Medium‐term effects of post‐fire management treatments on soil properties and plant diversity in a semiarid Mediterranean forest

Abstract Introduction High‐severity wildfires strongly disrupt soil structure, hydrological functioning, and vegetation dynamics in Mediterranean ecosystems, yet the medium‐term influence of common management treatments remains insufficiently understood. Objectives This study assessed the 5‐year effects of two post‐fire management practices, straw mulching combined with log erosion barriers and easy erosion barriers, on soil hydrological properties, key physico‐chemical variables, and plant diversity in a semiarid pine forest in Spain. Methods Nine experimental plots (three per catchment) were monitored to quantify soil hydraulic conductivity, total organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, soil water content, and plant diversity indices. Results All soil hydrological and physico‐chemical properties showed no significant differences among treatments, indicating a convergence of soil conditions regardless of management. Plant diversity similarly exhibited a limited response, with no significant differences in Simpson's index and only weak and inconsistent variation in species richness across treatments. These results suggest that wildfire‐induced alterations, particularly changes in soil structure, hydrophobicity, and nutrient redistribution, exert a stronger influence on ecosystem functioning than the evaluated post‐fire treatments in the medium term. Conclusion The convergence of soil and vegetation conditions observed 5 years after fire across all treatments suggests that natural recovery processes progressively override the legacy of short‐term stabilization measures. Ecosystem status at this stage appears more strongly associated with fire severity and intrinsic site resilience than with the specific post‐fire management practices evaluated.