@misc{JouySchueleAdhikarietal., author = {Jouy, Florent and Sch{\"u}le, Maren and Adhikari, Yojana and Binder, Anja and Clerc, Danica and Gerwin, Werner and Heinken, Thilo and Raab, Thomas and Repmann, Frank and R{\"o}nnefarth, Susanne and Schirrmacher, Marina and Schmehl, Marie-Therese and Schr{\"o}der, Jens and Ibisch, Pierre L.}, title = {Factors impacting the variability of post-fire forest regeneration in central European pine plantations}, series = {Restoration Ecology}, journal = {Restoration Ecology}, doi = {10.1111/rec.70017}, abstract = {Fire is increasingly posing a risk to forests and plantations, even in the temperate latitudes of central Europe. Little is known about fire ecology in this region, and therefore, appropriate approaches for the management and reforestation of burned sites are mostly lacking. In a Scots pine plantation region in Brandenburg (northeast Germany), the early tree regeneration of two nearby areas that burned 1 year apart was investigated. We observed that 3 years after the fire events, the forest in one study area showed a relatively high regeneration with a mean density of 7765 saplings/ha, clearly dominated by European aspen (93\%); whereas the other study area showed a lower mean density of 5061 saplings/ha, dominated by Scots pine (71\%) and aspen (15\%). Three years after the fires, the difference in aspen density was 11-fold between the two areas. We studied the effects of several variables about soil and environmental properties on the aspen establishment in these two study areas in the second and third years after the fire events. We found that the post-fire aspen regeneration was influenced by several factors, including soil texture, soil disturbance from forest management, volume of deadwood, and browsing. We also discussed that weather conditions during seed production and germination might have played a role in the difference in aspen establishment between the two study areas. We concluded that the post-fire forest regeneration potential in the study region is highly variable and could come under critical pressure as climate change progresses.}, language = {en} } @misc{HeinkenBlumroederAdhikarietal., author = {Heinken, Thilo and Blumr{\"o}der, Jeanette S. and Adhikari, Yojana and Balthasar, Cathrina and Binder, Anja and Birkhofer, Klaus and Bischoff, Antje and Brosinsky, Arlena and Bubner, Ben and Clerc, Danica and Djoudi, El Aziz and Dobkowitz, Sophia and Francke, Till and Gerwin, Werner and Hartong, Heinrich and Hess, Carsten and Jarling, Ren{\´e} and Jouy, Florent and Leinen, Loretta and Meißner, Andreas and Raab, Thomas and Repmann, Frank and R{\"o}nnefarth, Susanne and Schaaf, Wolfgang and Schirrmacher, Marina and Schmehl, Marie-Therese and Schmitt, Thomas and Schr{\"o}der, Jens and Sch{\"u}le, Maren and Sturm, Knut and Welle, Torsten and Ibisch, Pierre L.}, title = {PYROPHOB - A post-fire ecosystem research project to inform management for resilient forest development}, series = {Tuexenia}, volume = {44}, journal = {Tuexenia}, issn = {0722-494X}, doi = {10.14471/2024.44.004}, pages = {35}, abstract = {PYROPHOB (fire-resistant) is the name of an interdisciplinary research project that is running for five years from 2020 to 2025. In this project, eight institutions are investigating the ecological effects of wildfires and subsequent forest management strategies in pine forests (plantations) in Brandenburg (NE Germany), with the aim of formulating practical recommendations for managing fire-prone forests and the effective restoration of post-fire forest areas. We provide a brief overview of what is known about the effects of wildfire on abiotic and biotic parameters in temperate pine forests, as well as the effects of silvicultural treatments. To date, we know little about how different components of biodiversity are linked in post-fire forest ecosystems and how management affects their functioning. By describing the project, we illustrate the requirements for the implementation of such an applied research project. We emphasize the importance of the study design for dealing with interdisciplinary questions and for the quantitative synthesis of research results. The project comprises a set of standardised field plots in two wildfire areas covering different post-fire management options. Fifteen study sites were established, including two reference sites in unburned pine stands, each with ten study plots as replicates. In situ nitrogen mineralisation, litter decomposition tests and soil biological activity are used for soil biological characterisation. Microclimate data is measured continuously. Standing and lying dead wood and tree regeneration are recorded as key indicators of the success of forestry treatments. Further methods com-prise terrestrial laser scanning, remote sensing techniques as well as surveys of vegetation and above and below ground biomass. Identification of fruiting body-forming fungi, phytoparasites and ectomycorrhizal fungi is supported by marker gene sequencing. Faunistic indicators comprise predatory soil arthropods (pairs of emergence tents and soil traps), saproxylic beetles (flight traps and funnel traps), moths (automated window traps), mammals (camera traps), and breeding birds (visual and acoustic observation). We discuss the strengths and limitations of the project design. We are able to systematically capture short-term temporal shifts in parameters and trends in post-fire ecosystem development. Research in a real landscape with ongoing environmental changes and interventions pres-ents challenges for experimental design, data analysis and interpretation. The drivers of ecosystem development are rarely completely independent or perfectly balanced, and lack of replication is ine-vitable. The two fires did not occur in the same year and season, resulting in different initial conditions for the colonisation of the burned areas. Finally, a large part of one study area was again affected by a fire in 2022, which destroyed direct comparability with the other sites. Despite these obstacles the project has started to generate valuable results to address management and conservation challenges.}, language = {en} } @misc{SchmehlAdhikariBalthasaretal., author = {Schmehl, Marie-Therese and Adhikari, Yojana and Balthasar, Cathrina and Binder, Anja and Clerc, Danica and Dobkowitz, Sophia and Gerwin, Werner and G{\"u}nther, Kristin and Hartong, Heinrich and Heinken, Thilo and Hess, Carsten and Ibisch, Pierre L. and Jouy, Florent and Leinen, Loretta and Raab, Thomas and Repmann, Frank and R{\"o}nnefarth, Susanne and Rohlfs, Lilly and Schirrmacher, Marina and Schr{\"o}der, Jens and Sch{\"u}le, Maren and Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea and Francke, Till}, title = {Monitoring abiotic and biotic parameters of forest regrowth under different management regimes on former wildfire sites in northeastern Germany - data from the PYROPHOB project}, series = {Earth system science data}, volume = {17}, journal = {Earth system science data}, number = {11}, publisher = {Copernicus GmbH}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1866-3516}, doi = {10.5194/essd-17-6295-2025}, pages = {6295 -- 6313}, abstract = {We present the data recorded by eight institutions within the PYROPHOB project, running from 2020 to 2024 at two forest research sites in the south-west of Brandenburg, Germany. The aim of the project was to monitor abiotic and biotic parameters of forest regrowth under different management regimes on former wildfire sites in northeastern Germany. The observations comprised intermittent and continuous measurements or surveys on meteorological parameters (rainfall, temperature, vapour pressure deficit), soil (soil type and texture, soil chemistry and leaching, water content, soil temperature), deadwood, stand structure, vegetation regrowth, abundance of selected fauna (moths, beetles, mammals), UAV-based remote sensing (stand structure, spatial overview), and photo monitoring (succession). Thus, the multitude of collected data allows not only for detailed analyses of these observables separately, but also considering their interaction for a more multidisciplinary view on forest recovery after a wildfire. The data are available under the following DOIs: https://doi.org/10.23728/b2share.08a6a8b56f774a08a984871e7ef1b5a8 (Part 1, Schmehl et al., 2025a), under embargo until 31 March 2026 (Part 2, Schmehl et al., 2025b), https://doi.org/10.23728/b2share.de1661761da5481f938caf460e4f0ca9 (Part 3.1, Schmehl et al., 2025c), and https://doi.org/10.23728/b2share.51bdf4b6dc854873b6ff44fdddbf4c3b (Part 3.2, Schmehl et al., 2025d).}, language = {en} } @misc{SchueleHeinkenAdhikarietal., author = {Sch{\"u}le, Maren and Heinken, Thilo and Adhikari, Yojana and Binder, Anja and Clerc, Danica and Dobkowitz, Sophia and Francke, Till and Gerwin, Werner and Hartong, Heinrich and Jouy, Florent and Raab, Thomas and Repmann, Frank and Rohlfs, Lilly and R{\"o}nnefarth, Susanne and Ibisch, Pierre L.}, title = {Intensive post-fire management drives ecosystem degradation but does not prevent tree regeneration}, series = {Journal of applied ecology}, volume = {63}, journal = {Journal of applied ecology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley}, issn = {0021-8901}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2664.70257}, pages = {1 -- 17}, abstract = {In recent years, wildfires have affected relatively large areas of managed forests in Central Europe. Often, forestry uses intensive post-fire management practices, which can have negative effects on various components of the ecosystem. Fire ecology has been largely neglected in Central Europe and strategies for appropriate management and successful reforestation of burned areas are urgently needed. We have studied the effects of different post-fire forest management treatments (including different levels of salvage logging and soil disturbances such as ploughing or raking) on soil parameters (phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, magnesium, pH), microclimate (temperatures, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), heat and drought stress), deadwood, regrowth (biomass of tree regeneration, herb and bryophyte layer) and species richness (plants and saproxylic beetles) 3 years after wildfire in a Central European Scots pine forest (northeast Germany). Intensive forest management led to more unfavourable abiotic conditions, including stronger temperature extremes and elevated VPD. Consequently, vegetation on these sites experienced increased heat and drought stress and reduced nutrient availability. The biomass of the herb and bryophyte layer, as well as the species richness of plants and saproxylic beetles, was lower on completely salvage logged sites. Tree biomass recovered on all sites, including sites with intensive forest management. Tree regeneration in our study area was mainly driven by the recolonization of the pioneer species European aspen (Populus tremula), which can tolerate a wide range of site conditions. Synthesis and applications. We recommend avoiding intensive management on burned sites, such as complete salvage logging or ploughing, as this creates extreme site conditions that could inhibit the regeneration of more sensitive tree species and result in a long-term legacy of degradation. In addition, herb and bryophyte layers, as well as the species richness of vegetation and saproxylic beetles, which are important components of forest ecosystems, are negatively affected by intense forest management.}, language = {en} }