RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Medium-Term Comparative Effects of Prescribed Burning and Mechanical Shredding on Soil Characteristics in Heathland and Shrubland Habitats: Insights from a Protected Natural Area
A1 Cadenas Fernández, Rosa María
A1 Castedo Dorado, Fernando
A1 Valbuena Relea, María Luz
A2 Ecologia
K1 Ecología. Medio ambiente
K1 Ingeniería forestal
K1 Soil properties
K1 Prescribed fire
K1 Mechanical shredding
K1 Gorse shrubland
K1 Heathland
K1 Soil nutrients
K1 Enzymatic activities
K1 2511.02 Biología de Suelos
K1 3106.06 Protección
K1 3106.01 Conservación
K1 3106.99 Otras (Incendios forestales)
AB [EN] Parts of the Cantabrian Mountains (N Spain) have been colonized by woody species in the past six or seven decades as a result of a decline in livestock activity and changes in the fire regime. Various management strategies have been used to prevent the expansion of shrubs and recover grassland ecosystems for grazing activities. However, it is not clear how different vegetation treatments affect soils, which are crucial in supporting life and providing nutrients in these ecosystems. The aim of the present study was to compare the dynamics of the physicochemicaland biological soil properties after two vegetation treatments: prescribed burning and shredding. Samples were obtained from plots representing alkaline and acidic soils dominated by gorse shrub (Genista hispanica subsp. occidentalis) and heath (Calluna vulgaris) plant communities, respectively. The soil samples were collected immediately before and after the treatments and one and two years later. The level of available P varied depending on the soil pH, and it only increased after the treatments inthe acidic soils in the heathland community. The total N and available P concentrations were higher after the prescribed burning, and the enzymatic activity tended to be higher after the shredding treatment. Despite the significant effects on some soil variables, prescribed burning and shredding did not have important short- and medium-term effects on the chemical and soil enzymatic properties.These treatments can therefore be considered sustainable vegetation management tools, at least in the medium term
PB MDPI
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10612/21140
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10612/21140
NO Cadenas, R. M., Castedo-Dorado, F. & Valbuena, L. (2024). Medium-term comparative effects of prescribed burning and mechanical shredding on soil characteristics in heathland and shrubland habitats: insights from a protected natural area. Fire, 7(5), Article e160. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7050160
NO This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Fires on Forest Ecosystems
DS BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León
RD Jul 7, 2024