Spatial Structure and Associations in a Pinus canariensis Population at the Treeline, Pico del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands

Šrůtek, Miroslav; Doležal, Jiří; Hara, Takanobu

doi:10.2307/1552472

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Contrary to the strong relationship between altitude and spruce height, maximum spruce diameter was not related to this factor. This confirms the results of other studies in which diameter is not very sensitive to changes in elevation (Lieberman et al 1996;Barrera et al 2000;Paulsen et al 2000;Srutek et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…We hypothesized that (1) stand structure and tree morphology change with altitude due to pronounced climate variation, (2) the amount of deadwood (a) increases with altitude as the rate of decomposition decreases with climate cooling (Kueppers et al 2004) or (b) decreases in altitude as it is directly related to the site productivity and stand biomass (Siitonen 2001;Nilsson et al 2002) that decreases with elevation, (3) Picea abies regeneration decreases with altitude as demands of young spruces for light increases in the altitudinal gradient (Pisek and Winkler 1959). Some of the above relationships have already been examined (Myczkowski 1964;Vacek 1982;Wojterski et al 1982;Vacek and Podra´zsky´1998;Srutek et al 2002). The small numbers of measured stands was an important deficiency of these studies and this could bias the spatial patterns revealed in the studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Altitudinal variability of stand structure and regeneration in the subalpine spruce forests of the Pol’ana biosphere reserve, Central Slovakia

et al. 2007

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The structure of natural subalpine spruce forest in the Zadna´Pol'ana massif of the Western Carpathians was analysed. We focused on the variability of different aspects of stand structure, tree decay and regeneration processes in altitudinal gradient. We used systematic sampling, covering an area of 2 km 2 , to detect even subtle changes in stand structure within one forest type over a range of less than 200 m in elevation. Mean stand density was 290 trees (>7 cm DBH) per hectare, average basal area was 41 m 2 ha À1 , and the volume accumulation in living trees amounted to 500 m 3 /ha À1 . Stand volume decreased by more than 50% between 1,260 and 1,434 m a.s.l. This means for an increase of altitude of 100 m that stand volume decreased by nearly 200 m 3 . Neither stand density nor basal area was related to elevation. Maximum tree height was strongly correlated to elevation, and it decreased on average by 6 m for each 100 m increment of altitude. No significant changes in the maximum spruce diameter were recorded in relation to the elevation gradient. Spatial distribution of trees was biased toward regularity at lower altitudes. Tree clustering increased with increasing altitude. The stock of coarse woody debris (CWD) decreased slightly along the altitudinal gradient, but changes were not significant. Density of spruce saplings and their number growing on CWD significantly increased across the elevation gradient. Despite the fact that the analysed forest tract was relatively large, highly variable in respect to environmental factors, and that stand volume, spatial structure, and tree height displayed strong variability along the elevation gradient, the diameter structure of stands and regeneration measures were uniform. Our results suggest that the recruitment of new trees in the Zadna´Pol'ana subalpine spruce forest is not temporally continuous even at a scale of several square kilometres.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitudinal variability of stand structure and regeneration in the subalpine spruce forests of the Pol’ana biosphere reserve, Central Slovakia

et al. 2007

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“…Since this intense fire had burned all natural pine stands in the north and north-west of Tenerife, from the lower limit at the transition zone with the laurel forest at 600 m to the upper timber line at 2,000 m, and the closest unburned stands in the north of Tenerife consisted of pine plantations, no control plots could be found for comparison. Nevertheless, Srutek et al (2002) described natural regeneration of pine stands at the tree line above 1,700 m near the study area that may be comparable to our results.…”

Section: Sampling Designsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Very low sapling densities (0.014 ind./m 2 ) in post-fire regeneration were reported for a pine plantation (Arévalo et al 2001), probably due to low seed and cone production. Seedling/sapling densities (individual height B 10 cm) in unburned natural stands at the tree line in the north-west of Tenerife were also reported to be rather low (0.34 ind./m 2 , Srutek et al 2002). With respect to Mediterranean pine forests, several studies deal with fire severity and early post-fire regeneration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The area above 1,400 m is less influenced by the cloud layer caused by the trade winds and, therefore, the climate is drier and colder and favours the formation of dry pine forests. While analysing unburned natural Canarian pine stands along an elevational gradient between 1,700 and 2,000 m in the same region at La Guancha in the northwest of Tenerife, Srutek et al (2002) observed a decrease in basal area, tree density, canopy cover and seedling/ sapling density with altitude, which was interpreted as a response to environmental stress, i.e. decreases in productivity.…”

Section: Stand Characteristics and Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 96%

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The effect of fire severity on first-year seedling establishment in a Pinus canariensis forest on Tenerife, Canary Islands

et al. 2009

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The Canarian pine (Pinus canariensis) exhibits a striking combination of high adult resistance to fire and intermediate serotiny. Hence, the study of its post-fire regeneration can support valuable new insights about functional adaptations to fire. Here, we analyse the firstyear seedling establishment after fire in a P. canariensis forest on the northern slope of Tenerife, Canary Islands. The effects of fire severity and other explanatory variables on the seedling density recorded 9 months after fire were examined. We detected a clear unimodal relationship between seedling density and fire severity, with maximum regeneration associated with intermediate fire severity and no regeneration associated with very high crown damage. The results suggested that high severity fires may have caused the partial destruction of the aerial seed bank and/or the creation of unfavourable seedbed conditions for germination and seedling emergence. The density of large pine trees, reflecting seed availability, was the second most important factor explaining the distribution of seedlings. Cover of scorched needle litter on the ground correlated strongly and positively with pine seedling density and negatively with fire severity. The complete lack of regeneration at sites most strongly affected by fire does not represent a major threat for the stand recovery of the Canarian pine, due to the very high tree resistance to fire and the tremendous capacity of the Canarian pine to resprout after fire. The observed very high seedling densities at sites with intermediate fire impacts can probably be related to both the complete liberation of the seed bank (including seeds stored in serotinous cones) and favourable micro-environmental conditions for seed germination and seedling establishment.

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Dissimilar responses of larch stands in northern Siberia to increasing temperatures—a field and simulation based study

Wieczorek

Kruse

Epp

et al. 2017

Ecology

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Arctic and alpine treelines worldwide differ in their reactions to climate change. A northward advance of or densification within the treeline ecotone will likely influence climate-vegetation feedback mechanisms. In our study, which was conducted in the Taimyr Depression in the North Siberian Lowlands, w present a combined field- and model-based approach helping us to better understand the population processes involved in the responses of the whole treeline ecotone, spanning from closed forest to single-tree tundra, to climate warming. Using information on stand structure, tree age, and seed quality and quantity from seven sites, we investigate effects of intra-specific competition and seed availability on the specific impact of recent climate warming on larch stands. Field data show that tree density is highest in the forest-tundra, and average tree size decreases from closed forest to single-tree tundra. Age-structure analyses indicate that the trees in the closed forest and forest-tundra have been present for at least ~240 yr. At all sites except the most southerly ones, past establishment is positively correlated with regional temperature increase. In the single-tree tundra, however, a change in growth form from krummholz to erect trees, beginning ~130 yr ago, rather than establishment date has been recorded. Seed mass decreases from south to north, while seed quantity increases. Simulations with LAVESI (Larix Vegetation Simulator) further suggest that relative density changes strongly in response to a warming signal in the forest-tundra while intra-specific competition limits densification in the closed forest and seed limitation hinders densification in the single-tree tundra. We find striking differences in strength and timing of responses to recent climate warming. While forest-tundra stands recently densified, recruitment is almost non-existent at the southern and northern end of the ecotone due to autecological processes. Palaeo-treelines may therefore be inappropriate to infer past temperature changes at a fine scale. Moreover, a lagged treeline response to past warming will, via feedback mechanisms, influence climate change in the future.

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Spatial Structure and Associations in a Pinus canariensis Population at the Treeline, Pico del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Altitudinal variability of stand structure and regeneration in the subalpine spruce forests of the Pol’ana biosphere reserve, Central Slovakia

Altitudinal variability of stand structure and regeneration in the subalpine spruce forests of the Pol’ana biosphere reserve, Central Slovakia

The effect of fire severity on first-year seedling establishment in a Pinus canariensis forest on Tenerife, Canary Islands

Dissimilar responses of larch stands in northern Siberia to increasing temperatures—a field and simulation based study

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