Stand structure, competition and growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in a Mediterranean mountainous environment

García‐Abril, Antonio; Martín-Fernández, Susana; Grande, Marya; Manzanera, J. A.

doi:10.1051/forest:2007069

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Adame et al, 2006;García-Abril et al, 2007;Hein and Dhote, 2006). In this study, tree size and competition were significant factors that explained tree growth for the studied species.…”

Section: Factors Influencing Tree Growthmentioning

confidence: 97%

Rank reversals in tree growth along tree size, competition and climatic gradients for four forest canopy dominant species in Central Spain

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-• Interspecific differences in tree growth patterns with respect to biotic and abiotic factors are key for understanding forest structure and dynamics, and predicting potential changes under climate change.• Repeated observations from the Spanish Forest Inventory (SFI) were used to parameterize maximum likelihood estimators of tree growth as a function of tree size, competition indices and climate for Pinus pinaster, P. sylvestris, Quercus ilex and Q. pyrenaica.• Significant responses to both biotic and abiotic factors were found, with interspecific differences in species performance along competition, temperature and precipitation gradients. Q. ilex was the species most tolerant to competition while P. pinaster was the species most sensitive to climatic variation. Species relative positions shifted along gradients of these factors with rank reversals in species performance along size, competition and climatic gradients.• The results based on average growth matched previous forestry classifications and experimental studies on relative growth rate (RGR).• When examining growth along studied abiotic and biotic gradients, a mismatch was found between species performance ranks as predicted by our models and information derived from previous knowledge. Those discrepancies highlight the relevance of ontogeny and environmental heterogeneity in defining species performance along competition gradients. niche differentiation / Pinus pinaster / Pinus sylvestris / Quercus ilex / Quercus pyrenaica Résumé -Interversion de rangs dans la croissance des arbres en relation avec la taille de l'arbre, la compétition et les gradients climatiques pour quatre espèces forestières dominantes dans la canopée.• Les différences interspécifiques dans les modèles de croissance des arbres, pour ce qui concerne les facteurs biotiques et abiotiques, sont des clés pour la compréhension des structures et des dynamiques forestières, et pour prédire les changement potentiels avec le changement climatique.• Des observations répétées de l'Inventaire Forestier Espagnol (SFI) ont été utilisées pour paramétrer les estimateurs de probabilité maximum de croissance des arbres comme une fonction de la taille de l'arbre, des indices de compétition et du climat pour Pinus pinaster, Pinus sylvestris, Quercus ilex et Quercus pyrenaica.• Des réponses significatives aux facteurs biotiques et abiotiques ont été trouvées, avec des différences interspécifiques pour les performances des espèces en relation avec la compétition, les gradients de température et de précipitations. Quercus ilex a été l'espèce la plus tolérante à la compétition tandis que Pinus pinaster a été l'espèce la plus sensible aux variations climatiques. Les positions relatives des espèces ont changé en relation avec les gradients de ces facteurs avec des interversions de rang pour les performances des espèces en relation avec la taille, la compétition et les gradients climatiques.• Les résultats basés sur la moyenne de croissance sont en adéquation avec la classification forestière antér...

show abstract

“…Adame et al, 2006;García-Abril et al, 2007;Hein and Dhote, 2006). In this study, tree size and competition were significant factors that explained tree growth for the studied species.…”

Section: Factors Influencing Tree Growthmentioning

confidence: 97%

Rank reversals in tree growth along tree size, competition and climatic gradients for four forest canopy dominant species in Central Spain

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Regarding growth, several studies have documented that the relationship between water availability and demand during the summer is the main climatic factor limiting Scots pine (Martínez‐Vilalta et al 2008). Negative relationships have also been found between competition and growth of Scots pine in Mediterranean mountain areas (García‐Abril et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and climatic determinants of demographic rates of Scots pine forests across the Iberian Peninsula

Vilà‐Cabrera

Martínez‐Vilalta

Vayreda

et al. 2011

Ecological Applications

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The demographic rates of tree species typically show large spatial variation across their range. Understanding the environmental factors underlying this variation is a key topic in forest ecology, with far-reaching management implications. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) covers large areas of the Northern Hemisphere, the Iberian Peninsula being its southwestern distribution limit. In recent decades, an increase in severe droughts and a densification of forests as a result of changes in forest uses have occurred in this region. Our aim was to use climate and stand structure data to explain mortality and growth patterns of Scots pine forests across the Iberian Peninsula. We used data from 2392 plots dominated by Scots pine, sampled for the National Forest Inventory of Spain. Plots were sampled from 1986 to 1996 (IFN2) and were resampled from 1997 to 2007 (IFN3), allowing for the calculation of growth and mortality rates. We fitted linear models to assess the response of growth and mortality rates to the spatial variability of climate, climatic anomalies, and forest structure. Over the period of approximately 10 years between the IFN2 and IFN3, the amount of standing dead trees increased 11-fold. Higher mortality rates were related to dryness, and growth was reduced with increasing dryness and temperature, but results also suggested that effects of climatic stressors were not restricted to dry sites only. Forest structure was strongly related to demographic rates, suggesting that stand development and competition are the main factors associated with demography. In the case of mortality, forest structure interacted with climate, suggesting that competition for water resources induces tree mortality in dry sites. A slight negative relationship was found between mortality and growth, indicating that both rates are likely to be affected by the same stress factors. Additionally, regeneration tended to be lower in plots with higher mortality. Taken together, our results suggest a large-scale self-thinning related to the recent densification of Scots pine forests. This process appears to be enhanced by dry conditions and may lead to a mismatch in forest turnover. Forest management may be an essential adaptive tool under the drier conditions predicted by most climate models.

show abstract

“…Scots pine growth was enhanced by past harvesting, particularly under cooler conditions, suggesting these trees were responding primarily to release from competition, as long as sufficient moisture was available. Scots pine growth is usually reduced in denser stands, where competitive effects are expected to be stronger (García-Abril and others 2007 ; Sohn and others 2016 ; Del Río and others 2017 ). These findings agree with previous studies reporting high growth rates and greater climatic sensitivity in managed plots (Mäkinen and Isomäki 2004 ; Primicia and others 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Legacies of Climate and Management on Tree Growth

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Legacies of past climate conditions and historical management govern forest productivity and tree growth. Understanding how these processes interact and the timescales over which they influence tree growth is critical to assess forest vulnerability to climate change. Yet, few studies address this issue, likely because integrated long-term records of both growth and forest management are uncommon. We applied the stochastic antecedent modelling (SAM) framework to annual tree-ring widths from mixed forests to recover the ecological memory of tree growth. We quantified the effects of antecedent temperature and precipitation up to 4 years preceding the year of ring formation and integrated management effects with records of harvesting intensity from historical forest management archives. The SAM approach uncovered important time periods most influential to growth, typically the warmer and drier months or seasons, but variation among species and sites emerged. Silver fir responded primarily to past climate conditions (25–50 months prior to the year of ring formation), while European beech and Scots pine responded mostly to climate conditions during the year of ring formation and the previous year, although these responses varied among sites. Past management and climate interacted in such a way that harvesting promoted growth in young silver fir under wet and warm conditions and in old European beech under drier and cooler conditions. Our study shows that the ecological memory associated with climate legacies and historical forest management is species-specific and context-dependent, suggesting that both aspects are needed to properly evaluate forest functioning under climate change.

show abstract

Stand structure, competition and growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in a Mediterranean mountainous environment

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Rank reversals in tree growth along tree size, competition and climatic gradients for four forest canopy dominant species in Central Spain

Rank reversals in tree growth along tree size, competition and climatic gradients for four forest canopy dominant species in Central Spain

Structural and climatic determinants of demographic rates of Scots pine forests across the Iberian Peninsula

Disentangling the Legacies of Climate and Management on Tree Growth

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About