Beech （Fagus orientalis Lipsky） forest covers about 565,000 ha of land in Guilan province, north of Iran and forms a major carbon pool. It is an important economic, soil protection and recreation resource. We studie...Beech （Fagus orientalis Lipsky） forest covers about 565,000 ha of land in Guilan province, north of Iran and forms a major carbon pool. It is an important economic, soil protection and recreation resource. We studied long-term effects of fire on the structure and composition 37 years after fire occurrence in these forests. To do this research, we selected 85 ha burned and 85 ha unburned beech forests）. The results indicated that the fire had not changed the overall uneven-aged structure, but it changed forest composition from pure stands to mixed stands that now include species such as Carpinus betulus, Acer cappadocicum and Alnus subcordata. The density of trees and regeneration was significantly increased, while the density of shrubs significantly decreased. The main reasons for increased tree regeneration were attributed to （1） reduction of litter depth, and （2） increase in available light from opening of the canopy and reduction in shrub competition. It is apparent that the forest is on a path to return to its natural state before the fire after 37 years.展开更多
We studied the long-term impacts of natural burning on herbaceous species diversity 37 years after a fire occurred in the Roudbar forests of Guilan Province, northern Iran. Numerous studies have examined short-term ch...We studied the long-term impacts of natural burning on herbaceous species diversity 37 years after a fire occurred in the Roudbar forests of Guilan Province, northern Iran. Numerous studies have examined short-term changes in understory vegetation following wildfire; however, very few long-term studies are available or changes inferred from retrospective studies based on chro- nosequences. For this study, 170 ha of forest （85 ha, burned areas; 85 ha, unburned areas） were surveyed. Because the 1000 m2 plots were too large for detailed measurements of herbaceous species, we determined a sub-sample size according to the Whittaker＇s nested plot sampling protocol and minimal areas method. Hence, sub-plots of 32 m2 were used for herbaceous species measurements, which consisted of percent cover of each species based on the Domin criterion. We measured plant diversity （Shannon-Wiener index）, spe- cies richness （Margalef＇s index）, and evenness （Smith-Wilson index）. Mean percent cover, together with diversity, richness and even- ness, increased markedly in burned areas compared to unburned controls. This suggests that the biodiversity of these forests could be restored within 37 years after fire. However, the abundance of invasive species such as Rubus fruticosus and Bromus benekenii increased significantly in burned areas, but these could be controlled by relevant silvicultural operations.展开更多
文摘Beech （Fagus orientalis Lipsky） forest covers about 565,000 ha of land in Guilan province, north of Iran and forms a major carbon pool. It is an important economic, soil protection and recreation resource. We studied long-term effects of fire on the structure and composition 37 years after fire occurrence in these forests. To do this research, we selected 85 ha burned and 85 ha unburned beech forests）. The results indicated that the fire had not changed the overall uneven-aged structure, but it changed forest composition from pure stands to mixed stands that now include species such as Carpinus betulus, Acer cappadocicum and Alnus subcordata. The density of trees and regeneration was significantly increased, while the density of shrubs significantly decreased. The main reasons for increased tree regeneration were attributed to （1） reduction of litter depth, and （2） increase in available light from opening of the canopy and reduction in shrub competition. It is apparent that the forest is on a path to return to its natural state before the fire after 37 years.
文摘We studied the long-term impacts of natural burning on herbaceous species diversity 37 years after a fire occurred in the Roudbar forests of Guilan Province, northern Iran. Numerous studies have examined short-term changes in understory vegetation following wildfire; however, very few long-term studies are available or changes inferred from retrospective studies based on chro- nosequences. For this study, 170 ha of forest （85 ha, burned areas; 85 ha, unburned areas） were surveyed. Because the 1000 m2 plots were too large for detailed measurements of herbaceous species, we determined a sub-sample size according to the Whittaker＇s nested plot sampling protocol and minimal areas method. Hence, sub-plots of 32 m2 were used for herbaceous species measurements, which consisted of percent cover of each species based on the Domin criterion. We measured plant diversity （Shannon-Wiener index）, spe- cies richness （Margalef＇s index）, and evenness （Smith-Wilson index）. Mean percent cover, together with diversity, richness and even- ness, increased markedly in burned areas compared to unburned controls. This suggests that the biodiversity of these forests could be restored within 37 years after fire. However, the abundance of invasive species such as Rubus fruticosus and Bromus benekenii increased significantly in burned areas, but these could be controlled by relevant silvicultural operations.
