Mountain coniferous forests of Southern Europe seem to be increasingly affected by large fires. Endemic Greek fir (Abies cephalonica) forests were among the most affected ecosystems by the 2007 extreme wildfires in Greece. The aim of this study is to investigate the pattern of post-fire regeneration of fir forest plant communities of Mount Parnitha National Park, in Attica (Greece), after a large wildfire. A network of 8 severely burned sites across the mountain ridge was established in order to monitor natural regeneration of A. cephalonica as well as post-fire floristic composition and species richness. Field campaigns took place in two distinct time periods, one close to the fire event and one 8 to 10 years after. Generalized linear models were used to explore the effects of distance and microhabitat variables on the post-fire regeneration of the Greek fir. Distance from the unburned patches, slope and cover of woody species significantly affected A. cephalonica seedling establishment and hence its natural post-fire regeneration. Floristic composition and plant species richness of the recovering fir communities changed through time. During the initial phase, high species richness was recorded, mainly because of the high contribution of herbaceous species. During the second period, species richness was lower and similar to that recorded in the unburned fir communities. It is during this period when the first seedlings of the Greek fir managed to establish, although their density is rather low to ensure full recovery of the forest.
Keywords
, , , ,
Citation
Christopoulou A, Kazanis D, Fyllas NM, Arianoutsou M (2018). Post-fire recovery of Abies cephalonica forest communities: the case of Mt Parnitha National Park, Attica, Greece. iForest 11: 757-764. - doi: 10.3832/ifor2744-011
Academic Editor
Davide Ascoli
Paper history
Received: Jan 29, 2018
Accepted: Aug 29, 2018
First online: Nov 15, 2018
Publication Date: Dec 31, 2018
Publication Time: 2.60 months
© SISEF - The Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology 2018
Open Access
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Breakdown by View Type
(Waiting for server response...)
Article Usage
Total Article Views: 42386
(from publication date up to now)
Breakdown by View Type
HTML Page Views: 35262
Abstract Page Views: 2849
PDF Downloads: 3521
Citation/Reference Downloads: 18
XML Downloads: 736
Web Metrics
Days since publication: 2156
Overall contacts: 42386
Avg. contacts per week: 137.62
Article Citations
Article citations are based on data periodically collected from the Clarivate Web of Science web site
(last update: Feb 2023)
Total number of cites (since 2018): 9
Average cites per year: 1.50
Publication Metrics
by Dimensions ©
Articles citing this article
List of the papers citing this article based on CrossRef Cited-by.
(1)
Ali AA, Asselin H, Larouche AC, Bergeron Y, Carcaillet C, Richard PJH (2008)Changes in fire regime explain the Holocene rise and fall of Abies balsamea in the coniferous forests of western Québec, Canada. The Holocene 18 (5): 693-703.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(2)
Aplada E, Georgiadis Th Tiniakou A, Theocharopoulos M (2007)Phytogeography and ecological evaluation of the flora and vegetation of Mt Parnitha (Attica, Greece). Edinburgh Journal of Botany 64 (2): 185-207.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(3)
Arianoutsou M, Neeman G (2000)Post-fire regeneration of natural
Pinus halepensis forests in the East Mediterranean Basin. In: “Ecology, Biogeography and Management of
Pinus halepensis and
P. brutia Forest Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin” (Ne’eman G, Trabaud L eds). Backhuys, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 269-290.
Gscholar
(4)
Arianoutsou M, Christopoulou A, Kazanis D, Tountas Th Ganou E, Bazos I, Kokkoris I (2010)Effects of fire on high altitude coniferous forests of Greece. In: Proceedings of the “VI International Conference on Forest Fire Research” (Viegas DX eds). Coimbra, Portugal, pp. 12.
Online |
Gscholar
(5)
Bates D, Maechler M, Bolker B, Walker S (2015)Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67 (1): 1-48.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(6)
Böhling N, Greuter W, Raus T (2002)Indicator values for vascular plants in the Southern Aegean (Greece). Braun-Blanquetia 32: 1-109.
Gscholar
(7)
Bond WJ, Woodward FI, Midgley GF (2005)The global distribution of ecosystems in a world without fire. New Phytologist 165: 525-538.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(8)
Calvo L, Hernández V, Valbuena L, Taboada A (2016)Provenance and seed mass determine seed tolerance to high temperatures associated to forest fires in
Pinus pinaster. Annals of Forest Science 73: 381-391.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(9)
Christopoulou A, Fyllas N, Andriopoulos P, Koutsias N, Dimitrakopoulos P, Arianoutsou M (2014)Post-fire regeneration patterns of
Pinus nigra in a recently burned area in Mount Taygetos, Southern Greece: the role of unburned forest patches. Forest Ecology and Management 327: 148-156.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(10)
Cremer E, Ziegenhagen B, Schulerowitz K, Mengel C, Donges K, Bialozyt R, Hussendorfer E, Liepelt S (2012)Local seed dispersal in European silver fir (
Abies alba Mill.): lessons learned from a seed trap experiment. Trees 26: 987-996.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(11)
Dafis S, Papastergiadou E, Lazaridou E, Tsiafouli M (2001)Technical manual of mapping of Greek habitat types. Greek Biotope - Wetland Centre (EKBY), Thessaloniki, Greece, pp. 393.
Gscholar
(12)
Dimopoulos P, Raus T, Bergmeier E, Constantinidis T, Iatrou G, Kokkini S, Strid A, Taznoudakis D (2013)Vascular plants of Greece: an annotated checklist. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem and Hellenic Botanical Society [Englera 31], Berlin, Germany and Athens, Greece, pp. 372.
Gscholar
(13)
Dimopoulos P, Raus T, Bergmeier E, Constantinidis T, Iatrou G, Kokkini S, Strid A, Taznoudakis D (2016)Vascular plants of Greece: an annotated checklist. Willdenowia 46 (3): 301-347.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(14)
Ellenberg H (1979)Zeigerwerte von Gefässpflanzen Mitteleuropas [Indicator values of vascular plants of Central Europe]. Scripta Geobotanica 9: 1-122. [in German]
Gscholar
(15)
Esteban LG, De Palacios P, Rodriguez-Losada Aguado L (2010)Abies pinsapo forests in Spain and Morocco: threats and conservation. Oryx 44 (2): 276-284.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(16)
De Mendiburu F (2017)Agricolae: statistical procedures for agricultural research. R package version 1.2-8.
Online |
Gscholar
(17)
Fulé PZ, Ribas M, Gutiérrez E, Vallejo R, Kaye MW (2008)Forest structure and fire history in an old
Pinus nigra forest eastern Spain. Forest Ecology and Management 255: 1234-1242.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(18)
Fyllas NM, Christopoulou A, Galanidis A, Michelaki CZ, Dimitrakopoulos PG, Fulé PZ, Arianoutsou M (2017)Tree growth-climate relationships in a forest-plot network on Mediterranean mountains. Science of the Total Environment 598: 393-403.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(19)
Ganatsas P, Zagas T, Tsakaldimi M, Tsitsoni T (2004)Post-fire regeneration dynamics in a Mediterranean type ecosystem in Sithonia, northern Greece: ten years after the fire. In: Proceedings of the “10th MEDECOS Conference” (Arianoutsou M, Papanastasis V eds). Rhodes (Greece) Apr 25 - May 1 2004. Millpress, Rotterdam, Netherlands, pp. 1-9.
Online |
Gscholar
(20)
Ganatsas P, Daskalakou E, Paitaridou D (2012)First results on early post-fire succession in an
Abies cephalonica forest (Parnitha National Park, Greece). iForest 5: 6-13.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(21)
García-Jiménez R, Palmero-Iniesta M, Espelta JM (2017)Contrasting effects of fire severity on the regeneration of
Pinus halepensis Mill. and resprouter species in recently thinned thickets. Forests 8: 55.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(22)
Godefroid S, Dana ED (2007)Can Ellenberg’s indicator values for Mediterranean plants be used outside their region of definition? Journal of Biogeography 34: 62-68.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(23)
Harvey BJ, Donato DC, Turner MG (2016)High and dry: post-fire tree seedling establishment in subalpine forests decreases with post-fire drought and large stand-replacing burn patches. Global Ecology and Biogeography 25: 655-669.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(24)
Herranz JM, Martinez-Sanchez JJ, De Las Heras J, Ferrandis P (1996)Stages of plant succession in
Fagus sylvatica L. and
Pinus sylvestris L. forest of Tejera Negra National Park (Central Spain), three years after fire. Israel Journal of Plant Science 44: 347-358.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(25)
Hollingsworth TN, Johnstone JF, Bernhardt EL, Chapin FSIII (2013)Fire severity filters regeneration traits to shape community assembly in Alaska’s boreal forest. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56033.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(26)
Kazanis D, Arianoutsou M (1996)Vegetation composition in a post-fire successional gradient of
Pinus halepensis forests in Attica, Greece. International Journal of Wildland Fire 6 (2): 83-91.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(27)
Korakis G (2015)Forest botany. SEAB, NTUA, Athens, Greece, pp. 620.
Gscholar
(28)
Koutsias N, Arianoutsou M, Kallimanis AS, Mallinis G, Halley JM, Dimopoulos P (2012)Where did the fires burn in Peloponnisos, Greece the summer of 2007? Evidence for a synergy of fuel and weather. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 156: 41-53.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(29)
McCune B, Grace JB (2002)Analysis of ecological communities. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, OR, USA, pp. 304.
Gscholar
(30)
Mitsopoulos I, Raftoyannis Y, Bakaloudis D (2015)Climate change, wildfires and fir forests in Greece: perceptions of forest managers. South-East European Forestry 6 (2): 143-157.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(31)
Nathan R, Casagrandi R (2004)A simple mechanistic model of seed dispersal, predation and plant establishment: Janzen-Connell and beyond. Journal of Ecology 92: 733-746.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(32)
Nathan R, Neeman G (2004)Spatiotemporal dynamics of recruitment in Aleppo pine (
Pinus halepensis Miller). Plant Ecology 171: 123-137.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(33)
Ocak A, Kurt L, Oz M, Tug N (2007)Floristic al and ecological studies on burned black pine (
Pinus nigra Arn. subsp.
pallasiana (Lamb) Holboe) forest area at Central Anatolia. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences 6 (6): 892-905.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(34)
Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Kindt R, Legendre P, Minchin PR, Hara RB, Simpson GL, Solymos P, Stevens MHH, Wagner H (2013)vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 2.0-10.
Online |
Gscholar
(35)
Ordóñez JL, Retana J (2004)Early reduction of post-fire recruitment of Pinus nigra by post-dispersal seed predation in different time-since-fire habitats. Ecography 27: 449-458.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(36)
Ordóñez JL, Retana J, Espelta JM (2005)Effects of tree size, crown damage, and tree location on post-fire survival and cone production of Pinus nigra trees. Forest Ecology and Management 206: 109-117.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(37)
Paula S, Arianoutsou M, Kazanis D, Tavsanoglu Ç, Lloret F, Buhk C, Ojeda F, Luna B, Moreno JM, Rodrigo A, Espelta JM, Palacio S, Fernández-Santos B, Fernandes PM, Pausas JG (2009)Fire-related traits for plant species of the Mediterranean Basin. Ecology 90: 1420.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(38)
Pausas JG, Keeley JE (2014)Evolutionary ecology of resprouting and seeding in fire-prone ecosystems. New Phytologist 204: 55-65.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(39)
Politi PI, Arianoutsou M, Stamou GP (2009)Patterns of
Abies cephalonica seedling recruitment in Mount Aenos National Park, Cephalonia, Greece. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 1120-1136.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(40)
Politi PI, Georghiou K, Arianoutsou M (2011)Reproductive biology of
Abies cephalonica Loudon in Mount Aenos National Park, Cephalonia, Greece. Trees 25: 655-668.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(41)
Raftoyannis Y, Spanos I (2005)Evaluation of log and branch barriers as post-fire rehabilitation treatments in a Mediterranean pine forest in Greece. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14: 183-188.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(42)
Raftoyannis Y, Spanos I (2015)Regeneration of
Abies cephalonica Loudon after a large fire in Central Greece. South-Eastern European Forestry 6 (1): 5-14.
Online |
Gscholar
(43)
R Core Team (2017)R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
Online |
Gscholar
(44)
Retana J, Arnan X, Arianoutsou M, Barbati A, Kazanis D, Rodrigo A (2012)Post-fire management of non-serotinous pine forests. In: “Post-Fire Management and Restoration of Southern European Forests” (Moreira F, Arianoutsou M, Corona P, De las Heras J eds). Springer, Series Managing Forest Ecosystems vol. 24, Dordrecht, Heidleberg, London, New York, pp. 151-170.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(45)
Sánchez-Velásquez L, Domínguez-Hernández D, Pineda-López M, Lara-González R (2011)Does
Baccharis conferta shrub act as a nurse plant to the
Abies religiosa seedling? The Open Forest Science Journal 4: 67-70.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(46)
Tapias R, Climent J, Pardos JA, Gil L (2004)Life histories of Mediterranean pines. Plant Ecology 171: 53-68.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(47)
Tíscar PA, Linares JC (2011)Structure and regeneration patterns of
Pinus nigra subsp.
salzmannii natural forests: a basic knowledge for adaptive management in a changing climate. Forests 2: 1013-1030.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(48)
Wirth C (2005)Fire regime and tree diversity in boreal forests: implications for the carbon cycle. In: “Forest diversity and function” (Scherer-Lorenzen M, Körner C, Schulze ED eds). Ecological Studies, vol. 176, Springer, Berlin, Germany, pp. 309-344.
CrossRef |
Gscholar
(49)
Zuur AF, Leno EN, Walker N, Saveliev AA, Smith GM (2009)Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R. Springer, New York, NY, USA, pp. 574.
Gscholar