pyrogenic succession

FEATURES OF POST-WILDFIRE RECOVERY OF FOREST HERPETOCOMPLEXES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL PECULIARITIES OF THE TERRITORY (ON AN EXAMPLE OF THE KERZHENSKY NATURE RESERVE)

Field research was conducted on the Kerzhensky Nature Reserve territory (the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia) in 2012-2013 to analyze the influence of the 2010 forest wildfires on the populations of amphibians and reptiles and to reveal features of their post-wildfire recovery. The recovery of the herpetocomplexes on the territories subjected to surface/crawling and controlled fires was found to occur during no more than two years, whereas crown/canopy fires with complete vegetation destruction required three years for recovery.