Editors-in-Chief:  Weilun Yin, Beijing Forestry University, China Klaus v. Gadow, University of Göttingen, Germany
Mohammad Naghi ADEL, Hassan POURBABAEI, Ali OMIDI, David POTHIER. Long-term effect of fire on herbaceous species diversity in oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) forests in northern Iran[J]. Forest Ecosystems, 2012, 14(4): 260-267. DOI: 10.1007/s11632-012-0401-1
Citation: Mohammad Naghi ADEL, Hassan POURBABAEI, Ali OMIDI, David POTHIER. Long-term effect of fire on herbaceous species diversity in oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) forests in northern Iran[J]. Forest Ecosystems, 2012, 14(4): 260-267. DOI: 10.1007/s11632-012-0401-1

Long-term effect of fire on herbaceous species diversity in oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) forests in northern Iran

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  • Received Date: 11 March 2012
  • Rev Recd Date: 19 May 2012
  • We studied the long-term impacts of natural burning on herbaceous species diversity 37 years after a fire occurred in the Roudbar forests of Guilan Province, northern Iran. Numerous studies have examined short-term changes in understory vegetation following wildfire; however, very few long-term studies are available or changes inferred from retrospective studies based on chronosequences. For this study, 170 ha of forest (85 ha, burned areas; 85 ha, unburned areas) were surveyed. Because the 1000 m2
    plots were too large for detailed measurements of herbaceous species, we determined a sub-sample size according to the Whittaker's nested plot sampling protocol and minimal areas method. Hence, sub-plots of 32 m2
    were used for herbaceous species measurements, which consisted of percent cover of each species based on the Domin criterion. We measured plant diversity (Shannon-Wiener index), species richness (Margalef's index), and evenness (Smith-Wilson index). Mean percent cover, together with diversity, richness and evenness, increased markedly in burned areas compared to unburned controls. This suggests that the biodiversity of these forests could be restored within 37 years after fire. However, the abundance of invasive species such as Rubus fruticosus
    and Bromus benekenii
    increased significantly in burned areas, but these could be controlled by relevant silvicultural operations.
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