Pinus pinaster stands in the center of the Iberian Peninsula frequently grow in a unique hydrological system characterized by a variable groundwater table near the soil surface and highly permeable soils (arenosols). Over the last few decades, this superficial aquifer has been overused as a water resource, especially for irrigated crops. Overuse has reached a critical level and has caused various environmental impacts and a water sustainability crisis wherein rainfall variability does not allow for a sufficient level of aquifer recharge by natural means. Within this changing scenario, soil water significantly affects the spatio-temporal ecological response, necessitating more extensive characterization of the complex soil-tree water relationship. The primary goal of the present work was to evaluate the influence of root zone soil moisture on the observed spatial response of Pinus pinaster stands. Volumetric soil moisture content was measured at eleven forest sites, using time-domain reflectometry (TDR), over a two-year observation period. The results demonstrate that the combined effect of groundwater table proximity and dune morphology associated with this area are the main factors driving very different water availability conditions among the monitored hydrological response units, which modulate maritime pine installation and development. Topographically lower areas are more heterogeneous in terms of soil moisture behavior. In these areas, the conifer forests that are connected to the water table may be the most sensitive to land use changes within current environmental change scenarios. Consequently, in these pine ecosystems, the combined influences of geomorphology and water table proximity on variations in root zone soil moisture are essential and must be considered to develop adequate adaptive management models.Key words: water availability; hydrological response unit; hydrological landscape; Mediterranean maritime pine. Resumen Comportamiento espacio-temporal de la humedad edáfica en masas de Pinus pinaster de las llanuras arenosas del centro de EspañaLas masas de Pinus pinaster del centro de la Península Ibérica se desarrollan con frecuencia sobre un sistema hidrológico singular, caracterizado por la presencia de una capa freática próxima a la superficie y de suelos altamente permeables (arenosoles). A lo largo de las últimas décadas, este especial acuífero superficial ha sido sobreexplotado como recurso hídrico, sobre todo para satisfacer las demandas de la agricultura intensiva. Este proceso ha alcanzado niveles críticos y ha provocado diferentes impactos ambientales y problemas de disponibilidad hídrica en aquellas zonas donde la entrada de agua por precipitación no permite la recarga natural de los niveles freáticos. En este escenario de cambio, el agua del suelo determina significativamente la respuesta ecológica a distintas escalas espacio-temporales, lo que hace necesaria una caracterización más precisa de las complejas relaciones hídricas que se establecen entre los árboles y el suelo. El...
Optimum and marginal parameter ranges have been established for defining landform, climatic and soil habitat diagrams of chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) woodstands in Catalonia. Such diagrams show that most of the Catalonian chestnut stands are located on soils developed from igneous rocks, with predominant sandyloamy textures. According to FAO criteria, soils are classified as Cambisols. Although soil water holding capacities are considerably low, it does not occur significant drought stress. Despite their relatively high acidity, soil humus form are forest mull. Moreover, several silvicultural parameters have been calculated. After their correlation with the ecological ones, it is concluded that the best chestnut forest sites are located around 750 m elevation, with 240 mm spring rainfall, 11.5 ºC mean annual temperature, and 20 ºC mean temperature at the hottest month.
Microclimate generated under forest covers plays an especially significant role in their development and regeneration, a result of the complex network of relationships that it establishes between both elements. In the specific case of forest covers, forestry modifies previous microclimate-canopy balance, so that knowledge on the induced microclimate response is of great interest to avoid apparition of undersirable risks that disturb the threated stand or compromise the searched aims. This work gathers a checking and joint presentation of the most important aspects related to microclimate, stemed from the forest covers presence, emphasizing the materials and methods used for their evaluation and studio. This present state about knowledge related to this subject can make possible the definition of new lines of research, aimed at the role of microclimate response evaluation in the ecological behaviour over different types of forest sites.
ResumenEn este trabajo se aborda una serie de aspectos conceptuales relacionados con la Ecofisiología y la Ecología del Paisaje, ciencias orientadas hacia unos objetos de estudio que constituyen alejados niveles de organización biológica. Tras abordar el problema del cambio de escala, se observan las conexiones posibles, y se hace un análisis de la influencia de la actividad funcional de los vegetales sobre sus formas de vida y su trascendencia espacial y geográfica. Todo ello permite establecer una lista de parámetros ecofisiológicos a distintas escalas susceptibles de conexión con medidas remotas de la vegetación. Por último, se propone una nueva visión ecofisiológica del paisaje, como marco conceptual para el estudio de su funcionamiento.Palabras clave: Niveles de Organización Biológica, Estructura de los paisajes. Abstract The Biogeoclimatic Environment: From Ecophysiology To Functional Relations At Landscape LevelThis paper deals with a series of conceptual topics related to Ecophysiology and Landscape Ecology, two ecological sciences devoted to rather distant biological organization levels. After analysing the scale change problem, possible links are observed, following an study of the plant functional activity influence on life forms and their spatial and geographical distribution. A list of plant ecophysiological parameters at different scales susceptible of remote sensed assessment is proposed. Finally, a new ecophysiological approach is depicted, providing a potential conceptual framework for future landscape functional studies.Key words: Biological Organization Levels; Landscape structure. IntroducciónLa Ecofisiología Vegetal, en la que se enmarca la forestal, es una ciencia que nace hace más de cien años en el seno de la geografía vegetal descriptiva, y que en la actualidad constituye una disciplina experimental independiente de carácter funcional ecológico (Lange et al., 1981, citado en Buchmann, 2002. Se trata de la ciencia que aborda el conocimiento de los procesos fisiológi-cos de las plantas que están influidos por los cambios ambientales (Lambers et al., 1998).Las plantas, consideradas de manera individual, son por tanto los objetos de su estudio. Esto hace que la ecofisiologia engarce temáticamente con lo que en la Ecología se entiende como análisis autoecológico (Kimmins, 1997). Como consecuencia de los estudios experimentales de la Ecofisiología, se han tenido más conocimientos sobre importantes relaciones funcionales, tales como la respuesta ante la luz, las limitaciones estomáticas al intercambio gaseoso foliar, la dependencia térmica de la respiración, etc... Todos estos procesos funcionales se ven enmarcados en un ser vivo y es a ese
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