Prescribed burning is a widely used fuel management employed technique to mitigate the risk of forest fires. The Pinus yunnanensis Franch. forest, which is frequently prone to forest fires in southwestern China, serves as a prime example for investigating the effects of prescribed burning on the flammability of surface dead fuel. This research aims to establish a scientific foundation for managing dead fuel in forests, as well as fire prevention and control strategies. Field data was collected from P. yunnanensis forests located in central Yunnan Province in 2021 and 2022. The study implemented a randomized complete block design with two blocks and three treatments: an unburned control (UB), one year after the prescribed burning (PB1a), and three years after the prescribed burning (PB3a). These treatments were evaluated based on three indices: surface dead-bed structure, physicochemical properties, and potential fire behavior parameters. To analyze the stand characteristics of the sample plots, a paired t-test was conducted. The results indicated no significant differences in the stand characteristics of P. yunnanensis following prescribed burning (p > 0.05). Prescribed burning led to a significant decrease in the average surface dead fuel load from 10.24 t/ha to 3.70 t/ha, representing a reduction of 63.87%. Additionally, the average fire−line intensity decreased from 454 kw/m to 190 kw/m, indicating a decrease of 58.15%. Despite prescribed burning, there were no significant changes observed in the physical and chemical properties of dead fuels (p > 0.05). However, the bed structure of dead fuels and fire behavior parameters exhibited a significant reduction compared with the control sample site. The findings of this study provide essential theoretical support for the scientific implementation of prescribed burning programs and the accurate evaluation of ecological and environmental effects post burning.

The Altai Mountains, located in the northwesternmost part of China, have a harsh climate and little human activity, making it an excellent location to study forest ecology undisturbed by human interference. The forest is frequently struck by lightning and experiences long-term natural fire disturbances, leading to the evolution of unique fire adaptation traits in the major conifer species. To explore the role of natural fire disturbances in the Altai Mountain forest ecosystem, we conducted a study on the fire adaptation traits of Larix sibirica, Pinus sibirica, Picea obovata, and Abies sibirica, and reconstructed the fire history of the forest area over the past 100 years. We investigated three representative forest areas with varying fire disturbance conditions and habitats in the Altai Mountains. Data on fire disturbance conditions, relative air humidity, and species composition were collected in these areas. Basal diameter to diameter at breast height, relative bark thickness, and under-crown heights were measured and counted for each of the four species, and litter, bark, and wood layers were sampled and analyzed for physicochemical properties (ash, fat, and higher heating value) for each of the four species in the plots examined. We conducted a count of the four conifer species in the forest for each fire adaptation index and analyzed the differences in fire adaptation traits among the species. Larix sibirica showed fire-tolerant traits, Pinus sibirica displayed fire-embracer traits, and Picea obovata and Abies sibirica exhibited fire-avoider traits. Through the analysis of stand composition and exposure to fire disturbance in the different forest areas, we were able to correlate the fire-adaptive strategies of the four conifers with stand characteristics under varying fire disturbances and habitats. The interaction between forests and fires, and their adaptation to each other, ultimately create the current ecosystems in the Altai Mountains.

The Pinus yunnanensis forest of southwestern China represents a unique and ecologically critical vegetation type, historically shaped by fire disturbances. To mitigate catastrophic wildfire risks, prescribed burning has been widely implemented as a management tool in these ecosystems. However, its effects on plant community structure and biodiversity remain insufficiently quantified. To investigate the specific changes in plant community characteristics caused by prescribed burning, this study was conducted in the Pinus yunnanensis forest in Zhaobi Hill, Xinping county. Our results revealed that prescribed burning induced differential effects on understory communities while exerting negligible effects on canopy tree composition. In the shrub layer, the number of shrub species decreased from 26 to 20, accompanied by a complete extirpation of arboreal saplings. Dominance hierarchies shifted markedly, transitioning from Lithocarpus mairei and Pinus yunnanensis regeneration cohorts in unburned plots to fire-adapted species Duhaldea cappa and Craibiodendron stellatum. Concomitantly, the average height of shrubs had a significant reduction in burning plots. Contrastingly, the number of herb species increased from 30 to 37 in burning plots, with non-significant alterations in abundance, height, and importance values. Prescribed burning significantly decreases the α species diversity of shrubs, but only has minimal effects on the α species diversity indices of herbs. Overall, prescribed burning appears to be the primary factor affecting the species diversity index of shrubs, while altitude, forest structure, and soil nutrient content exert greater influences on the species diversity index of the herbaceous layer. Prescribed burning was the dominant factor shaping the community structure and species diversity of the shrub layer, and the missing saplings of trees in the shrub layer might influence future forest succession in the long term.