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Articles containing the keyword 'post-fire regeneration'

Category : Research article

article id 24046, category Research article
Līga Liepa, Zigmārs Rendenieks, Edgars Dubrovskis, Lāsma Freimane, Inga Straupe, Āris Jansons. (2025). Patterns of short-term vegetation recovery after a fire in protected Scots pine forests of hemiboreal Latvia. Silva Fennica vol. 59 no. 1 article id 24046. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.24046
Keywords: succession; fire disturbance; plant functional traits; post-fire regeneration; protected forests
Highlights: We observed more rapid vegetation recovery at the ground level, but the dominance increased more steadily at herb and tree layers; We found the highest species diversity at the herb layer during the third (middle-aged stands) and fourth (over-mature stands) years after fire disturbance; From regenerating tree species, only Populus tremula in over-mature stands showed a decline in projective cover during the four studied years.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Wildfires as natural disturbances have had important impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, including forests. We studied patterns of short-term vegetation recovery after surface fire in protected hemiboreal Pinus sylvestris L.-dominated forest. Our study was carried out near Stikli village in Western Latvia. Seven forest stands – middle-age and over-mature were sampled on nutrient-poor and mesic soils. Forest fire occurred in the summer of 2018 and covered 1440 ha of forested area. In each stand we established 16 sample plots (1 m × 1 m) in a radial pattern from the center. Every summer from 2019 till 2022 we surveyed these sample plots – recorded projective cover (%) and identified Ellenberg indicator values and species traits – plant strategy groups (C-S-R after Grime), Raunkiær life history forms and habitat types. Additionally, the occurrence of specialized fire-adapted plants was recorded. In total we identified 15 species in the ground layer, 47 species in the herbaceous layer, and 9 regenerating tree species. The colonization at the ground layer was the most rapid (projective cover increased overall by 67% in middle-aged stands and by 82% in over-mature stands). Species diversity was the highest at the herb layer during the third (middle-aged stands) and fourth (over-mature stands) after fire disturbance but showed overall declining trends. Betula spp. and Populus tremula L.-dominated regenerating tree species. The dominance of fire-adapted species declined rapidly after the fire except for moss Polytrichum spp. Overall, hemiboreal over-mature stands demonstrated higher vegetation cover and more rapid rate of initial colonization compared to middle-aged stands.

  • Liepa, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Rīgas street 111, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia; Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Akadēmijas street 11, LV-3001, Jelgava, Latvia ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8270-6722 E-mail: liga.liepa@outlook.com (email)
  • Rendenieks, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Rīgas street 111, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3511-1486 E-mail: zigmars.rendenieks@silava.lv
  • Dubrovskis, Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Akadēmijas street 11, LV-3001, Jelgava, Latvia ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0810-5651 E-mail: edgars.dubrovskis@lbtu.lv
  • Freimane, Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Akadēmijas street 11, LV-3001, Jelgava, Latvia E-mail: lasma.freimane@lbtu.lv
  • Straupe, Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Akadēmijas street 11, LV-3001, Jelgava, Latvia ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2098-7194 E-mail: inga.straupe@lbtu.lv
  • Jansons, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Rīgas street 111, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7981-4346 E-mail: aris.jansons@silava.lv

Category : Discussion article

article id 25031, category Discussion article
Simon Lebel Desrosiers, Nicolas Bélanger, Evelyne Thiffault, Nelson Thiffault. (2025). Climate change and transformation in forest fire regimes: an opportunity for the implementation of assisted migration of tree species in the Canadian boreal forest? Silva Fennica vol. 59 no. 2 article id 25031. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.25031
Keywords: fire severity; site suitability; post-fire regeneration; climate change adaptation; forest resilience; reforestation strategies; tree migration
Highlights: Increasing fire activity is reshaping post-disturbance landscapes in boreal forests; Post-fire sites offer new opportunities for introducing climate-resilient tree species; Fire can improve or impair site conditions for forest regeneration; Assisted migration of tree species may enhance reforestation success after severe wildfires; Research on post-fire regeneration of introduced species remains critically limited.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Climate change is intensifying fire regimes in boreal forests, leading to ecological disruption and raising concerns about forest resilience and post-disturbance recovery. Altered fire dynamics creates novel opportunities for implementing adaptive silviculture for climate change, including assisted migration, the intentional movement and establishment of tree species or tree populations outside their current range of distribution to better match anticipated future climates. Here, we examine how the increasing frequency, severity, and spatial extent of Canadian boreal wildfires can serve as strategic windows for introducing climate-resilient tree species and genotypes. We review how fire influences the availability and suitability of post-fire sites for assisted migration, highlighting how fire-induced changes in soil abiotic and biotic properties may facilitate or hinder the establishment of relocated tree species. While fire can simplify site preparation, reduce biotic competition, and temporarily enhance soil nutrient availability, it may also degrade soil structure by consuming or altering soil organic matter and increasing soil susceptibility to erosion and disrupt essential mycorrhizal associations. We argue that assisted migration of tree species can be a proactive silvicultural tool when used in areas with regeneration failure or where future climate conditions are likely to exceed the tolerance limits of native species. Whilst scientific evidence remains limited on the regeneration success of migrated species and genotypes in post-fire environments, we argue for an integrated adaptation strategy that combines natural regeneration with targeted assisted migration interventions, guided by local site conditions, genetic considerations, and policy support, to build resilient boreal forests under changing disturbance regimes.

  • Lebel Desrosiers, Laboratoire sur la science des données, Université du Québec (TÉLUQ), 5800, rue Saint-Denis, bureau 1105, Montréal, Québec H2S 3L5, Canada ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1592-8505 E-mail: simon.lebeldesrosiers@teluq.ca
  • Bélanger, Laboratoire sur la science des données, Université du Québec (TÉLUQ), 5800, rue Saint-Denis, bureau 1105, Montréal, Québec H2S 3L5, Canada E-mail: nicolas.belanger@teluq.ca
  • Thiffault, Centre de recherche sur les matériaux renouvelables, Université Laval, 2425 De la Terrasse St, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9586-3834 E-mail: evelyne.thiffault@sbf.ulaval.ca
  • Thiffault, Service canadien des forêts, Ressources naturelles Canada, 1055, rue Du P.E.P.S., C.P. 10380, Québec, Québec G1V 4C7, Canada ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2017-6890 E-mail: nelson.thiffault@canada.ca (email)

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