Trends in post-fire biomass recovery in an Erica australis heathland

The aboveground biomass in plots of a heathland dominated by Erica australis, burned on different dates, is compared. The rapid recovery by vegetative resprout of Erica australis, which is the dominant woody species from the first year and has practically stabilised its biomass after 5 years, was observed. However, the total biomass continued to increase with higher values in the control plot because Calluna vulgaris, whose recovery is slower as it regenerated from seed, is also important. Herbs were the dominant biotype one year after the fire, with statistically significant differences in comparison with the rest. The temporal recovery dynamics of the community presents a logarithmic adjustment due to the increase in non-photosynthetic biomass, as the photosynthetic biomass tended to remain stable. When the percentages of both fractions are considered, a highly significant (99%) logarithmic adjustment is observed, both for the community as a whole and for the most frequently occurring woody species.