Fire Effects on Coppice

1988

S. 1-33

3 Abb., 2 Tab., zahlr. Lit. Ang.

Bandaufführung

55385

In order properly to estimate wildfire damages on forest ecosystems, the mere evaluation both of the lost tree crop or of area reforestation costs should be exceeded. Actually, biological and merobiotic alterations are neglected in the evolution of damages, while their cost though not immediate is high for the community. With the object of improoving the knowledge on this subject, wildlife alterations in a chestnut and pubescent oak coppice were studied for two years, using a portion of the unburned coppice as a control. Among the ecosystem components, the tree, shrub and grass portions were investigated along with some abiotic factors and some animal groups of the mesofauna. The research has pointed out how fire has not caused obvious and persistent alterations in the forest ecosystem except for three cases. These are herbaceus and shrub species, eithe completely eliminated by fire (Juniperus) or favoured by it (Melampyrum) or able not to be affected in the least by its spreading (Pteridium). Instead, it was not possible certainly to point out any fire-caused alterations either in the phenologic rhythms and in the tree-growth fractiones or in the physical-chemical soil properties. As regards bioreducers, correlations were always found to be unsignificant. This was likely due to the difficulty in distinguishing and separately evaluating the relative importance of soil fauna. In fact, present animals were collected in large systematic groups (families, sub-families, etc.). Inside these categories, there are genuses and species provided with ethological, trophic, etc. Characteristics even dry different from one another. This is the reason why single genus, species are referred to when bioreducers are used as ecological indicators. In order to come to more probative conclusions, species or groups of species should be itendified that have similar ecological tolerances and ranges at least for one of the factors taken into consideration. However, if the observations are confirmed by further studies, it will be possible to use prescribed fire as a prevention means.