Differential Post-Fire Recovery of Tree and Shrub Growth and Water-Use Efficiency in a Mediterranean Coastal Dune System

Assessing post-fire recovery is essential to forecast how ecosystems will respond future warmer conditions and higher fire severity. Such assessments must consider site the of trees shrubs. We used tree-ring data intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi) quantify responses a tree (Pinus pinea) shrub (Juniperus phoenicea) in Mediterranean coastal dunes located Doñana protected area, SW Spain. compared pines junipers growing an inter-dune slack with those nearby dune ridge. quantified crown damage bark char impacted by wildfire. Pines lower after showed growth rate one year later. Growth decreased afterwards case fast-growing from site, whereas slow-growing increasing rates three years fire. The did not change pines’ WUEi, presented highest WUEi values. Severe (damage > 60%) impairs long-term P. pinea. Open heterogeneous landscapes can reduce wildfire risk study where vs. differences should be considered management plans.