Seitbek Kuanyshbayev 1, Zhumash Bekmyrza 1*, Almabek Nugmanov 1, Aliya Yskak 1, Andrey Kupriyanov 2, Oleg Kuprijanov2, Sevara Daribayeva1, Karina Kazbekova 1, Petr Lyanga 1, Adil Nurpeisov1, Yevgeniy Sokharev 1, Suimenbayeva Zhanna 3, Vladimir Fominov1 and Zhussupbekova Zayna1
1Akhmet Baitursynuly Kostanay Regional University, Kostanay, Republic of Kazakhstan; 2Kuzbass Botanical Garden, Russian Federal State Research Center of Coal and Coal Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation; 3Institute of Information and Computing Technologies, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan
*Corresponding Author: zh.bekmyrza@mymail.academy
This study assessed early post-fire vegetation succession and soil quality in the Amankaragai pine forest of Northern Kazakhstan after severe fires in September 2022. Field studies were conducted in 2023–2024 on control, burned, and cleared-burned plots using geobotanical descriptions, species activity assessment, soil morphological analysis, agrochemical testing, toxicological analysis, and radionuclide measurements. Vegetation recovery followed the pattern of secondary pyrophytic succession, with strong regeneration of fire-surviving pyrophytes and rapid spread of long-rhizomatous grasses, especially Calamagrostis epigeios. Cleared burned areas showed increased meadow-steppe and weed species, which may hinder natural pine regeneration. Burned soils lost much of the A0 and A1 horizons, but heavy metals, potentially toxic elements, and gamma-radionuclide activity remained within permissible limits. The results provide useful baseline data for monitoring and restoring fire-affected island pine forests.