Efectos del cambio global en los robledales de Quercus petraea en el NE de la Península Ibérica

Abstract

El roble albar Quercus petraea se encuentra ampliamente presente en el centro de Europa. Las poblaciones del NE de la Península Ibérica se encuentran en su límite meridional de distribución y las de condiciones más mediterráneas en el xeric limit para esta especie. Los resultados de la tesis, muestran que la comunidad ha cambiado su composición de especies des de la segunda mitad del s. XX, pero de forma sensiblemente diferente según cada región. La dinámica de los robledales de roble albar es su recuperación tras el cambio de los usos del bosque, y el Montseny es un buen ejemplo de este proceso. La situación es bien distinta en algunos robledales como los del Montnegre, donde los efectos del cambio climático suponen un futuro incierto. Por este motivo es importante aprovechar las localidades que se encuentran en refugios climáticos como reservorios y puntos donde poder conservar este hábitat.

Unveiling the conservation status of the sessile oak forest for their protection and management in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula

“…Nevertheless, during the 20 th century, subsequent changes and the abandonment of forestry practices led to the expansion of forest coverage on the NE Iberian Peninsula (Vila, 1999;Boada, 2002;Gordi, 2009;Bou Manobens et al, 2015), as was similarly reported for Montseny sessile oak forests, which have expanded and become more dense , 2019b. As a consequence of this intensive exploitation in the past, there is now a significant lack of mature forests in Catalonia (Mallarach et al, 2013), and only a few ancient and mature sessile oak forests remain (Bou, 2019;Bou & Vilar, 2019b). The same problem has been reported for sessile oak and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) throughout Europe (Saniga et al, 2014).…”

“…The mean annual temperatures of the regions in this study range from 8 to 13°C, and annual precipitation ranges from 812 to 1035 mm (Table 1). The sessile oak forests grow on acidic lithology (Bou, 2019). In addition, human factors must also be included in these environmental conditions because, historically, many of these forests were exploited (a practice now abandoned), and they have also been included in different protected areas (Anon., 1996).…”

“…This current situation represents a high risk for forest conservation because sessile oak forests are highly exposed to threats, especially those that are directly or indirectly related to human activity. Intensive exploitation and the presence of invasive species are considered important endangerments to the conservation of this species (Bou, 2019), and this territorial ordination hinders their management. In contrast, the non-protection of the forest does not necessarily mean increased vulnerability to climate change issues.…”

“…The forests on the NE Iberian Peninsula represent merely 0.38% of the total forest coverage in the region. This phenomenon is a consequence of both the Mediterranean climate's dry summer months, which curtail the development of this species in the lowlands, and a result of human activity transforming the landscape (Bou, 2019).…”

“…Conservation status depends on the composition, structure, and functions of habitats (Maciejewski et al, 2016), but it is generally accepted that it can be based on measures of biodiversity or features as surrogates (Margules & Pressey, 2000;Cabeza & Moilanen, 2001;Yoccoz et al, 2001;Carboni et al, 2009). Although the threats and impacts on the sessile oak forest have been clearly analyzed and described (Bou, 2019), unfortunately, the conservation status of this habitat has yet to be thoroughly studied. Furthermore, the sessile oak forest is not a habitat of Community interest (Vigo et al, 2005), so a standardized evaluation and monitoring program does not exist.…”