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This study analyzes the effect of fire on the composition and abundance of ground beetles in Pinus nigra forests. We used pitfall traps to sample beetles in burned P. nigra forests in Catalonia (Spain). Since fire dramatically alters forest structure and composition and beetles follow vegetation changes, we expected drastic changes in beetle composition and abundance immediately after fire. Because P. nigra forests do not recover after fire, we also expected beetles in burned and unburned areas to differ along a chronosequence. Beetle abundance per plot increased in canopy-fire–burned areas, but per plot species richness, diversity, and dominance were not affected by fire. Species composition varied depending on fire intensity. Some species were associated with canopy fire and low vegetation cover. Other species were associated with shrub cover and time since fire. Finally, some species were not dependent on fire or vegetation cover. Beetle abundance in burned areas was independent of time since ...

This study analyzes the recovery of Pinus pinea in forested areas that have burned in the last 30 years. The main objectives of the study were (i) to analyze the success of the regeneration of P. pinea in areas with the presence or absence of surviving adult trees and (ii) to investigate whether or not the post-fire response of P. pinea may affect its present distribution. We analyzed the survival of adult P. pinea trees and the regeneration of P. pinea seedlings in 8 areas burned by wildfires in Catalonia (northeast Spain) between 1979 and 2001. This study shows that the inability of seedlings to establish after fire, together with the short seed dispersal distance of this species and the low level of seedling survival, renders the natural regeneration of P. pinea in burned areas difficult. A comparison of the presence of P. pinea in plots located in burned and unburned areas throughout its distribution area in Catalonia indicates that its presence at the regional level is clearly reduced after ...