Tree vigour influences secondary growth but not responsiveness to climatic variability in Holm oak |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN, CSIC), Serrano 115 dpdo, E-28006 Madrid, Spain;2. Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Pennsylvania State University, 303 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA;3. Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA;4. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologia (IPE, CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, E-50059 Zaragoza, Spain;5. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla, Ap. 1095, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain;6. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Tulipán s/n, E-28933 Móstoles, Spain;7. BC3—Basque Centre for Climate Change, Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, 48940 Leioa, Spain;8. IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, María Díaz de Haro 3, solairua, 48013 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain;1. Laboratoire de Biologie des Ligneux et des Grandes Cultures, INRA, Université d''Orléans, 45067 Orléans, France;2. Ministère de l''Agriculture, de l''Alimentation et de la Forêt, Département Santé des Forêts, 16B rue Aimé Rudel, BP45, 63370 Lempdes, France;1. Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain;2. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50080, Zaragoza, Spain;3. INIA, Forest Research Centre, Department of Silviculture and Forest Management, Crta. La Coruña km 7.5, 28040, Madrid, Spain;4. iuFOR, Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute University of Valladolid & INIA, Spain;5. Department of Biogeography and Global Change, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (MNCN,CSIC), Spain;1. Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Iran;2. Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Iran;3. Institute of Geography, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Many tree species from Mediterranean regions have started to show increased rates of crown defoliation, reduced growth, and dieback associated with the increase in temperatures and changes in the frequency and intensity of drought events experienced during the last decades. In this regard, Quercus ilex L. subsp. ballota [Desf.] (Holm oak), despite being a drought-tolerant species widely distributed in the Mediterranean basin, it has recently started to show acute signs of decline, extended areas from Spain being affected. However, few studies have assessed the role of climatic variability (i.e., temperature, precipitation, and drought) on the decline and resilience of Holm oak. Here, we measured secondary growth of seventy Holm oaks from a coppice stand located in central Spain. Sampled trees had different stages of decline, so they were classified into four vigour groups considering their crown foliar lost: healthy (0%), low defoliated (<25%), highly defoliated (25–70%), and dying (70–100%). Our results showed that during the study period (1980–2009) the highly defoliated and dying Holm oaks grew significantly less than their healthy and low defoliated neighbours, suggesting permanent growth reduction in the less vigorous individuals. Despite these differences, all four vigour groups showed similar responses to climatic variations, especially during winter and late spring – early summer seasons, and similar resilience after severe drought events, managing to significantly recover to pre-drought growth rates after only two years. Our findings, hence, illustrate that tree vigour influences secondary growth but not responsiveness to climatic variability in Holm oak. Still, as reduced growth rates are frequently associated with the process of tree mortality, we conclude that the less vigorous Holm oaks might not be able to cope with future water stress conditions, leading to increased mortality rates among this emblematic Mediterranean species. |
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| Keywords: | Holm oak Drought Tree-rings Coppice Defoliation |
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