Factors affecting post-fire, vitality and recovery of cork oak trees in Yifri forest (NorthWest of Algeria).

Abstract

The cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a fire-adapted species due to the protection of dormant buds located under its cork bark. Post-fire resprouting in trees from these buds is an efficient means of plant adaptation. In this study, we examined the different types of the response of 644 trees, one year after a wildfire occurred in summer 2012 in the Tlemcen area. Furthermore, we determined the variables influencing the vitality likelihood of trees using multiple logistic regression. The dominant response is crown resprouting (67.7%), followed by tree death (23.9%) and basal resprouting (8.4%). The probability of tree vitality decreased with increasing fire intensity which associated with the importance of trunk injuries, decreasing bark thickness and tree height. This model is an interesting tool for diagnosing tree mortality or survival to assess the ecological and economic restoration actions for the forest.