This summer marks two years since the devastating wildfire of 2023, which struck the Dadia–Lefkimi–Soufli National Park and the wider region of central and southern Evros.

During this period, nature—through its own mechanisms—has begun to recover, and the forest is regenerating naturally.

Our team, in collaboration with research groups from the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Democritus University of Thrace, Ionian University, and the consulting company MELIA S.A., carried out sampling in the burned area of the 2023 wildfire. Fieldwork was supported by volunteers from the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) who played a key role in saving time during the completion of measurements at each site.

This year, our work focused on recording the regeneration of conifers,specifically turkish pine (Pinus brutia) and black pine (Pinus nigra), under:

• three burn severity categories (low, medium, high),
• areas with different types of human intervention (logging, anti-erosion works, undisturbed areas).

Sampling was conducted at 180 locations throughout the extent of the Dadia–Lefkimi–Soufli National Park forest, and at each location, 3 sample plots were recorded, resulting in data collected from 540 plots in total. The first signs are encouraging in areas of low and medium burn severity, where the number of pine seedlings is higher than in those of high severity. Although not all data have been analyzed yet, a rough picture can be drawn from the 90 samplings carried out by the SPBT team, where in favorable conditions up to 388 pine seedlings were recorded per 100 meters of transect, while in unfavorable conditions, up to 53 pine seedlings were recorded. Other shrubs and trees also showing strong natural regeneration include rockrose (Cistus), heather (Erica), oaks (Quercus), and green olive tree (Phillyrea).

The same 180 sampling sites will be revisited next year in order to compare with this year’s data and assess how many pine seedlings remain alive.

Monitoring natural regeneration is a key tool for the future management and protection of the forest, including possible future reforestation needs.