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COORDINATION: Francisco Castro Rego (CEABN)

CEABN TEAM: Amar Madoui, Ana Santos, Carla Santos, Diana Feliciano, Filipe Catry, Francisco Moreira, Joaquim Sande Silva, Marjorie Kauffmann, Miguel Bugalho, Miguel Cardoso, Patrícia Azeiteiro, Pedro Henriques, Ricardo Silva, Tânia Braz e Tito Lopes.

Forest fires in Portugal constitute a phenomenon that have been coming worsen in the last decades, being the single European Mediterranean country where in the last two decades the annual average burnt area has increased, of about 74 thousand for 102 thousand hectares, with 400 thousand ha burnt in 2003.

In spite that fires at national level annually represent important environmental, social and economic losses, few studies have been developed in the sense of evaluating the capacity of auto-regeneration of the different forest species in burnt areas.

This study was proposed to the National Tapada of Mafra (NTM), after a wildfire that devastated about 3000 hectares of forest and agricultural area of Mafra municipality, and about 70% of the total area of NTM, in September 2003.

The presentation of this proposal seeks to allow the continuation of a preliminary work, with the purpose of contributing for a better knowledge of the survival taxes of several tree species in function of fire intensity, the form and the speed in which the natural regeneration occurs, evaluating the impacts that wild herbivores (namely red deer and follow deer) have on the development of that regeneration, and finally to present a group of proposals that can be used for planning and for management of forest burnt areas.

Objectives:

The plants post-fire response capacity varies as a function of interaction between several factors like fire severity, local characteristics and plant characteristics. The post-fire regeneration capacity of plant communities is also dependent on several environmental factors and on the intensity of additional perturbance factors, like browsing. The knowledge of the post-fire tree responses and of their interactions with herbivores is very important to forest management and to the success of the burned areas recovery, however this knowledge is still very incipient or even null concerning several Mediterranean species occurring in Portugal.

The main goal of this project was to evaluate the post-fire regeneration capacity of several tree species that occur in Portugal. With the accomplishment of this study we  contributed to answer some questions as:

  • What are the survival/mortality rates for each one of the species?
  • What are the regeneration strategies that each species adopts?
  • What are the species that recover faster and what are their growth rates?
  • After fire, are wild herbivores a limiting factor for the natural regeneration of some tree species?
  • Does large herbivores affect the floristic diversity and plant biomass, after a wildfire?
  • Which are the best management options (in terms of cost-benefit) for forest restoration after fire?

Scientific Activity ans Spreading Actions:

Publications and Communications:

• Catry, F., Bugalho, M. & Silva, J. (2007). Recuperação da Floresta após o fogo. O caso da Tapada Nacional de Mafra. 36 pp. CEABN-ISA, Lisboa. (Dissemination brochure: ‘Post-Fire Forest Recovery. The case of Tapada Nacional de Mafra' 36 pp. [in Portuguese].

For additional information about the project objectives and results download this brochure: here

• Catry, F.X., Rego, F., Bugalho, M., Lopes, T., Silva, J. & Moreira, F. (2007). Post-fire tree mortality and regeneration in a mixed forest: evaluating the cumulative impacts of herbivory. In: Rokich, D., Wardell-Johnson, Yates, C., Stevens, J., Dixon, K., McLellan, R. & Moss, G. (Eds.). Proceedings of the International Mediterranean Ecosystems Conference -Medecos XI 2007, pp: 45-46. Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia.

Download: Extended abstract; Poster

 

• Catry, F.X., Bugalho, M., Lopes, T., Rego, F.C., & Moreira, F. (2007). Post-fire effects of ungulates on the structure, abundance and diversity of the vegetation in a Mediterranean Ecosystem. In: Rokich, D., Wardell-Johnson, Yates, C., Stevens, J., Dixon, K., McLellan, R. & Moss, G. (Eds.). Proceedings of the International Mediterranean Ecosystems Conference -Medecos XI 2007, pp: 43-44. Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia.

Download: Extended abstract; Poster

• Catry, F.X., Rego, F.C., Bugalho, M.N., Lopes, T., Silva, J.S. & Moreira, F. (2006). Effects of fire on tree survival and regeneration in a Mediterranean ecosystem. ForestEcology and Management, Vol. 234S: 197.

Download: Abstract

• Catry, F.X. Rego, F.C., Bugalho, M.N., Lopes, T., Silva, J.S. and Moreira, F. (2006). Effects of fire on tree survival and regeneration in a Mediterranean ecosystem. In: Viegas, D.X. (Ed.). Proceedings of the 5thInternational Conference on Forest Fire Research. CD Rom (5 pp.). ADAI, Figueira da Foz.

Download: Full Paper; Poster

• Catry, F.X. (2006). Efeitos do fogo na vegetação. Resumos do Seminário ‘A Ecologia do Fogo: dos incêndios florestais aos fogos controlados'. Organização: TNM - ISA, Mafra.

Download: Abstract [in Portuguese]

• Moreira, F., Acácio, V. & Catry, F. (2006). The effects of fire on cork oak. Resumos do Seminário 'The vitality of cork and holm oak stands - Current situation, state of knowledge and actions to take'. Organização: DGRF - FAO - WWF, Évora.

Download: Abstract 

• Silva, J.S. and Catry, F.X. (2006). Forest fires in cork oak (Quercus suber L.) stands in Portugal. International Journal of Environmental Studies. Vol. 63 (3): 235-257.

Download: Abstract

Others: 

• 1st e 2nd Edition of the Advanced Course in Post-Fire Recovery and Management. Organization of the 1st e 2nd Editions of the Course, promoted by the Institute of Agronomy, which included one day visit to the project study area and the presentation of their objectives and preliminary results. Lisbon, November 2005 and 2006.

• Technical Meeting ‘Cork Oak Forests Restoration after Forest Fires' - Technical Meeting organized by WWF and IPROCOR in Spain. Presentation of Project objectives and preliminary results. Invited oral communication ‘Evaluation of different tree species post-fire resistance'. 23-24 January 2006. Mérida, Spain.

Download: Communication

• Participation in the organization of the Seminar ‘A Ecologia do Fogo: dos incêndios florestais aos fogos controlados', in association with Tapada Nacional de Mafra. 25-26 May 2006. Mafra.

Related Information:

• Bugalho, M.N., Lecomte, X., Pile, S., Caldeira, M.C.B. (2006). Efeito dos cervídeos na regeneração arbórea e composição florística de uma pastagem. Revista de Ciências Agrárias, XXIX: 145-162.

Download: Paper

• Catry, F.X. (1999). Impacte provocado por diferentes densidades de veado (Cervus elaphus) sobre a regeneração natural do sobreiro (Quercus suber): um factor a ter em conta na gestão de Áreas Protegidas. Resumo In: Instituto da Conservação da Natureza (Ed.) Comunicações do IV Congresso Nacional de Áreas Protegidas: 189. ICN, Lisboa.

Download: Abstract