Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
(a)
(b)
Fig. 4.8
Two examples of surface fire regimes: (a)
Pinus nigra
forest with fire-scarred trees
(El Turmell, Baix Maestrat, Spain; photo: Juli Pausas) and (b) cross section of
Abies pinsapo
with dated fire scars (Sierra Bermeja, Ma
´
laga, Spain; photo by J.A. Vega; see more details
of this forest in Vega
2000
.
)
Pinus nigra
(black pine) is a thick-barked, non-serotinous, long-lived pine that
grows at higher elevations in cooler environments, and its seeds are sensitive to the
high temperatures produced during wildfires (Escudero
et al.
1999
; Habrouk
et al.
1999
;Nu´ n˜ ez & Calvo
2000
). It can survive low severity surface fires, and fire scars
on living trees illustrate a history of frequent surface fires (
Fig 4.8
; Fule´
et al.
2008
). Dense plantations and fire suppression have changed the fire regime toward
less frequent crown fires, extirpating this species after large high-intensity
crown fires (Trabaud & Campant
1991
; Retana
et al.
2002
; Rodrigo
et al.
2004
;
Pausas
et al.
2008
).
Other montane pines are
P. sylvestris
(Scots pine) and
P. uncinata
(mountain
pine), which are thin-barked, non-serotinous pines that cannot survive crown
fires. They grow in environments where fires are currently rare and small, and
recolonize burned areas from the edges or from refugia such as rocky outcrops or
ridges, similar to some California pines (Schwilk & Keeley
2006
). However, the
fire history of these pine forests is poorly known and they may have historically
suffered more frequent fires as in other European pine woodlands (Stahli
et al.
2006
; Niklasson
et al.
2010
).
Although the volcanic Canary Islands on the north Atlantic coast of Africa are
not within the Mediterranean Basin there is a mid-elevational zone with a MTC
