Dasometric characterisation and vascular plant diversity in wild olive forests on the island of Menorca along a maturity gradient

Abstract

The wild olive forests are arborescent communities dominated by Olea europaea L. that constitute the most abundant forests on the island of Menorca, located in the centre of the Western Mediterranean Basin. In this study, a dasometric characterisation and a study of the diversity of vascular plants in wild olive forests according to their degree of maturity was carried out. Three forests with different degrees of maturity were studied, from which plots were randomly selected and a series of dasometric and species diversity parameters were measured. The results indicated that density is a key parameter in the forest maturity gradient. Tree density decreases with maturity, while the tree community becomes more heterogeneous. The great capacity of O. europaea as a pioneer in the formation of primary forests provides the necessary ecological opportunity for other species to develop. The results obtained show that the maturation processes in wild olive forests are related to a decrease in density, an increase in evenness in the tree community, and an increase in the number of phanerophytes in the vascular plant community. These results provide structural and functional indicators to assess the maturity state of wild olive forests in Mediterranean landscapes.