Changes in the Vegetation of Quercus pubescens Woodland after Cessation of Coppicing and Grazing

Debussche, Max; Debussche, Geneviève; Lepart, Jacques; Debussche, Genevieve

doi:10.2307/3236676

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…This finding is in agreement with most studies on postgrazing succession [48,52,57], which indicate that heathland species persist outside their typical habitat, even if they are sometimes sterile [16]. Heathland communities are almost completely preserved in the early stages of colonization by Pinus sylvestris owing to multiple causes.…”

Section: Changes In Vegetation Compositionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Such rapid "infilling" dynamics forming complete cover from initial foci implies synergistic effects: (i) a small area with "aggressive landscape invaders" [47] such as winddispersed species (e.g. pines); (ii) large and close seed sources resulting in a high propagule pressure; (iii) favorable mast years [20]; and (iv) a low resistance of background vegetation at the beginning of pine colonization [9,16,27,44]. Afterwards, dense and close pine woodlands were concerned by a stem exclusion process owing to interspecific competition, which explains the low density of present mature pine stands [39,42].…”

Section: Stand Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post-grazing Scots pine colonization of mid-elevation heathlands: population structure, impact on vegetation composition and diversity

Curt¹,

Prévosto²,

Klesczewski

et al. 2003

Ann. For. Sci.

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-Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) pioneer woodlands have established spontaneously on former grasslands and heathlands on MontLozère (Cévennes National Park, France) since their abandonment in the 1950's. Subsequently, late-successional beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) has progressively invaded the ageing pine stands. We studied 44 plots according to a gradient of forest colonization and maturation, from heathlands to mature beech stands. The objective was to assess the impact of forest colonization on the vegetation composition and richness of legally-protected grasslands and heathlands. Dendrometric characteristics and demography were assessed on each 20 × 20 m plot. An extensive ground vegetation analysis was carried out, focusing on plant functional traits that may be sensitive to canopy closure. Results indicated the persistence of most heathland species under pure and young Scots pine stands, but quite high species turnover. Xerothermic and strictly shadeintolerant species rapidly disappeared, whereas thermophilic forest species were apparent. In submature and mature pine stands, the establishment of a beech understorey entailed considerable species turnover, and prevent pine regeneration. In pure beech stands, ruderal and stress-tolerators were replaced by shade-tolerant and competitive species. Ellenberg's scores for light, nutrients and water confirmed the changes in vegetation composition and plant life traits, whereas the Shannon diversity index remained quite constant among pure and mixed pine stands.

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Section: Changes In Vegetation Compositionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Stand Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-grazing Scots pine colonization of mid-elevation heathlands: population structure, impact on vegetation composition and diversity

Curt¹,

Prévosto²,

Klesczewski

et al. 2003

Ann. For. Sci.

Self Cite

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“…Layer boundaries were 0.2 × Hmax, 0.5Hmax and 0.8 × Hmax, (Hmax being the maximum height on the plot). When studying successional changes in Q. pubescens coppices Debussche [7] found that the following vertical stratification was suitable for the study: ground level to 0.25 m, 0.25 to 0.5 m, 0.5 to 1 m, 1 to 2 m, 2 to 4 m, 4 to 8 m and more than 8 m. The most remarkable effect that the thinnings had on the FHD of the studied stands is the increase noticed in Q. faginea plots just after thinning (Fig. 6), due, as previously stated, to the epicornic sprouts that appear on the lower part of the tree.…”

Section: Discussion and Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of thinning on the structural diversity of coppice forests

Montes¹,

Cañellas²,

Rı́o³

et al. 2004

Ann. For. Sci.

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-Coppices are currently at a turning point: traditional uses have been abandoned and silviculture must be redefined according to new uses. Thinning to improve the development of trees is often the silvicultural treatment chosen. This paper attempts to assess the changes in forest structural diversity induced by different thinning regimes applied in coppice stands of Quercus pyrenaica and Quercus faginea. Structural diversity is analysed through spatial pattern, crown dimensions, vertical and horizontal differentiation and foliage height diversity. Moderate and heavy thinning have similar effects on stand structure, but the effects of light thinning are quite different for both species. The spatial pattern shows a greater regularity as the intensity of the thinning regime increases. The response of Q. pyrenaica to thinning is noticeable both in tree height and crown diameter, whilst in the case of Q. faginea, trees reacted to thinning by developing epicormic sprouts on the stem from the base of the crown. Vertical differentiation shows opposite trends in both species: increasing the intensity of thinning leads to an increase in vertical differentiation with Q. pyrenaica, but to a greater homogenisation shortly after thinning with Q. faginea. A neighbourhood analysis using Gadow's differentiation index is able to provide useful information on the changes in microstructure, while foliage height diversity index can be used to describe complex changes in the vertical structure of the stand. coppice / Quercus pyrenaica / Quercus faginea / structural diversity / thinning Résumé -L'effet des éclaircies sur la diversité structurale des taillis. Aujourd'hui, les taillis se trouvent à une phase de changement : on a renoncé à leur usage traditionnel, et alors la sylviculture est obligée de les redéfinir selon les nouveaux usage qu'on propose. Le recours aux éclaircies pour améliorer le croissance des arbres est le traitement de préférence. Ce travail a pour but l'identification des changements qui se sont produits dans la diversité structurale du peuplement, et qui ont été induits par l'application des divers types d'éclaircies sur les taillis de Quercus pyrenaica y Quercus faginea. La diversité structurale est étudiée avec l'analyse du modèle de répartition des tiges, de la taille des cimes, de la différenciation tant horizontale que verticale et des variations de hauteur du feuillage. Les éclaircies moyennes et fortes ont à peu près le même effet sur la structure du peuplement, mais l'effet des éclaircies plus légères est bien différent dans les deux espèces. Le modèle spatial montre une plus grande régularité au fur et à mesure que l'intensité de l'éclaircie augmente. La réponse de Quercus pyrenaica à l'éclaircie est bien évidente tant en ce qui concerne la croissance en hauteur que le diamètre de la cime. Mais pour Quercus faginea, les arbres vont réagir d'une autre façon, avec l'émission de bourgeons adventifs dès la partie inférieure de la couronne. La différenciation verticale va montrer deux tendances diffé...

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“…Moreover, Ruscus aculeatus rapidly resprouts after predation or mechanical damage, and this capability allows a very rapid recovery after grazing (Martinez-Palle and Aronne 1999). Indeed, this species was already observed to be more abundant in grazed when compared to ungrazed forests (Onaindia et al 2004) and to persist for more than 10 years after the cessation of grazing (Debussche et al 2001). Once it is established, Ruscus aculeatus forms dense long-lasting thickets that likely hamper wild boar from rooting wide patches of the forest floor (Haaverstad et al 2014).…”

Section: Long-term Biological Legacies May Explain the Observed Intermentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild boar rooting intensity determines shifts in understorey composition and functional traits

et al. 2015

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Abstract:In recent decades, the European populations of wild boar have grown substantially, as has the impact of this species, owing above all to its rooting activity. Our aim was to investigate the relationships between vascular plant understorey and wild boar rooting intensity. The questions we addressed are: does rooting intensity influence understorey species composition and diversity? Which functional traits are associated with different levels of rooting? We performed a comparative analysis of plant communities in areas with contrasting levels of rooting intensity within a Mediterranean deciduous lowland forest in central Italy. Besides comparing species composition and diversity, we tested the association between species traits and rooting levels through fourth-corner analysis. We found that contrasting levels of rooting were associated to different understorey species composition and evenness, while we observed no significant difference in species richness. In contrast with our expectations, sites with lower rooting returned i) lower evenness values and ii) a higher proportion of species characterized by traits related to resistance or response to herbivory, i.e., spinescence, clonality, endozoochory, underground storage organs, and low height values. Our findings suggest that current vegetation patterns partly depend on the legacy effect of past rooting disturbance, since the areas currently subjected to low rooting intensity were likely to be intensely rooted in the past. These areas may have developed a marked dominance of clonal thorny species that, in turn, inhibited further feeding activities by wild boar. Conti et al. (2005). Nomenclature for plants:

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Changes in the Vegetation of Quercus pubescens Woodland after Cessation of Coppicing and Grazing

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Post-grazing Scots pine colonization of mid-elevation heathlands: population structure, impact on vegetation composition and diversity

Post-grazing Scots pine colonization of mid-elevation heathlands: population structure, impact on vegetation composition and diversity

The effects of thinning on the structural diversity of coppice forests

Wild boar rooting intensity determines shifts in understorey composition and functional traits

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