The burned forest will be restored only after 20-25 years. During this time, young trees grow to a height of 8-10 meters. Foresters help the injured areas, but cannot speed up the growth of trees. The forestry-ecologist Savvas Kartanas, an employee of the Forestry Department, spoke about the recovery activities of forests.
Usually after the fire there are several trees that give seeds and natural update is on its own. However, it happens that the destruction is so great that the department has to independently plant seedlings or seeds. This usually happens in the fall, immediately before the first rains. This allows seeds and young trees it is better to take root, grow faster and not die from the heat.
If the injured territory has a strong slope, then the department’s employees make several terraces on the slope or lay grooves to young trees. This allows you to ensure uniform flow of water.
First - thorny bushes
The revival of the forest usually begins with small prickly shrubs. They are unpretentious, so they grow easier in the affected areas. The next generation of vegetation will already be higher shrubs. Then low trees will begin to grow, and gradually the forest will form again in place of the fire.
“Mediterranean forests have the following feature: they are updated after a fire at the expense of the seeds that managed to get into the soil. Of course, if the fire was not so power that he did not leave behind anything living. In this case, a person has to intervene, ”said Kartanas.
It takes about 20-25 years to restore forests. During this time, trees grow by 8-10 meters. However, in recent years, climate change affects Cyprus forests negatively. The trees become stunted due to severe heat and lack of moisture.
The climate is changing, and pine trees no longer plant
The solution to this problem could be the adaptation of forests to new climatic conditions. For example, pine trees are not suitable for the new Mediterranean climate, as they burn easily, and fires in the pine forest are very intense and it is very difficult to extinguish them. Therefore, the Department of Forestry in Cyprus now rarely plants pine trees in the order of revival of the territory. After fires, foresters prefer to plant online trees, olives, cypresses that are not so easily burning.
Fauna also suffers greatly from fires. Animals either die or migrate into nearby areas. However, observations of Cyprus wild nature show that 6-8 years after the fire, the number of fauna in the area usually exceeds the one that was before the disaster. Swift growth is due to the fact that shrubs occupying the place of burned trees give food for animals and birds.
The text is prepared based on the materials of Alpha.
