Effect of salvage logging and forest type on the post-fire regeneration of Scots pine in hemiboreal forests
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Effect of salvage logging and forest type on the post‑fire regeneration of Scots pine in hemiboreal forests Mara Kitenberga1 · Didzis Elferts1,2 · Andis Adamovics1 · Juris Katrevics1 · Janis Donis1 · Endijs Baders1 · Aris Jansons1 Received: 27 February 2019 / Accepted: 15 January 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract In post-disturbance areas, salvage logging is a common management practice that can negatively affect ecosystem services and alter successional pathways of natural regeneration. In this study, we aim to investigate the effects of salvage logging in post-fire areas on the regeneration and height of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on dry-poor, wet-poor, and peat soils. We used the Poisson generalised linear mixed-effects model and linear mixed-effect model to assess the effects of salvage logging on the abundance and height of Scots pine. In all forest types in post-fire areas, Scots pine and birch (Betula pendula Roth and Betula pubescens Ehrh.) were the most common tree species, accounting for 70–100% of the total regeneration abundance. Salvage logging resulted in significantly higher abundance of Scots pine only on mesic-peat soil. Mean height of Scots pine was significantly lower in stands with larger abundance of remnant living trees. In our study, we did not find conclusive evidence of negative effects of salvage logging on the abundance and height of Scots pine. Keywords Scots pine · Natural regeneration · Salvage logging · Fire disturbance
Introduction In Europe, forest fires have been an integral part of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominated forests, altering successional pathways and stand dynamics (Granström 2001; Bowman et al. 2009). The majority of forest fires in European temperate, hemiboreal, and boreal forests have low- to moderate-severity (Gromtsev 2002; Wallenius 2002; Zin et al. 2015;), causing partial mortality of the canopy layer (Östlund et al. 1997; Kuuluvainen et al. 2002). In post-fire areas, biological legacies (remnant living/dead trees) are a vital part of forest ecosystem resilience, as they facilitate ecological recovery (Seidl et al. 2014; Jõgiste et al. 2017). In post-fire areas, living remnant trees provide seeds and create a favourable microclimate for seedling establishment (Vanha-Majamaa et al. 1996; Moser et al. 2010), but can * Mara Kitenberga [email protected] 1
Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Rigas Street 111, Salaspils 2169, Latvia
2
Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, Riga 1004, Latvia
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New Forests
compete with regenerating trees for light and nutrient resources, causing a negative effect on their abundance and height growth (Kuuluvainen et al. 1993; Parro et al. 2015). Dead retained trees can reduce evaporation (Moser et al. 2010) and create suitable microsites for regeneration (Vanha-Majamaa et al. 1996; Kuuluvainen and Kalmari 2003). Salvage logging (SL) is a silvicultural practice when damaged trees are removed from disturbed forest areas. The key motivation of
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