Fire as a Possibility of Restoration of the Natura 2000 Habitats

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1 5 th International Vilnius onference EURO Mini onference Knowledge-Based Technologies and OR Methodologies for Strategic Decisions of Sustainable Development (KORSD-2009) September 30 October 3, 2009, Vilnius, LITHUANIA ISBN M. Grasserbauer, L. Sakalauskas, E. K. Zavadskas (Eds.): KORSD-2009 Selected papers. Vilnius, 2009, pp Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, 2009 Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 2009 Fire as a Possibility of Restoration of the Natura 2000 Habitats Jolanta Stankevičiūtė, Valerijus Rašomavičius Institute of Botany, Žaliųjų ežerų st. 49, LT Vilnius, Lithuania jolanta.stankeviciute@botanika.lt; floraval@botanika.lt Abstract : The paper aims to define the post-fire dunes system vegetation management ideas of the Baltic Sea coast of Lithuania. The accidental fire of 2006 made a possibility to reveal a peculiar relief and recover the NATURA 2000 habitats. Three zones of management were marked out in the burnt territory. Zone of open sand areas, it is planned to transform the territory into open landscape with sand vegetation. The management of the following habitats will be carried out: Embryonic shifting dunes (2110); Shifting dunes along the shoreline with Ammophila arenaria (white dunes) (2120); Fixed coastal dunes with herbaceous vegetation (grey dunes) (2130*); Dry sand heaths with alluna and Empetrum nigrum (2320); Decalcified fixed dunes with Empetrum nigrum (2140*); Dunes with Salix repens ssp. argentea (Salicion arenariae) (2170). Natural post-fire succesion zone, the burnt P. mugo strands remain for natural degradation. Pinus sylvestris forest recovering zone, new, P. sylvestris trees have recently been planted. They enlarge the stands of Scotch pine on the southern area of Smiltynė and make the open, half-open and closed sceneries characteristic of the Spit more impressive. Keywords: seacoast vegetation, burnt territory, post-fire succession, sustainable management, NATURA 2000 habitats. 1 Introduction The seacoast territory is a protected area of the Republic of Lithuania. On the Lithuanian seacoast, the uronian Spit is the site of ommunity importance (LTNER0005) (Rašomavičius, 2001). According to the Law of Protected Areas, uronian Spit National Park is protected by the state. In the classification of IUN (The World onservation Union) it has been recognized as ategory II. This territory has been a member of EUROPAR federation since 1997, and since December 2000 the National Park is included into the UNESO World Heritage List as valuable cultural landscape. On the Lithuanian coastal sand dunes form under the influence of marine climate and particular orographic conditions (Gudelis, 1998; Žilinskas, 2001); the plant communities are not long-lived. Natural succession induces rapid changes in the number of plant species, alteration of dominant species, appearance of non-typical plants (Stankevičiūtė, 2006). Open areas of sand quickly become overgrown by shrubs or small trees. In length of time, after essential structural changes, the habitat type changes; therefore presently reduction of the diversity of coastal sand habitats is an ultimate threat on the Lithuanian seacoast. The accidental fire of 2006 presented a possibility to reveal a peculiar relief and recover the NATURA 2000 habitats. After World War II, the fires in the uronian Spit had local character. The fire on May 4, 2006 was called a century fire, ha of forest have burned away (Fig. 1). 466

2 FIRE AS A POSSIBILITY OF RESTORATION OF THE NATURA 2000 HABITATS Figure 1. The location of the entury fire ( ) 2 Management ideas and expected results Presently, the restoration management plan of the NATURA 2000 habitats is developed and suitable management tools are selected. Three zones of management were marked out in the burnt territory (Fig. 2.): i) zone of open sand areas. onsidering the geomorphology of the area damaged by fire, no less than 50% of the territory is planned to transform into open landscape with sand vegetation. The restoration management plan of the NATURA 2000 habitats is developed and suitable management tools are selected. Embryonic shifting dunes (2110), Shifting dunes along the shoreline with Ammophila arenaria (white dunes) (2120) The areas suitable for restoration of these habitats are situated on top of great dunes and on their western slopes (Fig. 3). Wind and water erosion are favourable natural factors influencing the structure of habitats. Due to intense erosion the ashes remained after the fire are already blown off; therefore conditions of soil composition are favourable for restoration of primal, initial sand habitats. The toolkit of habitats management: partially and completely burnt trees and shrubs should be removed through the whole planned territory. Stumps should be uprooted on the whole area. The whole cleared area should be ploughed and harrowed. It should be performed immediately after stump removal. On top of the highest dune Ammophila arenaria with distance among plants no less than cm should be planted randomly or in a spiral pattern. Ammo- 467

3 J. Stankevičiūtė, V. Rašomavičius phila arenaria should be grown using seeds of local plants or small (up to 0.5 x 0.5 m) clusters washed ashore with the whole sward should be collected. onsidering climatic and orographic peculiarities of the Lithuanian seacoast, the work should be performed at the beginning of summer (in June). Expected results: to expose the diversity of geomorphological forms, to create initial, shifting sand habitats. Fixed coastal dunes with herbaceous vegetation (grey dunes) (2130*). On the major part of the burnt territory, on the dunes and in the interdune areas the sites are suitable for restoration of the habitats of later succession stages. As a consequence of fire, the eolic sand is enriched with mineral substances (ashes), therefore initial communities of the white dunes vegetation complex could not be formed here (Fig. 4). According to the regularities of the succession of seacoast sand vegetation, in time in these territories vegetation of grey dunes would have formed. After World War II, however, the tendency of planting Pinus mugo and Pinus sylvestris stands in open areas on the Lithuanian seacoast violently reduced the territories of open area on the uronian Spit. The fire of 2006 provides a unique possibility to restore the historic truth. A B B Figure 2. The zones of management in the burnt territory. A Pinus sylvestris forest recovering zone B natural post-fire succession zone zone of open sand areas 468

4 FIRE AS A POSSIBILITY OF RESTORATION OF THE NATURA 2000 HABITATS Figure 3. The territory planned for restoration of initial sand habitats Figure 4. The territory planned for restoration of grey dunes habitats The toolkit of habitats management: burnt trees should be cut throughout the whole area, stumps should be left, orynephorus canescens clusters should be planted in heavily eroded places among the stumps. The plants should be grown from the local seeds. The work should be performed in May June. Expected results: to restore the characteristic habitats of grey dunes, avoid the distribution (invasion) of the communities of ecotonic nitrophiles. Dry sand heaths with alluna and Empetrum nigrum (2320) Decalcified fixed dunes with Empetrum nigrum (2140*) Dunes with Salix repens ssp. argentea (Salicion arenariae) (2170) Appropriate management is particularly important for the survival of these habitats. Under natural conditions they are rapidly changing into forest communities. Artificial planting, which took place during the 19th century, leads to irreversible processes. On the territory of the fire place suitable places for such habitats are situated on low, inexpressive dunes and interdune depressions (Fig. 5). 469

5 J. Stankevičiūtė, V. Rašomavičius Figure 5. The territory planned for restoration of 2320, 2140*, 2170 habitats The toolkit of habitats management: all remaining burnt Pinus sylvestris, Betula pendula, Alnus glutinosa trees should be cut. All timber and stumps should be removed. Throughout the whole territory, on relief elevations clusters of Empetrum nigrum and alluna vulgaris grown from the local seeds should be planted. In time, habitats of open type should be actively managed on this territory; newly occurring trees should be cut and uprooted every year. Expected results: increased diversity of seacoast open habitats, optimal use of the variety of edaphic conditions. ii) natural post-fire succession zone. The burnt Pinus mugo strands remain for natural degradation. iii) Pinus sylvestris forest recovering zone. New, P. sylvestris trees have recently been planted. They enlarge the stands of Scotch pine on the southern area of Smiltynė and make the open, half-open and closed sceneries characteristic of the Spit more impressive. Formation of tree stands and other greenery on appropriate relief formations and habitats should be performed partially employing general principles of their formation as well as principles suitable for protected areas as well as areas with valuable landscape and ecologically sensitive sites. 3 Final remarks This toolkit for burnt territory management is intended for 5 years period. After 5 years, certain conclusions could be already made about the formation of particular types of habitats in separate sites, the necessity to employ other unscheduled management measures could arise. Other 5 years later new comprehensive evaluation should be performed. Based on its results final model of the territory management and NATURA 2000 habitat maintenance could be created. References Gudelis, V Lietuvos įjūris ir pajūris. Vilnius: Lietuvos mokslas. Rašomavičius, V Europinės svarbos buveinės Lietuvoje. Botanikos institutas, LR Aplinkos ministerija, Vilnius. Stankevičiūtė, J The succession of sand vegetation at the Lithuanian seacoast, Botanica Lithuanica 12(3): Žilinskas, G.; Jarmalavičius, D. and Minkevičius, V Eoliniai procesai jūros krante. Geografijos institutas, Vilnius. 470