Prescribed burning, a tool of integrated fire management, has to meet the objectives set in the burning plan that are mainly fire risk reduction, pasture improvement and habitat conservation. Once the objectives are set and prescriptions are prepared, these will generate a certain fire behaviour leading to defined effects. Scientists agree with the usefulness of prescribed fire in fuel reduction, but the sustainability of this practice needs further investigations to adjust prescriptions and reduce undesirable effects. In particular, it is important to evaluate and monitor fire effects in the different local conditions, vegetation types and ecosystem components. With these aims, a multidisciplinary project started in 2009 in two pinewoods of Cilento e Vallo di Diano National Park and continued in further two plant communities of the same Park. In particular, prescribed fire was applied, in February 2011, to i) Quercus cerris forest, for fire risk reduction; ii) Spartium junceum dominated shrubland (colonizing grasslands rich in endemic and rare herbaceous species), for fire risk reduction, pasture improvement and grassland conservation. Fire behaviour was characterized in terms of intensity and temperature residence time. Fire effects were monitored on vegetation and soil microbial community, the latter being often neglected in these studies though it plays a fundamental role in nutrient cycling. Both in control and burned sites, floristic composition and cover value of each species were assessed using the phytosociological approach. Moreover, in the same sites, samples were collected in both fermentation layer and the 5 cm of soil beneath, 3 hours after the burn and one month later, to measure microbial biomass and activity, total fungal mycelium and some physical and chemical parameters. Results showed that prescribed fire in the Turkey oak forest, with a low intensity (50 kW m-1) and a short residence time (114 s > 100°C), did not generally affect soil microbial community, except for a temporary decrease in total fungal mycelium (3 hours after the burn) and microbial biomass (30 days after the burn) of the fermentation layer. On the other hand, in the shrubland the different fuel type, prescriptions and ignition technique led to a more intense (1,500 kW m-1) and lasting fire (428 s > 100°C). In fact, shrubland fire generated a statistically significant decrease in both microbial biomass and activity in the fermentation layer during the whole study period, and in the 5 cm of soil beneath, 30 days after the burn. In the Turkey oak forest no significant changes in floristic composition resulted one year after fire treatment; on the contrary differences were observed in the shrubland, with an increase in herbaceous species number. Data suggest that longer time investigations are needed in order to verify if the observed negative effects on microbial community are persistent, to better investigate the dynamics of vegetation and the role of seed soil bank and, thus, to adjust prescriptions, if necessary. Moreover, the whole dataset could be a useful tool for calibration and validation of models concerning fire effects.

Prescribed burning effects on soil and plant communities of a Turkey oak forest and a shrubland in Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park (Campania, Italy)

ASCOLI, DAVIDE;
2011-01-01

Abstract

Prescribed burning, a tool of integrated fire management, has to meet the objectives set in the burning plan that are mainly fire risk reduction, pasture improvement and habitat conservation. Once the objectives are set and prescriptions are prepared, these will generate a certain fire behaviour leading to defined effects. Scientists agree with the usefulness of prescribed fire in fuel reduction, but the sustainability of this practice needs further investigations to adjust prescriptions and reduce undesirable effects. In particular, it is important to evaluate and monitor fire effects in the different local conditions, vegetation types and ecosystem components. With these aims, a multidisciplinary project started in 2009 in two pinewoods of Cilento e Vallo di Diano National Park and continued in further two plant communities of the same Park. In particular, prescribed fire was applied, in February 2011, to i) Quercus cerris forest, for fire risk reduction; ii) Spartium junceum dominated shrubland (colonizing grasslands rich in endemic and rare herbaceous species), for fire risk reduction, pasture improvement and grassland conservation. Fire behaviour was characterized in terms of intensity and temperature residence time. Fire effects were monitored on vegetation and soil microbial community, the latter being often neglected in these studies though it plays a fundamental role in nutrient cycling. Both in control and burned sites, floristic composition and cover value of each species were assessed using the phytosociological approach. Moreover, in the same sites, samples were collected in both fermentation layer and the 5 cm of soil beneath, 3 hours after the burn and one month later, to measure microbial biomass and activity, total fungal mycelium and some physical and chemical parameters. Results showed that prescribed fire in the Turkey oak forest, with a low intensity (50 kW m-1) and a short residence time (114 s > 100°C), did not generally affect soil microbial community, except for a temporary decrease in total fungal mycelium (3 hours after the burn) and microbial biomass (30 days after the burn) of the fermentation layer. On the other hand, in the shrubland the different fuel type, prescriptions and ignition technique led to a more intense (1,500 kW m-1) and lasting fire (428 s > 100°C). In fact, shrubland fire generated a statistically significant decrease in both microbial biomass and activity in the fermentation layer during the whole study period, and in the 5 cm of soil beneath, 30 days after the burn. In the Turkey oak forest no significant changes in floristic composition resulted one year after fire treatment; on the contrary differences were observed in the shrubland, with an increase in herbaceous species number. Data suggest that longer time investigations are needed in order to verify if the observed negative effects on microbial community are persistent, to better investigate the dynamics of vegetation and the role of seed soil bank and, thus, to adjust prescriptions, if necessary. Moreover, the whole dataset could be a useful tool for calibration and validation of models concerning fire effects.
2011
International Conference on Fire Behaviour and Risk
Alghero (IT)
4-6 ottobre 2011
Focus on Wildland Urban Interfaces
Editrice Democratica Sarda
176
177
9788860251909
http://www.proterina-c.eu/prodotti/EV9.3.1_Book%20of%20Abstract_19sett2011.pdf
Fire ecology; microbial biomass; microbial activity; Quercus cerris; Spartium junceum
Catalanotti A.E.; Esposito A.; Strumia S.; Ascoli D.; Marzaioli R.; D‘Ascoli R.; Mazzoleni S.; Rutigliano F.A.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/89951
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