Masting and regeneration dynamics of <i>Abies cephalonica</i>, the Greek endemic silver fir

Daskalakou, Evangelia N.; Koutsovoulou, Katerina; Ioannidis, Kostas; Koulelis, Panagiotis P.; Ganatsas, Petros; Thanos, Costas A.

doi:10.1017/s0960258519000205

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Although Koutavas [78] reports a growth acceleration of the species since the 1990s, potentially related to CO 2 fertilisation, simulations with vegetation dynamics models (that did not, however, account for CO 2 fertilisation) suggest that under drier conditions, A. cephalonica might be replaced by more drought-resistant species [12]. Other studies have shown that A. cephalonica regeneration is controlled by regional climatic conditions [79], fire [80] and the distance from unburned patches [76], suggesting that under more fire-prone conditions, the species might fail to regenerate. Overall, our findings, combined with previous work, suggest that the vulnerability of the endemic A. cephalonica to climate change could be highly regulated by local weather conditions and the interplay with fire regimes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Habitat Suitability of the Dominant Tree Species in Greece

Fyllas

Koufaki

Sazeides

et al. 2022

Plants

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Climate change is affecting species distribution and ecosystem form and function. Forests provide a range of ecosystem services, and understanding their vulnerability to climate change is important for designing effective adaptation strategies. Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) has been extensively used to derive habitat suitability maps under current conditions and project species distribution shifts under climate change. In this study, we model the current and future habitat suitability of the dominant tree species in Greece (Abies cephalonica, Abies borisii-regis, Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Pinus nigra, Quercus ilex, Quercus pubescens, Quercus frainetto and Fagus sylvatica), based on species-specific presence data from the EU-Forest database, enhanced with data from Greece that is currently under-represented in terms of tree species occurrence points. By including these additional presence data, areas with relatively drier conditions for some of the study species were included in the SDM development, yielding a potentially lower vulnerability under climate change conditions. SDMs were developed for each taxon using climate and soil data at a resolution of ~1 km2. Model performance was assessed under current conditions and was found to adequately simulate potential distributions. Subsequently, the models were used to project the potential distribution of each species under the SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios for the 2041–2070 and 2071–2100 time periods. Under climate change scenarios, a reduction in habitat-suitable areas was predicted for most study species, with higher elevation taxa experiencing more pronounced potential habitat shrinkages. An exception was the endemic A. cephalonica and its sister species A. borisii-regis, which, although currently found at mid and high elevations, seem able to maintain their potential distribution under most climate change scenarios. Our findings suggest that climate change could significantly affect the distribution and dynamics of forest ecosystems in Greece, with important ecological, economic and social implications, and thus adequate mitigation measures should be implemented.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Habitat Suitability of the Dominant Tree Species in Greece

Fyllas

Koufaki

Sazeides

et al. 2022

Plants

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“…Sites that were not fir dominated prior to fire proved unsuitable also for planting fir seedlings. A minor part of the observed variability could be associated with the initial height of seedlings, especially for seedlings showing high rates of apical growth.Land 2020, 9, 100 2 of 15 increased thereafter [6]. The species is not linked to specific soil conditions [7] and the flora of the stands is related to drought stress.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Land 2020, 9, 100 2 of 15 increased thereafter [6]. The species is not linked to specific soil conditions [7] and the flora of the stands is related to drought stress.…”

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confidence: 99%

Determination of the Environmental Factors that Affect the Growth and Survival of Greek Fir Seedlings

Detsis

Efthimiou

Theodoropoulou

et al. 2020

Land

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Forests in the montane-Mediterranean zone have only recently began to be affected by wildfires, therefore the knowledge necessary for restoration projects is missing. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of factors related to seedling attributes, weather conditions and site suitability on seedling performance. The characterisation of sites was based on bedrock and soil clay content as well as pre-fire vegetation. Apical growth and survival of seedlings was monitored for four years in Parnitha National Park. The parameters of a linear mixed model were estimated using annual apical growth of seedlings surviving in the end of the study as the dependent variable and type of site, rainfall, initial seedling height and age as explanatory ones. A quantile regression model using all the data available was estimated for each year of study, taking into account only initial height and site type as well as a logistic regression model of survival. The findings indicate that the growth of Greek fir seedlings depends on May rainfall mediated by soil clay content, which in turn depends on bedrock, which is consistent with the “inverse texture hypothesis”. Sites with low soil clay content were always more beneficial for survival, which was stronger affected by summer–autumn rainfall. In both contexts, drought stress due to soil clay content fades with increasing age. Sites that were not fir dominated prior to fire proved unsuitable also for planting fir seedlings. A minor part of the observed variability could be associated with the initial height of seedlings, especially for seedlings showing high rates of apical growth.

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“…These changes in vegetation type can be attributed either to anthropogenic factors or changes in climatic conditions and are characteristic examples of forest degradation. In the southern parts of the Greek fir's distribution, seedlings establish predominantly under the shade of adult trees [33,34]. The removal of vegetation along with grazing can negatively affect tree seedling establishment and result in an expansion of shrublands and grasslands in previously tree-dominated areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It can be assumed that black pine is currently more widespread in the Peloponnese than it was in the early 19th century. Compared to Greek fir [34], black pine regenerates more effectively after wildfires and may return to its previous cover [37]. In addition, black pine is more drought tolerant than Greek fir and could have had displaced it due to changing climatic conditions [38].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Landscape Dynamics to Assess Land Degradation Hypotheses—An Exploratory Study of Evidence from Travelers’ Narrations

et al. 2022

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The present study aims to provide a method for extending the scope of empirical landscape studies into the more distant past and to use it to contribute to the discourse on land degradation in the Mediterranean area. In many areas of the world, the lack of spatially explicit sources, such as historical land cover maps and cadasters, is an obstacle to extending the study of landscape dynamics in the past. Information mined from travelers’ texts can be used to overcome it. Landscape descriptions retrieved from W.M. Leake’s narration of his travels in Peloponnese, Greece, in 1805 and 1806, were georeferenced and used to test for the occurrence of land degradation by comparing historical to current landscapes. A widespread transition of natural vegetation to agricultural areas was found mostly in low altitudes. Limited rewilding occurred on steeper slopes. About a third of the historical Greek fir forests were degraded to open stands. A total of 40% of the locations covered by deciduous oak forests were converted to agricultural areas; most of the rest of these locations were converted to vegetation types characteristic of lower precipitation and soil fertility. Long-term dynamics can be efficiently assessed using narrations as a source of information. The comparison of early 19th century descriptions with the current condition suggests that limited land degradation did take place in the previous centuries in the study area.

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Masting and regeneration dynamics of Abies cephalonica, the Greek endemic silver fir

Cited by 7 publications

References 43 publications

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Habitat Suitability of the Dominant Tree Species in Greece

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Habitat Suitability of the Dominant Tree Species in Greece

Determination of the Environmental Factors that Affect the Growth and Survival of Greek Fir Seedlings

Long-Term Landscape Dynamics to Assess Land Degradation Hypotheses—An Exploratory Study of Evidence from Travelers’ Narrations

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