Effect of repeated fire on plant community recovery in Penteli, central Greece

Abstract

In a Pinus halepensis Mill. forest of central Greece, we studied the effects of two fires on postfire plant community recovery by comparing a site that was burned once and another adjacent that was burned twice. During the first 15 months after fire, we monitored plant species recruitment, plant density and growth. Lower species richness and plant density were observed in the site burned twice compared to that burned only once. The growth of woody species did not differ between the two treatments and presented high variability even within the same plot. Resprouting plant species appeared earlier than obligatory seeders. Fifteen months after fire, the ecosystem was dominated by the maquis species that existed in the prefire period, mainly Quercus coccifera L., Pistacia lentiscus L., Phillyrea latifolia L., with a low contribution of Pinus halepensis seedlings and a greater proportion of Cistus species (Cistus monspeliensis L., C. creticus L., C. salvifolius L.).