5 años después del fuego; c2: Clareos a intensidad media (1500 pies/ha, 10

años después del fuego; C1: Clareos a intensidad elevada (800 pies/ha), 5 años después del

fuego; C2: Clareos a intensidad elevada (800 pies/ha, 10 años después del fuego; c1+C2:

Clareos consecutivos: a 1500 pies/ha, 5 años después del fuego y a 1500 pies/ha, 10 años

después del fuego.

c) VALUES 2007

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

C T+P T T+p04 T04+p04 T04 T+t04+p t t04 t04+p04

HE

IGH

T (

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)

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a a c bc bc ab d d bc c bc c d d e e ab c d de

CLAREOS DE

REGENERADOS

(pino carrasco)

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

NI c+p1 c c+p2 c2+p2 c2 c+C2+p1C C2 C2+p2

BA

S (

sem

illa

s/h

a)

ab

a

abc

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ab

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c

Progressive conversion of coppice to forest

Best moment for coppice thinning of Quercus ilex, Q. cerrioides,

Viburnum tinus, Arbutus unedo?

>10 years after fire

Thinning intensity?2-3 resprouts

Control of new resprouts after thinning?Controlled grazing, manually.

(Sánchez-Humanes & Espelta, 2011; Quevedo et al. 2013)

Different fire intensity: differentresponses

Low intensity: Crown, strain and rootresprouts

High intensity: loss of resproutingcapability (Moreira et al., 2009). Management of strain resprouts

Cork harvesting increasesvulnerability: wait at least 3 yearsafter a fire for cork harvest (Catry et al., 2012).

Q. suber response depends on bark

thickness and bark harvest regime(Catry et al. 2012)

High severity fire Weather conditions after fire Pre-fire plant communities Synergistic perturbations Public pressure

SeedingPlantation

Change of social paradigm:

“compensation” burnt areas/reforested areas(Vallejo et al., 2012).

Seeds provennance is very important (Climent et al., 2008; 2014;

Santos del Blanco et al., 2010)

Saplings quality Avoid agressive plantation techniques Direct seeding of pine seeds or oak fruits is not always a

good choice

Suillus bellinii, S. mediterraneensis, S. collinitus, Rhizopogon roseolus, Lactarius deliciosus, L. sanguifluus.

pure culture growth in Petri disches (22-24 ºC)

LiquidInoculumgrowth

Inoculation

Secondary roots infection

Plantation

de las Heras et al. (2002); González et al. (2003)

1. Real costs of a Wildland Fire?

2. Carbon fixation inclussion

3. How to manage…• Communities dominated by no resilient species?

• Endangered, thereatened species?

• Biodiversity hotspots?

New challenges…

PREVENTIONRESTORATION