Wildfires are one of the most significant disturbances in boreal forests, both human-induced and natural. Ecosystems are adapted to such disturbances; however, after fires, salvage or restoration logging is often carried out to accelerate the establishment and productivity of new forest stands. Knowledge about the natural regeneration of the tree layer and its relationship with fire intensity, the remaining tree canopy, the amount of deadwood, and soil factors such as the thickness of the organic layer can help determine the most appropriate post-fire management strategies.
Although information on tree regeneration is relatively extensive in dry forest types, it remains insufficient in mire ecosystems. In 2018, a large wildfire of varying intensity burned 1,353 hectares in the protected mire complex “Stiklu purvi,” located in the hemiboreal forest zone of Latvia.
The aim of this study was to assess natural tree regeneration in relation to the basal area of living and standing dead trees, the volume of fallen deadwood, the density of tall shrubs, ground vegetation cover, and the thickness of the organic soil layer. The hypothesis was that tree colonization would be more intensive in areas with a thicker peat layer, due to higher groundwater levels and lower competition from shading.
The results show that habitat type had only a minor effect on tree regeneration. However, non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) analysis revealed a positive relationship between birch regeneration and a shallow organic layer. In contrast, pine regeneration decreased with increasing basal area of remaining trees, indicating the influence of shading. Overall, tree survival was higher in areas with a thicker organic soil layer.
The full publication is available in PDF format: Tree regeneration after fire 2025_LU
Environmental and Experimental Biology (2025) 23: 201–210 Original Paper. http://doi.org/10.22364/eeb.23.22
