Ten years of recovery after experimental fire in a heathland: effects of sowing native species

The effect of revegetation with different combinations of native species in the recovery dynamic of a shrubland dominated by Erica australis subjected to experimental fire was studied. The herbs sown had very low cover throughout the study period. Amongst the species of shrubs, Cytisus spp. develops cover above 50% from the fourth year after sowing in the plots where it was sown and colonisation is observed in the unsown ones from the ninth year. Quercus pyrenaica seedlings have a survival rate of 50%, but their mean height does not reach 40 cm after nine years. The shrub and herbaceous species present in the area before experimental burning are characterised by their great resilience, resprouting vegetatively or recovering from seed. It is therefore not possible to detect significant differences among the plots subjected to the different revegetation treatments and the controls regarding woody, herbaceous or total cover, nor are any significant differences observed in the diversity counted as number of species (richness). The good development of Cytisus spp. points to an important physiognomic change and this, together with the high survival rate, although not growth so far, of Q. pyrenaica may influence the long-term dynamic of the community.