Abstract / Description
Fire has long shaped Mediterranean ecosystems. However, changes in fire regimes, a major consequence of global environment change, have led to increasingly frequent and more intense wildfires in these regions. Sustainable forest management is, therefore, today critical for reducing the risk of ignition and minimising the damage caused by wildfires. In Spain, management tools as pruning and felling, silviculture, and prescribed fire (PF) are employed individually or in combination to address this challenge. But the use of PF is controversial due to the risks of provoking uncontrolled fire episodes, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and altering soil properties if such fires are not properly managed. This study reports the results of the annual monitoring of the physical and chemical properties of a calcareous soil after a PF. We document changes in a Pinus halepensis plantation of the Montgrí massif (NE Spain) to determine whether this forest management approach has any short-term (two-year period) effects. In year zero, i.e., immediately after the PF, a significant increase in the soil’s electrical conductivity and water repellency was observed in the burned plot (vs. control). In the first year, soil pH was significantly higher in the treated plot relative both to its first-year pH levels and to those of the control. By the second year, no significant differences were observed in the physicochemical properties of the soils of the treated and control plots. These results suggest that PF did not cause significant short-term changes in soil properties, supporting its role as a sustainable management tool for reducing accumulated biomass in forests while maintaining soil resilience in Mediterranean ecosystems.