Forest structure and woody plant species composition after a wildfire in beech forests in the north of Iran |
| |
Authors: | Mohammad Naghi Adel Hassan Pourbabaei Ali Omidi Daniel C Dey |
| |
Institution: | 1316. Facultad de Department of Forestry, Natural Resources Faculty, University of Guilan, Somehsara, P. O. Box 1144, Guilan, Iran 2316. Department of Forestry, Natural Resources Office, Guilan, Iran 3316. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 202 Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
|
| |
Abstract: | 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. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 CNKI SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|