Distribution patterns of oaks in a pinewood from Sierra de Cazorla (SE Spain) after 90 years of forest management

Abstract

Tíscar, P.A.  2014. Distribution patterns of oaks in a pinewood from Sierra de Cazorla (SE Spain) after 90 years of forest management. Ecosistemas 23(2): 116-123. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.2014.23-2.15

Data from the successive forest inventories carried out in forests with management plans are valuable to study changes in vegetation and species interactions over the long term. Inventory data from a forest located in southern Spain were used to determine how the history of management and the abiotic environment have contributed to the current distribution of Quercus ilex and Quercus faginea in an area currently dominated by Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii. Descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA were used to follow the evolution of Quercus stands from 1920 to 2010. The effects of nine abiotic factors on the presence/absence of Quercus ilex and Quercus faginea were analysed by Generalized Linear Models. Best-models showed that both species Quercus ilex and Quercus faginea become less frequent as altitude increases, and that Quercus ilex is more frequent than expected in south-facing slopes. Over 90 years of forest management, pine stocking has increased proportionally more than Quercus stocking, probably, because pine seeds are better to colonize open spaces than acorns, and because pinewoods have been favored through silvicultural operations. If the aim of management was to increase Quercus populations, a silviculture suitable for that target should be applied.