Abstract:

Fires of 2007 have consumed large areas of Black pine and Greek fir forests in Peloponnese, Euboea and Attica. Most studies that followed, focused on the natural regeneration potential or the need for reforestation. The current research aims at examining the role of geomorphology and lithology that govern the soil properties upon the post-fire vegetation recovery at the landscape level. A case study from Taygetos Mt, a large part of which was burned in 2007, is presented. Based on the interpretation of a high spatial and spectral resolution satellite image (WorldView-3, 4/2015), several GIS thematic layers have been created showing unburned and regenerated patches over various lithological types. A network of sites was selected for field sampling representing various combinations of the above. Data on vegetation cover and recovery of the main tree species were collected. Results prove the interrelationship between regeneration and species traits as well as the existence of unburned patches near the burned ones. Recovery seems to be controlled by the geology of the plots as it was found weaker in plots overlying carbonate, permeable, not easily erodible formations as compared to that observed over clastic, impermeable, erodible formations of schists, even for the same species. In conclusion, post-fire vegetation recovery at the landscape level seems to be a complex process controlled not only from species biology but also from the landscape features and its fire history.