Forest management: a key tool for forest adaptation to drought
Originally published on CTFC website in Catalan.
Forest management aimed at reducing fire risk also promotes forest resilience to other disturbances.
A study published in Ecological Applications shows that forest management practices, such as thinning followed by controlled understorey burning, not only reduce fire risk but also improve forest growth and increase forest resilience to drought. The research, carried out by a team of scientists from the Joint Research Unit CTFC – AGROTECNIO and the Soil Research Institute of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria, reveals how forest management can increase the resilience of Mediterranean forests to drought episodes.
The main objective of the study was to determine how forest management practices, designed to reduce fire risk, influence the resistance and resilience of Pinus nigra to drought. The researchers examined three pine needle forests in Solsonès, Catalonia (NE Spain) where they applied different intensities of thinning with and without controlled burning of the understorey.
Promising results
Both high-intensity thinning, with or without burning, and low-intensity thinning with burning stimulated pine needle growth by reducing tree and undergrowth competition. This growth is due to an increase in photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, mechanisms that allow plants to use water and nutrients more efficiently. In addition, controlled burning after thinning not only promoted growth, but also increased the resilience of pine needles to drought, ensuring their recovery after these episodes.
These findings are particularly relevant in the current context of climate change, where episodes of severe drought are becoming more frequent and intense. ‘We have seen that the forest management already being implemented to reduce fire risk has a double benefit, as it also promotes forest adaptation to drought. This is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of Mediterranean forests,’ explains Lena Villano, pre-doctoral researcher at the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) and first author of the study.
The innovative experimental design, which combines growth analysis with isotopic analysis under different management typologies, provides a solid scientific basis for the implementation of these management practices on a larger scale. In addition, the study provides new questions for future research, such as the duration of management effects and their influence on other pine species and disturbances such as processionary or scolytids.
‘This duality of benefits makes these practices particularly valuable today, and their large-scale implementation could be key to the conservation of Mediterranean forest ecosystems,’ concludes Pere Casals, head of the Ecology and Silvopastoral Management research group at CTFC.
This work has been made possible thanks to collaboration between several institutions, including the Vienna University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) and several European projects such as LIFE Climark and H2020 Holisoils project. These collaborations are vital to continue advancing research and practical application of forest management techniques in a context of climate change.
More information:
Villano-Vilardell, Lena, Teresa Valor, Rebecca Hood-*Nowotny, Katharina Schott, Míriam Piqué, and Pere Casals. 2024. ‘Thinning Followed by Slash Burning Enhances Growth and Reduces Vulnerability to Drought for Pinus Nigra.’ Ecological Applications e3030. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3030
This article was published on CTFC website in Catalan. CTFC is a partner of the HoliSoils project consortium.
