Soil development mediated by traditional practices shape the stand structure of Spanish juniper woodland

Abstract

Aim of study: Assessing the effect of soil development on the stand structure of a Spanish juniper forest traditionally shaped by livestock browsing and wood extraction.Area of study: Berlanga de Duero (Soria, Castilla y León), Spain. Material and methods:A stand inventory served to record stand structure. Tree age, height, DBH, basal area, and overbark volume were determined in each plot. Results were pooled considering two well-differentiated degrees of soil evolution. One-way ANOVAs (and Tukey's test) and regressions between growth parameters were performed to assess significant differences between growth performances on both types of soils.Research highlights: Deeper soils yielded significant higher plant density and stand stock figures than stony shallower profiles despite the intense past livestock activity in the area; and single tree-size was also significantly greater. Nonsignificant differences were found for merchantable junipers age (≈120-160 years). Wood extraction and livestock browsing should be limited on shallower soils to allow soil and forest evolution; as well as to preserve the genetic pool better adapted to hardest growing conditions.