Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.

Fire has long shaped Mediterranean ecosystems. However, changes in fire regimes, a major consequence of globalenvironment change, have led to increasingly frequent and more intense wildfires in these regions. Sustainableforest management is, therefore, today critical for reducing the risk of ignitio...

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Autores: Alfaro-Zepeda, Sebastian, Moreno de las Heras, Mariano, Peñalver-Alcalá, Antonio, García-Braga, Eduardo, Farguell Pérez, Joaquim, Úbeda, Xavier
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/227626
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227626
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Montgrí (Catalunya)
Incendis forestals
Anàlisi dels sòls
Pins
Montgrí (Catalonia)
Forest fires
Soil analysis
Pine
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spelling Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.Alfaro-Zepeda, SebastianMoreno de las Heras, MarianoPeñalver-Alcalá, AntonioGarcía-Braga, EduardoFarguell Pérez, JoaquimÚbeda, XavierMontgrí (Catalunya)Incendis forestalsAnàlisi dels sòlsPinsMontgrí (Catalonia)Forest firesSoil analysisPineFire has long shaped Mediterranean ecosystems. However, changes in fire regimes, a major consequence of globalenvironment change, have led to increasingly frequent and more intense wildfires in these regions. Sustainableforest management is, therefore, today critical for reducing the risk of ignition and minimising the damagecaused by wildfires. In Spain, management tools as pruning and felling, silviculture, and prescribed fire (PF) areemployed individually or in combination to address this challenge. But the use of PF is controversial due to therisks of provoking uncontrolled fire episodes, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and altering soil properties ifsuch fires are not properly managed. This study reports the results of the annual monitoring of the physical andchemical properties of a calcareous soil after a PF. We document changes in a Pinus halepensis plantation of theMontgrí massif (NE Spain) to determine whether this forest management approach has any short-term (two-yearperiod) effects. In year zero, i.e., immediately after the PF, a significant increase in the soil’s electrical conductivityand water repellency was observed in the burned plot (vs. control). In the first year, soil pH wassignificantly higher in the treated plot relative both to its first-year pH levels and to those of the control. By thesecond year, no significant differences were observed in the physicochemical properties of the soils of the treatedand 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 maintainingsoil resilience in Mediterranean ecosystems.Elsevier B.V.2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/227626Articles publicats en revistes (Geografia)reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UBinstname:Universidad de BarcelonaInglésVersió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117730Geoderma, 2026, vol. 467, num.117730https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117730cc-by-nc-nd (c) Farguell Pérez, Joaquim -et al., 2026http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/2276262026-05-27T06:46:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
title Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
spellingShingle Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
Alfaro-Zepeda, Sebastian
Montgrí (Catalunya)
Incendis forestals
Anàlisi dels sòls
Pins
Montgrí (Catalonia)
Forest fires
Soil analysis
Pine
title_short Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
title_full Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
title_fullStr Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
title_sort Effects of prescribed fire on soil physicochemical properties in a mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantation: a case study in the Montgrí Massif.
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Alfaro-Zepeda, Sebastian
Moreno de las Heras, Mariano
Peñalver-Alcalá, Antonio
García-Braga, Eduardo
Farguell Pérez, Joaquim
Úbeda, Xavier
author Alfaro-Zepeda, Sebastian
author_facet Alfaro-Zepeda, Sebastian
Moreno de las Heras, Mariano
Peñalver-Alcalá, Antonio
García-Braga, Eduardo
Farguell Pérez, Joaquim
Úbeda, Xavier
author_role author
author2 Moreno de las Heras, Mariano
Peñalver-Alcalá, Antonio
García-Braga, Eduardo
Farguell Pérez, Joaquim
Úbeda, Xavier
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Montgrí (Catalunya)
Incendis forestals
Anàlisi dels sòls
Pins
Montgrí (Catalonia)
Forest fires
Soil analysis
Pine
topic Montgrí (Catalunya)
Incendis forestals
Anàlisi dels sòls
Pins
Montgrí (Catalonia)
Forest fires
Soil analysis
Pine
description Fire has long shaped Mediterranean ecosystems. However, changes in fire regimes, a major consequence of globalenvironment change, have led to increasingly frequent and more intense wildfires in these regions. Sustainableforest management is, therefore, today critical for reducing the risk of ignition and minimising the damagecaused by wildfires. In Spain, management tools as pruning and felling, silviculture, and prescribed fire (PF) areemployed individually or in combination to address this challenge. But the use of PF is controversial due to therisks of provoking uncontrolled fire episodes, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and altering soil properties ifsuch fires are not properly managed. This study reports the results of the annual monitoring of the physical andchemical properties of a calcareous soil after a PF. We document changes in a Pinus halepensis plantation of theMontgrí massif (NE Spain) to determine whether this forest management approach has any short-term (two-yearperiod) effects. In year zero, i.e., immediately after the PF, a significant increase in the soil’s electrical conductivityand water repellency was observed in the burned plot (vs. control). In the first year, soil pH wassignificantly higher in the treated plot relative both to its first-year pH levels and to those of the control. By thesecond year, no significant differences were observed in the physicochemical properties of the soils of the treatedand 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 maintainingsoil resilience in Mediterranean ecosystems.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227626
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227626
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117730
Geoderma, 2026, vol. 467, num.117730
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117730
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by-nc-nd (c) Farguell Pérez, Joaquim -et al., 2026
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by-nc-nd (c) Farguell Pérez, Joaquim -et al., 2026
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier B.V.
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier B.V.
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Geografia)
reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
instname:Universidad de Barcelona
instname_str Universidad de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de la UB
collection Dipòsit Digital de la UB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,812429

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