A TAXONOMIC OVERVIEW OF FIRST YEAR POST-FIRE VEGETATION IN PINUS BRUTIA FORESTS: REGENERATION MODES AND GROWTH FORMS AFTER A MEGAFIRE
Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, cilt.24, sa.4, ss.6469-6491, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 24 Sayı: 4
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.15666/aeer/2404_64696491
- Dergi Adı: Applied Ecology and Environmental Research
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Environment Index
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.6469-6491
- Anahtar Kelimeler: first post-fire year, Mediterranean Basin, megafire, phytogeography, Pinus brutia, post-fire regeneration, resprouting, seeders
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Fire is a recurrent disturbance in Mediterranean pine forests, yet the first year of post-fire plant recovery remains poorly documented in Türkiye, despite its importance for understanding vegetation trajectories and informing restoration. In this study, we surveyed the first-year post-fire plant community in Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) forests burned during the 2021 Marmaris megafire in southwestern Anatolia. We conducted five repeated botanical surveys across 24 permanent plots and recorded plant taxa, growth forms, post-fire regeneration strategy, and phytogeographic affinities. Across the burned areas, we recorded 233 taxa, belonging to 52 families. Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Lamiaceae were the most species-rich families. The post-fire flora included 12 local endemics restricted to southwestern Anatolia, and nearly half of the recorded taxa belonged to Eastern Mediterranean and Mediterranean phytogeographic elements. Seeders dominated overall, whereas resprouting was especially prevalent among woody taxa and geophytes. By contrast, most herbaceous taxa, particularly annual forbs and annual graminoids, were associated with post-fire recruitment from seed. Resprouter-to-seeder and woody-to-herbaceous ratios increased from broadly distributed taxa to Mediterranean and especially Eastern Mediterranean elements, indicating that regionally restricted taxa were more strongly associated with resprouting persistence and woody growth forms. These findings show that recently burned Pinus brutia forests support high taxonomic and functional diversity in the first post-fire year. Early post-fire surveys are therefore essential for understanding regeneration dynamics and for guiding biodiversity-sensitive restoration in Mediterranean fire-prone landscapes.