Fire Impact on Diversity and Forest Structure of Castanea sativa Mill. Stands in Managed and Oldfield Areas of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

作者：Cristina González‐Montelongo, José Zoilo Hernández, Domingo Ríos Mesa, María Encarnación Velázquez-Barrera, José Ramón Arévalo · 发表于：Forests · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/f16071062 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Forest Insect Ecology and Management、Mediterranean and Iberian flora and fauna、Plant and Fungal Interactions Research

Wildfires are integral to many forest ecosystems, yet their ecological effects are often influenced by historical land use and management. In this study, we assess the short-term impacts of fire and management on Castanea sativa Mill. stands in the fayal-brezal zone of northern Tenerife (Canary Islands), where traditional agroforestry systems have been widely abandoned. We established 12 transects across four stands: managed-burned, managed-unburned, oldfield-burned, and oldfield-unburned. We analyzed forest structure, understory species richness and composition, and soil nutrient content one year after a large wildfire. Forest structure has primarily been determined by management history, with oldfield plots showing greater tree density, basal area, and basal sprouting. Fire has had a limited effect on tree mortality, affecting ~10% of individuals on average. Understory species richness was significantly higher in managed plots, particularly those affected by fire, suggesting a positive interaction between disturbance and management. Species composition differed significantly among treatments, with Indicator Species Analysis identifying distinct taxa associated with each condition. Fire in oldfield plots led to increased compositional similarity with managed stands, indicating fire’s potential homogenizing effect. Principal Component Analysis of soil nutrients did not reveal clear treatment-related patterns, which was probably due to microenvironmental variability and the sh...