Pinus sylvestris forest regeneration under different post-fire restoration practices in the northwestern Italian Alps
- 31 October 2010
- journal article
- Published by Elsevier BV in Ecological Engineering
- Vol. 36 (10), 1365-1372
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2010.06.014
Abstract
It is frequently believed that a post-fire environment requires immediate actions in order to be restored. Salvage logging followed by plantation is a common post-fire restoration practice in many forests of the northwestern Italian Alps. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of active and passive management techniques on the restoration of a burned area of the Aosta Valley and to determine which approach is the most suitable for enhancing Pinus sylvestris regeneration after stand replacing wildfires. The influence of five management options (no intervention; salvage logging; broadleaves plantation; Larix decidua plantation; P. sylvestris or Pseudotsuga menziesii plantation) and environmental variables on natural regeneration structure and composition was evaluated through direct gradient analysis. Pinus sylvestris and Populus tremula were the dominant tree species (40 and 29%, respectively) in the regeneration layer. Density, size, and structural diversity of natural regeneration were higher in the no intervention area. The proximity to forest edge was found to be the most important environmental variable. This study provided evidence that taking advantage of natural restoration processes may be a suitable alternative strategy to the active restoration practices adopted according to the Aosta Valley policy of post-fire management.Keywords
This publication has 51 references indexed in Scilit:
- Windthrow and salvage logging in an old-growth hemlock-northern hardwoods forestForest Ecology and Management, 2009
- Sediment production following severe wildfire and post-fire salvage logging in the Rocky Mountain headwaters of the Oldman River Basin, AlbertaCATENA, 2009
- Influence of distance to forest edges on natural regeneration of abandoned pastures: a case study in the tropical mountain rain forest of Southern EcuadorEuropean Journal of Forest Research, 2006
- Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire ActivityScience, 2006
- Future Area Burned in CanadaClimatic Change, 2005
- Tree diameter distributions in natural and managed old Pinus sylvestris-dominated forestsForest Ecology and Management, 2004
- Congruence between natural and human forest disturbance: a case study from Australian montane ash forestsForest Ecology and Management, 2002
- Effect of burnt wood removal on the natural regeneration of Pinus halepensis after fire in a pine forest in Tus valley (SE Spain)Forest Ecology and Management, 1999
- Edge effects in fragmented forests: implications for conservationTrends in Ecology & Evolution, 1995
- Evaluation of the Point Intercept Method for the Estimation of Plant BiomassOikos, 1988