The effects of fire on Pinus sylvestris L. as determined by dendroecological analysis (Sierra de Gredos, Spain)

doi:10.3832/ifor3727-015

The effects of fire on Pinus sylvestris L. as determined by dendroecological analysis (Sierra de Gredos, Spain)

Mar Génova⁽¹⁾ , Paula Ortega⁽¹⁾, Enrique Sadornil⁽²⁾

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 15, Issue 3, Pages 171-178 (2022)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3727-015
Published: May 09, 2022 - Copyright © 2022 SISEF

Research Articles

PDF Version

Full Text

Citation

Geo-mapping

Iberian populations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) have been declining since the late-glacial period; among those that remain, relict stands have great biological and ecological value. This paper investigates the effects of a 2009 fire on tree growth in one of these small populations in the Sierra de Gredos (Spain) by examining the responses recorded in the tree-ring width series of the surviving trees. The current status and distribution of these surviving trees reveal the severity of the fire; indeed most show scars or other evidence of fire damage. Dendroecological analysis revealed narrower tree rings, indicating negative pointer years for the year of the fire and the following year. A very significant reduction in growth was recorded for the years after the fire, both in terms of tree-ring width and basal area increment; incomplete and even absent rings were also recorded. No relationship was seen between these effects and climatic events. The dates and geographical extension of former possible disturbances were also investigated, using the data from these same trees plus information collected from others in the region. The vulnerability of these populations to past fires was evident. Lastly, given the problems affecting the regeneration of these relict populations, it is strongly suggested to urgently include all these populations in conservation and environmental management programs.

Keywords

Disturbances, Tree-ring Width, Growth Change, Absent Rings, Negative Pointer Years

Authors’ address

(1)

0000-0003-1944-1888
0000-0002-5740-2348
Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/Antonio Novais 10, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

(2)

0000-0002-6927-5155
Departamento de Matemática Aplicada, Escuela de Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/Antonio Novais 10, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

Corresponding author

Mar Génova
mar.genova@upm.es

Citation

Génova M, Ortega P, Sadornil E (2022). The effects of fire on Pinus sylvestris L. as determined by dendroecological analysis (Sierra de Gredos, Spain). iForest 15: 171-178. - doi: 10.3832/ifor3727-015

Paper history

Received: Dec 22, 2020
Accepted: Feb 22, 2022

First online: May 09, 2022
Publication Date: Jun 30, 2022
Publication Time: 2.53 months

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: 20449
(from publication date up to now)

Breakdown by View Type
HTML Page Views: 18192
Abstract Page Views: 1238
PDF Downloads: 778
Citation/Reference Downloads: 3
XML Downloads: 238

Web Metrics
Days since publication: 717
Overall contacts: 20449
Avg. contacts per week: 199.64

Article Citations

Article citations are based on data periodically collected from the Clarivate Web of Science web site
(last update: Feb 2023)

(No citations were found up to date. Please come back later)

(no Plumx Metrics available for this paper)

Publication Metrics

by Dimensions ^©

Articles citing this article

List of the papers citing this article based on CrossRef Cited-by.

(1)

Alados CL, Escós J (2017)
Cabra montés [Iberian ibex] - Capra pyrenaica. In: “Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles” (Salvador A, Barja I eds). Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain, pp. 32.
Online | Gscholar

(2)

Alfaro-Sánchez R, Camarero JJ, Sánchez-Salguero R, Trouet V, De las Heras J (2018)
How do droughts and wildfires alter seasonal radial growth in Mediterranean Aleppo pine forests? Tree Ring Research 74 (1): 1-14.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(3)

Battipaglia G, Micco V, Fournier T, Aronne G, Carcaillet C (2014)
Isotopic and anatomical signals for interpreting fire-related responses in Pinus halepensis. Trees 28: 1095-1104.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(4)

Beghin R, Cherubini P, Battipaglia G, Siegwolf R, Saurer M, Bovio G (2011)
Tree-ring growth and stable isotopes (¹³C and ¹⁵N) detect effects of wildfires on tree physiological processes in Pinus sylvestris L. Trees 25 (4): 627-636.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(5)

Biondi F, Qeadan F (2008)
A theory-driven approach to tree-ring standarization: defining the biological trend from expected basal area increment. Tree Ring Research 64: 81-96.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(6)

Bond WJ, Van Wilgen BW (1996)
Fire and plants. Chapman and Hall, London, UK, pp. 263.
Gscholar

(7)

Camarero JJ, Sangüesa-Barreda G, Montiel-Molina C, Seijo F, López-Sáez JA (2018)
Past growth suppressions as proxies of fire incidence in relict Mediterranean black pine forests. Forest Ecology and Management 413: 9-20.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(8)

Cook ER, Krusic PJ (2008)
A tree-ring standardization program based on detrending and autoregressive time series modeling, with interactive graphics (ARSTAN). Tree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA.
Gscholar

(9)

DeBano LF, Neary DG, Ffolliott PF (1998)
Fire’s effect on ecosystems. Wiley, New York, USA, pp. 333.
Gscholar

(10)

Elliott KJ, Vose JM, Clinton BD (2002)
Growth of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) related to forest floor consumption by prescribed fire in the southern Appalachians. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry 26: 18-25.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(11)

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 (3-4): 1234-1242.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(12)

Galiana L (2012)
Las interfaces urbano forestales: un nuevo territorio de riesgo en España [The wildland-urban interface: a new risk prone area in Spain]. Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles 58: 205-226. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(13)

García-Calvo D (2004)
Dendrocronologías de rodales relictos y maderas subfósiles de Pinus sylvestris L. y Pinus nigra Arnold en la Sierra de Gredos (Ávila) [Dendrochronologies of relict stands and subfossil woods of Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus nigra Arnold in the Sierra de Gredos (Ávila)]. Proyecto Fin de Carrera, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, Spain, pp. 164. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(14)

Gaussen H (1949)
L’influence du passé dans la repartition des Gymnospermes de la Péninsule Iberique. Comptes Rendus du Congres International de Geographie, Lisbonne 2: 805-825. [in French]
Gscholar

(15)

Gea-Izquierdo G, Cañellas I (2014)
Local climate forces instability in long-term productivity of a Mediterranean oak along climatic gradients. Ecosystems 17 (2): 228-241.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(16)

Gea-Izquierdo G, Montes F, Gavilán RG, Cañellas I, Rubio A (2015)
Is this the end? Dynamics of a relict stand from pervasively deforested ancient Iberian pine forests. European Journal of Forest Research 134: 525-536.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(17)

Génova M, Gómez-Manzaneque F, Regato P (1988)
Sobre los pinares relictos de la sierra de Gredos (Ávila) [A study of the relict pine stands of the Sierra de Gredos (Ávila, Spain)]. In: “Actes Simposi Internacional de Botánica Pius Font i Quer”. Fanerogàmia 2: 439-442. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(18)

Génova M (2000)
Anillos de crecimiento y años característicos en el Sistema Central (España) durante los últimos cuatrocientos años [Tree rings and pointer years of the Sistema Central (Spain) in the last four hundred years]. Boletín de la Real Sociedad española de Historia Natural 96 (1-2): 33-42. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(19)

Génova M, García-Calvo D, Maldonado FJ, Rubiales JM (2008)
Tree rings and fire in an Iberian stand of Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii. Geophysical Research Abstracts 10: 08535.
Online | Gscholar

(20)

Génova M, Gómez-Manzaneque F, Morla C (2009)
Los bosques de Gredos a través del tiempo [The forests of Gredos through time]. Junta de Castilla y León, Valladolid, Spain, pp. 319. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(21)

González-Hidalgo JC, Vicente-Serrano SM, Peña-Angulo D, Salinas C, Tomas-Burguera M, Beguería S (2018)
High-resolution spatio-temporal analyses of drought episodes in the western Mediterranean basin (Spanish mainland, Iberian Peninsula). Acta Geophysica 66 (3): 381-392.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(22)

Guiterman CH, Margolis EQ, Swetnam TW (2015)
Dendroecological methods for reconstructing high-severity fire in pine-oak forests. Tree Ring Research 71: 67-77.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(23)

Holmes RL (1992)
Dendrochronology program library. Installation and program manual. Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA, pp. 51.
Gscholar

(24)

Holmes RL (1999)
Users manual for Program Cofecha. Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Gscholar

(25)

López-Sáez JA, Abel D, Pérez S, Blanco A, Alba F, Dorado M, Ruiz B, Gil MJ, Gómez C, Franco F (2014)
Vegetation history, climate and human impact in the Spanish Central System over the last 9.000 years. Quaternary International 353: 98-122.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(26)

López-Sáez JA, Alba Sánchez F, Robles López S, Pérez Díaz S, Abel Schaad D, Sabariego Ruiz S, Glais A (2016)
Exploring seven hundred years of transhumance, climate dynamic, fire and human activity through a historical mountain pass in central Spain. Journal of Mountain Science 13: 1139-1153.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(27)

López-Sáez JA, Alba Sánchez F, Sánchez-Mata DS, Luengo EL (2019)
Los pinares de la Sierra de Gredos [The pine forests of the Sierra de Gredos]. Diputación de Ávila, Ávila, Spain, pp. 361. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(28)

Mclauchlan KK, Higuera PE, Miesel J, Rogers BM, Schweitzer J, Shuman JK, Tepley AJ, Varner JM, Veblen TT, Adalsteinsson SA, Balch JK, Baker P, Batllori E, Bigio E, Brando P, Cattau M, Chipman ML, Coen J, Crandall R, Daniels L, Enright N, Gross WS, Harvey BJ, Hatten JA, Hermann S, Hewitt RE, Kobziar LN, Landesmann JB, Loranty MM, Maezumi SY, Mearns L, Moritz M, Myers JA, Pausas JG, Pellegrini AF, Platt WJ, Roozeboom J, Safford H, Santos F, Scheller RM, Sherriff RL, Smith KG, Smith MD, Watts AC (2020)
Fire as a fundamental ecological process: research advances and frontiers. Journal of Ecology 108 (5): 2047-2069.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(29)

Morla C, Bermejo E, Génova M, Gómez-Manzaneque F, Martínez F, Postigo JM, Rubiales JM (2009)
Singularidad, paleobiogeografía y problemática de conservación de los pinares de P. sylvestris en la península Ibérica [Singularity, paleobiogeography and conservation problems of P. sylvestris pine forests in the Iberian Peninsula] In: “IV Congreso Biología de la Conservación de Plantas”. Almería (Spain) 15-18 September 2009, poster.[in Spanish]
Online | Gscholar

(30)

Mutch LS, Swetnam TW (1995)
Effects of fire severity and climate on ring-width growth of giant sequoia after fire. In: Proceedings of the Symposium “Fire in Wilderness and Park Management: Past Lessons and Future Opportunities” (Brown JK, Mutch RW, Spoon CW, Wakimoto RH eds). General Technical Report INT-GTR-320, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO, USA, pp. 241-246.
Gscholar

(31)

Niklasson M, Granström A (2000)
Numbers and sizes of fires: longterm spatially explicit fire history in a Swedish boreal landscape. Ecology 81: 1484-1499.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(32)

Nowacki GJ, Abrams MD (1997)
Radial-growth averaging criteria for reconstructing disturbance histories from presettlement - origin oaks. Ecological Monographs 67 (2): 225-249.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(33)

Ortloff W (1996)
Wood-anatomical evidence of fire seasonality. In: “Tree-rings, Environment, and Humanity” (Dean JS, Meko DM, Swetnam TW eds). Radiocarbon 1996, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA, pp. 89-93.
Gscholar

(34)

Palacios T (2013)
Fuentes documentales para el estudio de los incendios forestales en Ávila [Documentary sources for the study of forest fires in Ávila]. In: “Presencia Histórica del Fuego en el Territorio” (Montiel C ed). Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino, Madrid, Spain, pp. 155-175. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(35)

Peterson DL, Arbaugh MJ, Pollock GH, Robinson LJ (1991)
Postfire growth of Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus contorta in the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 1 (1): 63-71.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(36)

Peterson DL, Sackett SS, Robinson LJ, Haase SM (1994)
The effects of repeated prescribed burning on Pinus ponderosa growth. International Journal of Wildland Fire 4: 239-247.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(37)

Py C, Bauer J, Weisberg PJ, Biondi F (2006)
Radial growth responses of singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) to wildfire. Dendrochronologia 24: 39-46.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(38)

Richter K (1988)
Dendrochronologische und dendroklimatologische untersuchungen and kiefern (Pinus sp.) in Spanien [Dendrochronological and dendroclimatological studies on pine trees (Pinus sp.) in Spain]. PhD thesis, Universität Hamburg, Germany, pp. 296. [in German]
Gscholar

(39)

Richter K, Eckstein D, Holmes RL (1991)
The dendrochronological signal of pine trees (Pinus sp.) in Spain. Tree-Ring Bulletin 51: 1-13.
Online | Gscholar

(40)

Rinn F (2011)
TSAP Win. Time series analysis and presentation for dendrochronology and related applications. Version 4/64 for Microsoft Windows: User Reference. Web site.
Online | Gscholar

(41)

Romero P (2014)
Estudio dendrocronológico de Pinus sylvestris L. en el monte n° 98 de Navarredonda de Gredos (Ávila) [Dendrochronological study of Pinus sylvestris L. in mount 98 of Navarredonda de Gredos (Ávila)]. Trabajo Fin de Carrera, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, pp. 97. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(42)

Rozas V, Pérez-De-Lis G, García-González I, Arévalo JR (2011)
Contrasting effects of wildfire and climate on radial growth of Pinus canariensis on windward and leeward slopes on Tenerife, Canary Islands. Trees 25: 895-905.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(43)

Rubiales JM, Génova M (2015)
Late Holocene pinewoods persistence in the Gredos Mountains (central Spain) inferred from extensive megafossil evidence. Quaternary Research 84 (1): 12-20.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(44)

Swetnam TW, Baisan CH (2003)
Tree-ring reconstructions of fire and climate history in the Sierra Nevada and southwestern United States. In: “Fire and Climatic Change in Temperate Ecosystems of the Western Americas” (Veblen TT, Baker WL, Montenegro G, Swetnam TW eds). Springer, New York, USA, pp. 158-195.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(45)

Vázquez De La Cueva A (2016)
Incendios forestales en la España peninsular (1974-2010): análisis temporal espacial desde una perspectiva ecológica [Forest fires in mainland Spain (1974-2010): spatial temporal analysis from an ecological perspective]. Monografías INIA, Serie Forestal no. 29, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria - INIA, Madrid, Spain, pp. 203. [in Spanish]
Gscholar

(46)

Vega-Hidalgo JA (2000)
Resistencia vegetativa ante el fuego a través de la historia de los incendios [Vegetative resistance to fire through the history of fires]. In: “La Defensa Contra Incendios Forestales” (Vélez R ed). McGraw-Hill, Madrid, Spain, pp. 467-485.
Gscholar

(47)

Vicente-Serrano SM (2006)
Spatial and temporal analysis of droughts in the Iberian Peninsula (1910-2000). Hydrological Sciences Journal 51: 83-97.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(48)

Wigley TML, Briffa KR, Jones PD (1984)
On the average value of correlated timeseries, with applications in dendroclimatology and hydrometeorology. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 23: 201-213.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(49)

Willkomm M (1896)
Die vegetation der erde. Grundzüge del pflanzen verbreitung auf der Iberischen Halbinsel [The vegetation of the earth. Main features of the plant distribution in the Iberian Peninsula]. Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, Germany, pp. 424. [in German]
Gscholar

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry

Contents

Search

Journal Info

Journal Subjects and Fields

For Authors

For Reviewers

For Readers

SISEF Publishing

Search iForest Contents