EFFECTS OF FIRE ON STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF VEGETATION COMMUNITY IN PINE FORESTS, NAM NAO NATIONAL PARK, THAILAND
Downloads
Anthropogenic forest fires, including those occurring in the pine forests of Thailand, have been widely reported. Although pine forests are fire-dependent, too frequent burning could be unhealthy for the forest as it might result in nutrient depletion and ecosystem degradation. Hence, this study aimed to examine the effects of forest fire on the vegetation structure and composition of a degraded pine forest (PF) and a mixed pine-oak forest (O-PF) in Phu Kum Khao, Nam Nao National Park, Phetchabun Province, Thailand. The effects of fire over one year were studied using three 50 × 50 m experimental plots established in each forest type. Results showed that fire events caused a significantly higher tree mortality rate in the degraded pine forest than in the mixed pine-oak forest. Moreover, the seedling ratio (number of sprouts to number of seedlings) in the mixed pine-oak forest was higher than in the degraded pine forest. Although the sapling and seedling diameters were slightly different between the sites, no significant effect of burning was observed on sapling and seedling density, diameter, or height. This might be due to the high variation of fire behavior in each plot. Since forest fires are a potential factor contributing to forest degradation in the study area, further studies on the effects of fire frequency on vegetation structure and composition are needed to provide sufficient control measures for efficient forest fire management and prevent further ecosystem degradation.
Brown JK, Smith JK. 2000. Wildland fire in ecosystems: Effects of fire on flora. Gen Tech Rep RMRS-GTR-42-v01.2. Ogden (US): USDA Forest Service.
Byram GM. 1959. Combustion of forest fuels. In: Davis KP, editor. Forest Fire: Control and Use. New York (US): McGraw-Hill. p. 61-89.
Chandler C, Cheney P, Thomas P, Trabaud L, Williams D. 1983. Fire in forestry, volume I: Forest fire behavior and effects. New York (US): John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cochrane MA. 2009. Tropical fire ecology: Climate change, land use, and ecosystem dynamics. Berlin (DE): Springer.
Goldammer JG, Penafiel RS. 1990. Fire in the pine-grassland biomes of tropical and subtropical Asia. In: Goldammer JG, editor. Fire in the Tropical Biota: Ecosystem Processes and Global Challenges. Vol. 84. Berlin (DE): Springer-Verlag. p. 45-62.
Kimmins JP. 1997. Forest ecology: A foundation for sustainable management. New Jersey (US): Prentice Hall.
Kutintara U. 2008. Classification of vegetative cover in Thailand. J Trop Plants Res 1:1-21.
Pyne SJ. 2001. Fire: A brief history. Seattle (US): University of Washington Press.
Royal Forest Department. 2008. Pine genetic improvement in Thailand. Bangkok (TH): Assembly Agricultural Cooperatives Thailand.
Tarusadamrongdet V. 2013. Fuel properties and fire behavior of degraded pine forest and pine-oak subcommunity at Nam Nao National Park, Phetchabun Province. [Dissertation]. Retrieved from Kasetsart University.
Wanthongchai K, Bauhus J, Goldammer JG. 2008. Nutrient losses through prescribed burning of aboveground litter and understorey in dry dipterocarp forest of different fire history. Catena 74:321-32.
Wanthongchai K, Goldammer JG. 2011. Fire management in South and Southeast Asia's seasonally dry forests: Colonial approaches, current problems, and perspectives. In: McShea WJ, Davies SJ, Bhumpakapun N, editors. The Ecology and Conservation of Seasonally Dry Forests in Asia. Washington DC (US): Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Wanthongchai K, Tarusadamrongdet V, Chinnawong K, Sooksawat K. 2013. Fuel properties and fire behaviour characteristics of prescribed fire in pine-dominated forests at Nam Nao National Park, Thailand. Int J Wildland Fire 22:615-24.
Wanthongchai K, Bauhus J, Goldammer JG. 2014. Effects of past burning frequency on woody plant structure and composition in dry dipterocarp forest. Thai J For 33(3):109-30.
Whelan RJ. 1995. The ecology of fire. Melbourne (AU): Cambridge University Press Australia.
Copyright (c) 2019 BIOTROPIA - The Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Biology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree with the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work 1 year after publication simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons attribution-noncommerical-noderivates 4.0 International License that allows others to share, copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format, but only where the use is for non-commercial purposes and an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal is mentioned.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
