Postfire oak afforestation in Portugal reveals trade-offs in the supply of ecosystem services
摘要
Forests have long been recognized as important sources of ecosystem services (ES), particularly in the Mediterranean Basin, where oak forests are an important component of the landscape. However, the increasing incidence of catastrophic fires may lead to oak forest degradation and a decreased ES supply. In this context, postfire forest restoration can assist in the recovery of ecosystem functions and associated ES, but the performance of postfire restoration is seldom evaluated. In this study, we assessed how postfire restoration with oak afforestation affected the supply of multiple ES and used the observed ES to evaluate restoration effectiveness. We selected 15 postfire afforestation projects with Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) in Portugal, each paired with a control area burned by the same fire but without oak afforestation or other management practices. We compared ES between project and control areas using data on site conditions, stand characteristics, forest biometry, understory vegetation, floristic species diversity, natural regeneration, litter and soil characteristics. Postfire oak afforestation with understory management improved wood provision, overstory carbon storage and fire protection services, but reduced understory and soil organic carbon, while having no apparent effect on floristic diversity, compared to non-afforested control areas. Our study reveals that postfire oak afforestation may have a positive, neutral or negative impact on ES, highlighting the existence of trade-offs due to management choices. Understanding the impact of postfire forest restoration on the supply of ES will contribute to advance restoration efforts and policies.