Recruitment of woody species in tropical forests exposed to wildlandfires: an overview

Abstract

Ocampo-Zuleta, K., Bravo, S. 2019. Recruitment of woody species in tropical forests exposed to wildlandfires: an overview. Ecosistemas 28(1):106-117. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.1642

The wildfires have been perceived during the first decades of the last century as an event with negative consequences for the environment. This perception has changed since then, with the advance of studies of fire ecology in different ecosystems of the planet and the consideration of the various parameters that define the fire regime (frequency, intensity, severity, seasonality and extension). Fire is a key ecological disturbance to the natural dynamics of fire-prone ecosystems, where species have adaptations and/or strategies to resist, tolerate and/or persist in their natural fire regime. Persistence at a population level that depends on the ability to establish new individuals from seed banks (recruitment). The objective of this review was to analyze the antecedents in relation to the recruitment of woody species from tropical forests, in terms of environmental changes in the postfire environment and seminal traits that could influence the germination and establishment of seedlings in the postfire environment. The efficiency in the recruitment varies according to the intensity of the fire, the tolerance of the seeds to the thermal shock and the aptitude to germinate and establish seedlings in the postfire environment. Factors such as seed production and dispersion, and predation are key to the success of recruitment in these environments. This review will help with the planning and monitoring of ecological restoration tasks in areas of tropical forests affected by fires of different origins.