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Does shrub recovery differ after prescribed burning, clearing and mastication in a Spanish heathland?

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Abstract

Prescribed fire is used to reduce wildfire hazard in many ecosystems worldwide. However, alternative techniques such as mechanical fuel reduction are easier and safer to carry out under a wide range of weather conditions. Nonetheless, information about the associated environmental effects is still scarce, although critical to help land managers select the most appropriate treatment in terms of efficiency and long-term sustainability. In this study, we compared the effects of prescribed burning, clearing and mastication on shrub cover recovery in a heathland dominated by the resprouters Erica australis L. and Pterospartum tridentatum (L.) Willk. in Galicia (NW Spain) during the first 4 years after application of the treatments. The three treatments did not affect recovery of shrub cover or height during the 4-year period after application. Moreover, the treatments did not affect species richness, evenness or alpha diversity during the 4-year study period. The temporal patterns of post-treatment shrub recovery depended on the resprouting ability of the species present before application of the treatments. The recovery of Pterospartum tridentatum cover was faster than that of Erica australis, whereas the height recovery was similar. The results show that the three fuel treatments compared in the present study did not hinder shrub recovery and are, thus, feasible management alternatives for these heathlands.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. We are particularly grateful to José Ramón González-Pan and Rafael Gómez del Alamo for their support. Financial support from the Galician Regional Government (Xunta de Galicia) through the Galician Forestry Improvement and Innovation Plan (2010–2020) is also acknowledged. We thank Antonio Arellano for valuable field assistance in selecting the experimental area, installing the plots and implementing treatments. We are also grateful to all those who helped with the fieldwork, particularly José R. González, Jesús Pardo and José Gómez. We also thank Rafael Gómez Molino, Alfonso Barreiro and Bruno Ordoño for logistical support during fieldwork. We extend special thanks to the anonymous referees, and Journal Editor and an associated editor for their helpful comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación Forestal-Lourizán, Xunta de Galicia, P.O.Box 127, 36080, Pontevedra, Spain

    Cristina Fernández, José A. Vega & Teresa Fonturbel

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  1. Cristina Fernández
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  2. José A. Vega
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  3. Teresa Fonturbel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Fernández.

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Communicated by Neal J. Enright.

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Fernández, C., Vega, J.A. & Fonturbel, T. Does shrub recovery differ after prescribed burning, clearing and mastication in a Spanish heathland?. Plant Ecol 216, 429–437 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0447-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0447-y

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