COLONIZATION PATTERNS OF WOODY SPECIES ON LANDS MINED FOR COAL IN SPAIN: PRELIMINARY INSIGHTS FOR FOREST EXPANSION

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Milder ◽  
B. Fernández-Santos ◽  
C. Martínez-Ruiz
Rodriguésia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robberson Bernal Setubal ◽  
Ilsi Iob Boldrini

A phytosociological survey was carried out in a study area located at Serra do Sudeste, southern Brazil, where forests and grasslands are distributed in a mosaic, seeking to unravel diversity patterns in four different grassland communities. Grassland management traditionally adopted by the local population is characterized by burning practices that aim to eliminate woody species, delaying the forest expansion process that is favored by the extant climate. The number of plots distributed per community was as follows: rocky grasslands (17), dry grasslands (33), moist grasslands (15) and marshy grasslands (5). Different numbers of plots were used due to the natural conditions of these communities, with highest cover for dry grasslands, followed by rocky, moist and marshy grasslands. Data analyses consisted of calculating community indexes and parameters and exploratory multivariate analysis. We verified that c. 15% of species among the 177 registered taxa were highly dominant in the constitution of the vegetation matrix in all communities, whereas most of the species showed low frequency and cover values. Rocky and dry grasslands showed higher similarity and diversity indexes than moist and marshy grasslands. We concluded that the large number of rare or intermediate-frequency species is decisive for the high diversity found in these grasslands.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Martín-Forés ◽  
Cristina C. Bastias ◽  
Belén Acuña-Miguez ◽  
Sandra Magro ◽  
Fernando Valladares ◽  
...  

Despite noticeable concern about the deforestation rate worldwide, the forest surface in Europe has considerably expanded over the past centuries as a consequence of the rural exodus and abandonment of agrarian practices. Tree recruitment associated with forest regrowth is a multi-stage process influenced by several biotic and abiotic factors. Yet, it is uncertain whether their influence on recruitment patterns and dynamics varies along a gradient of forest expansion. Similarly, for dioceious species, the influence of tree sex in recruitment is not entirely understood. Here, we aim to elucidate what drives Spanish juniper recruitment in expanding forests. Specifically, we hypothesized that facilitation by conspecifics and other woody species would occur at the expanding front, where environmental conditions are harsher and that recruitment would be preferably associated to female trees because of the likelihood of mature cones produced by them germinating in the nearby area. The study was conducted in Mediterranean forests of Juniperus thurifera in central Spain. A total of 17 plots were delimited along a gradient of forest expansion including: i) old forests, ii) an intermediate zone and iii) novel forests at the expanding front. Within each plot all J. thurifera individuals (saplings and adults) were mapped. We also recorded bio-volumetric characteristics and tree sex for all adult trees and estimated the percentage of cover of woody species within the area of influence of each adult individual. We analysed the spatial pattern of J. thurifera individuals for each stand (plot). Using a novel spatial approach, we evaluated how conspecific (female and male tree sizes) and heterospecific (woody cover) vegetation influenced sapling density along a forest expansion gradient. We also studied the effects of the stage of the forest expansion gradient and the sex of adult trees on the spatial association between adults and saplings. Our results showed that sapling recruitment was negatively influenced by conspecific adult size along the whole gradient, while the effect of heterospecific woody vegetation was always positive. Conspecific facilitation of recruitment in J. thurifera forests occurred at their expanding front where saplings were associated to male adult trees. Despite having been overlooked in conservation policies, recently colonised areas in extreme environments are key targets to implement management measures aimed at achieving forest restoration, which aligns with the Aichi targets and the biodiversity policies of the European Union.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 773
Author(s):  
Carolina Martínez-Ruiz ◽  
Ana I. Milder ◽  
Daphne López-Marcos ◽  
Pilar Zaldívar ◽  
Belén Fernández-Santos

We evaluated the ecological significance of the boundary form between two patches with contrasting vegetation (mine grassland and adjacent forest) on woody colonization and forest expansion in open-cast coal mines in Northern Spain. Woody colonization and browsing traces were measured on three mine sites, along 24 transects that were laid out perpendicular to the forest-mine boundary and classified according to their shape (concave, convex, straight). Mine sites were colonized from the close forest by woody species, whose colonization intensity depends on the boundary form. The overall colonization intensity decreased with increasing distance to the forest and differed depending on the boundary form. The more intense colonization was found in concave boundaries and the strongest decrease in convex boundaries close to the forest, whereas straight boundaries showed an intermediate colonization pattern. Concave boundaries reached higher woody cover in the basal strata of the mines than convex (up to 2 m) or straight boundaries (up to 1 m) from 11 m to the forest edge, mainly by the presence of dense patches of Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link, with a scattered overstory of Genista florida L. These shrubs might reduce the browsing intensity and act as nurse plants facilitating the establishment of Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. in mine areas at greater distances from the forest edge. The forest-mine boundary form does not affect the forest vertical structure that is homogenous and does not help explain the woody colonization pattern in the mines. We conclude that edge characteristics have a strong potential to be used in the restoration of native forests based on natural processes. The implications of our results for sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) forest expansion along edges in fragmented Mediterranean forest landscapes were discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Fernando Vieira Rocha ◽  
Rita Baltazar de Lima ◽  
Denise Dias da Cruz

2006 ◽  
Vol 157 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constant Yves Adou Yao ◽  
Edouard Kouakou N'Guessan

The inventory and the analysis of the woody species preserved in the different categories of cocoa and coffee plantations showed that they are relatively diversified (presence of endemic, rare and threatened species). They also preserved high tree density and high basal areas. The young plantations are especially diversified. Their number of species,density and basal areas and diversity index are similar to those of the neighbouring old growth and secondary forests. Older plantations display a sharp decline of diversity over time. Agricultural practices in the region represent a threat in the medium term to the preservation of biodiversity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lü Hao-rong ◽  
Liu Song-song ◽  
Zhu Jian-yun ◽  
Ye Yong-chang ◽  
Chen Hong-yue ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Carol C. Baskin ◽  
Jerry M. Baskin ◽  
Alvin Yoshinaga ◽  
Dustin Wolkis

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