Structure and spatio-temporal dynamics of cedar forests along a management gradient in the Middle Atlas, Morocco

Navarro-Cerrillo, Rafael M.; Manzanedo, Rubén D.; Bohorque, Julia; Sanchez, R Mario; Sánchez, J.; de-Miguel, Sergio; Solano, David; Qarro, Mohamed; Griffith, Daniel M.; Palacios, Guillermo

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.10.011

Cited by 34 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the Middle Atlas, the combined human and climatic impacts have altered both the structure and dynamics of the species (Navarro-Cerrillo et al, 2013). The model simulation overpredicts probable range in the east, but it is clear that the disproportionately high loss of the eastern population tracks a drying climate (Figure 6).…”

Section: Simulated Range Changes Over the Past Decadesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microrefugia, Climate Change, and Conservation of Cedrus atlantica in the Rif Mountains, Morocco

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study reconstructs and interprets the changing range of Atlas cedar in northern Morocco over the last 9,000 years. A synthesis of fossil pollen records indicated that Atlas cedars occupied a wider range at lower elevations during the mid-Holocene than today. The mid-Holocene geographical expansion reflected low winter temperatures and higher water availability over the whole range of the Rif Mountains relative to modern conditions. A trend of increasing aridity observed after 6,000 years BP progressively reduced the range of Atlas cedar and prompted its migration toward elevations above 1,400 masl. To assess the impact of climate change on cedar populations over the last decades, we performed a transient model simulation for the period between 1960 and 2010. Our simulation showed that the range of Atlas cedar decreased by about 75% over the last 50 years and that the eastern populations of the range in the Rif Mountains were even more threatened by the overall lack of water availability than the western ones. Today, Atlas cedar populations in the Rif Mountains are persisting in restricted and isolated areas (Jbel Kelti, Talassemtane, Jbel Tiziren, Oursane, Tidighine) that we consider to be modern microrefugia. Conservation of these isolated populations is essential for the future survival of the species, preserving polymorphisms and the potential for population recovery under different climatic conditions.

show abstract

Section: Simulated Range Changes Over the Past Decadesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microrefugia, Climate Change, and Conservation of Cedrus atlantica in the Rif Mountains, Morocco

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The O-ring statistic showed the significant aggregation of eshnan shrubs up to scales of 3 m. In spite of gfunction, the O-ring statistic also showed the aggregation of eshnan shrubs at all scales ( Figure 6). Compared to Ripley's Kand L-functions, the g-function and the O-ring statistic have noncumulative properties thus provide a better assessment of point patterns across specific spatial scales and have been approved in the literature (Sher et al, 2010;Lopez et al, 2010;Churchill et al, 2013;Navarro-Cerrillo et al, 2013;Wiegand and Moloney, 2014). Although g(r) and O(r) showed the positive intraspecific interactions of eshnan shrubs, the distribution of distance to nearest neighbour of them was also investigated by the nearest neighbour functions (i.e., D(r) and Hs(r)).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Investigation of these complicated ecological interactions that can be performed by spatial pattern analysis of plants has an important role in understanding the structure of these ecosystems (Lopez et al, 2010;Navarro-Cerrillo et al, 2013). Spatial pattern of plants in an ecosystem may be influenced by facilitation, seed dispersal, competition or environmental heterogeneity (Wiegand and Moloney, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MODELING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF ESHNAN (SEIDLITZIA ROSMARINUS) SHRUBS TO EXPLORING THEIR ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS IN DRYLANDS OF CENTRAL IRAN

Erfanifard

Khosravi

2015

Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT:Evaluating the interactions of woody plants has been a major research topic of ecological investigations in arid ecosystems. Plant-plant interactions can shift from positive (facilitation) to negative (competition) depending on levels of environmental stress and determine the spatial pattern of plants. The spatial distribution analysis of plants via different summary statistics can reveal the interactions of plants and how they influence one another. An aggregated distribution indicates facilitative interactions among plants, while dispersion of species reflects their competition for scarce resources. This study was aimed to explore the intraspecific interactions of eshnan (Seidlitzia rosmarinus) shrubs in arid lands, central Iran, using different summary statistics (i.e., pair correlation function g(r), O-ring function O(r), nearest neighbour distribution function D(r), spherical contact distribution function Hs(r)).The observed pattern of shrubs showed significant spatial heterogeneity as compared to inhomogeneous Poisson process (α=0.05). The results of g(r) and O(r) revealed the significant aggregation of eshnan shrubs up to scale of 3 m (α=0.05). The results of D(r) and Hs(r) also showed that maximum distance to nearest shrub was 6 m and the distribution of the sizes of gaps was significantly different from random distribution up to this spatial scale. In general, it was concluded that there were positive interactions between eshnan shrubs at small scales and they were aggregated due to their intraspecific facilitation effects in the study area.

show abstract

“…Grazing pressure is high [15]. Cedar occurs mixed with Q. ilex, which was abundant in the sampled sites [16].…”

Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Baseline Mortality Analysis Reveals Legacy of Contrasting Land Use Practices on the Structural Sustainability of Endangered Moroccan and Spanish Mountain Forests

Castello

Cale

D’Angelo

et al. 2016

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disturbances can affect forest health and are important modulating factors of tree responses to environmental changes. However, standard methods are needed to assess and elucidate the relative effects of disturbance legacies on forest health among species. Here, structural sustainability was used to evaluate and to compare the impacts of contrasting disturbances on the health of Quercus ilex, Cedrus atlantica, and Abies pinsapo forest stands in Morocco and Spain. Disturbance effects on structural sustainability were related to type, severity, and land-use history, and showed inter-regional variability. Cedrus atlantica was structurally sustainable in its core distribution in Morocco, but not at its southern and northernmost geographical range limits. Quercus ilex was structurally sustainable in Morocco. Abies pinsapo was structurally sustainable at optimal elevation sites in Morocco (Rif Mts.), but considering the whole A. pinsapo dataset including Morocco and Spain, the species is structurally unsustainable due to excessive mortality. However, at the lower elevation plots in Spain, unsustainability was due to insufficient mortality. Although some forests were structurally sustainable, none of them were deemed healthy because none met their management objectives. Results also support the key role of disturbance regimes as drivers of forest structural sustainability and adaptive capacity.

show abstract

Structure and spatio-temporal dynamics of cedar forests along a management gradient in the Middle Atlas, Morocco

Cited by 34 publications

References 35 publications

Microrefugia, Climate Change, and Conservation of Cedrus atlantica in the Rif Mountains, Morocco

Microrefugia, Climate Change, and Conservation of Cedrus atlantica in the Rif Mountains, Morocco

MODELING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF ESHNAN (SEIDLITZIA ROSMARINUS) SHRUBS TO EXPLORING THEIR ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS IN DRYLANDS OF CENTRAL IRAN

Baseline Mortality Analysis Reveals Legacy of Contrasting Land Use Practices on the Structural Sustainability of Endangered Moroccan and Spanish Mountain Forests

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About