Forest fire effects in beech dominated mountain forest of Iran

Most of world's forests of different climates have a history of fire, but with different severities. Fire regimes for broadleaf deciduous forests have return intervals that vary from many decades (or less) to centuries (or more). Iran has a total of 1.2 million ha of temperate forest in the nor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forest ecology and management 2010-05, Vol.259 (11), p.2191-2196
Main Authors: Shafiei, Abbas Banj, Akbarinia, Moslem, Jalali, Gholamali, Hosseini, Mohsen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acer
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Carpinus betulus
Chestnut-leaved oak
Fagus
Forest and land fires
Forest structure
Forestry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hornbeam
Hyrcanian forest
Maple
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
Quercus
Regeneration
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
Weather damages. Fires
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Summary:Most of world's forests of different climates have a history of fire, but with different severities. Fire regimes for broadleaf deciduous forests have return intervals that vary from many decades (or less) to centuries (or more). Iran has a total of 1.2 million ha of temperate forest in the north, where fires burn about 300–400 ha annually. This study focused on the impact of fire on forest structure, tree species quality, and regeneration composition (specially beech) in the Chelir forest of northern Iran. The results showed that forest fires changed the structure and had different effects on tree species composition between burned and control areas. Thin barked species such as oriental beech ( Fagus orientalis Lipsky) and coliseum maple ( Acer cappadocicum Gled.) have been affected more than those with thick bark, like hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus L.) and chestnut-leaved oak ( Quercus castaneifolia C.A. Mey). The density of oriental beech regeneration in the unburned area was greater than in the burned area, while the quantity of regeneration of hornbeam, coliseum maple and velvet maple ( Acer velutinum Boiss) was higher in burned area. Forest fire had a greater effect on oriental beech quality, and changed regeneration composition in the burned area. Fire prevention activities should be considered as a silvicultural treatment for preserving these valuable forests.
ISSN:0378-1127
1872-7042
DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.02.025