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International Journal of Wildland Fire International Journal of Wildland Fire Society
Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
International Journal of Wildland Fire

International Journal of Wildland Fire

Volume 28 Number 5 2019

Fire Regime and Ecosystem Responses (Part 1)


We present a special issue conceived as a collection of research studies covering a wide diversity of geographical settings, climates and forest types. Here, the first section (of two) comprises six novel studies on adaptions to fire regimes, burn severity and plant–soil interface or post-fire management by using satellite images, dendrochronology, soil sampling and analysis of biological indicators.

WF18160Abrupt regime shifts in post-fire resilience of Mediterranean mountain pinewoods are fuelled by land use

J. Julio Camarero, Gabriel Sangüesa-Barreda, Sebastián Pérez-Díaz, Cristina Montiel-Molina, Francisco Seijo and José Antonio López-Sáez
pp. 329-341

To assess long-term post-fire resilience in Mediterranean pine forests from central Spain, we reconstructed historical fire dynamics by using charcoal accumulation rates and pollen data, historical fire records, and tree-ring width data. We documented an abrupt regime shift during the 1890s characterised by high-severity fires, which changed pinewoods composition.

WF18118Resistance of Pinus pinea L. bark to fire

Javier Madrigal, Jennifer Souto-García, Rafael Calama, Mercedes Guijarro, Juan Picos and Carmen Hernando
pp. 342-353

Laboratory tests using a mass loss calorimeter were carried out to quantify the influence of bark thickness on flammability and resistance of Pinus pinea L. (stone pine) trunks to fire. Data from permanent plots were used to generate a new linear mixed model to predict bark thickness along the trunk in Spanish stone pine stands. The model suggests critical thresholds of charring height in order to evaluate fire severity after wildfires and prescribed burning and to design preventive silviculture.

WF18103Impact of burn severity on soil properties in a Pinus pinaster ecosystem immediately after fire

Víctor Fernández-García 0000-0003-3217-3814, Elena Marcos, José Manuel Fernández-Guisuraga, Angela Taboada, Susana Suárez-Seoane and Leonor Calvo
pp. 354-364

We analysed the impacts of burn severity on soil properties immediately after fire. Physical (mean weight diameter), chemical (pH, available P, organic C) and biological (microbial biomass C, β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase activities) soil properties, as well as soil quotients (C : N, microbial quotient, β-glucosidase : microbial biomass C) were significantly affected by burn severity.


We determine how post-fire salvage logging (SL) v. without logging (WL) affected Austrocedrus chilensis seedling survival and growth under different aerial and root-competition treatments. High radiation levels at SL sites precluded A. chilensis seedlings survival, whereas aerial or root competition had insignificant effects. Remaining snags at WL sites attenuate radiation, allowing high seedling survival.


Various studies suggest that fire-induced erosion rates sharply increase after the fire and gradually decrease during the first few years. This study addresses the effect of post-fire management practices on soil erosion, 3–4 years after the fire. The main result indicates that the most effective practices are those that provide surface cover. Spreading wood chips significantly mitigated erosion, whereas all other practices inhibited vegetation renewal and system rehabilitation for longer periods.

WF18114Structure, diversity and health of Sierra Nevada red fir forests with reestablished fire regimes

Marc D. Meyer, Becky L. Estes, Amarina Wuenschel, Beverly Bulaon, Alexandra Stucy, Douglas F. Smith and Anthony C. Caprio
pp. 386-396

The reestablishment of natural fire regimes in red fir forests reduced stand densities, increased understorey species richness and restored spatial heterogeneity. Forest health indicators were similar between burned and unburned sites, and crown loss ratings were associated with topographic variables indicative of increased moisture stress or reduced soil moisture availability.

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