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Effect of ecological factors on intra-annual stem girth increment of holm oak

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The intra-annual stem girth increment of Quercus ilex is mainly driven by water availability and secondly by temperature. Tree size and competition modulate the growth response to climate.

Abstract

Holm oak (Quercus ilex ssp. ballota [Desf.] Samp.) is the most widespread species in the Iberian peninsula, being one of the most representative trees in forests and open woodlands. The analysis of stem girth increment of holm oak may provide valuable information about how Mediterranean ecosystems will respond to the forecasted climate changes. However, due to the variability of the Mediterranean climate, the knowledge of intra-annual patterns of growth is needed for a better understanding of the influence of the climatic variables at this scale. To this end, we used band dendrometers to measure monthly stem girth increments of 96 holm oak trees from 2003 to 2010, located in open woodlands and dense Mediterranean forests in southwestern Spain. We assessed the effects of climate, competition, topography, and initial stem diameter on stem girth increment. The major stem increment periods were in spring and autumn whereas increment rates were very low or even negative in winter and summer. Spring was not every year the season with the higher stem increments, but autumn when spring was very dry. Higher precipitation, soil moisture, and relative humidity had significant positive effects on stem increment, whereas higher temperature, reference evapotranspiration, and solar radiation had significant negative effects. Initial tree diameter and competition from nearby trees partly explained significant differences in stem increment of individual trees. Therefore, the forecasted climatic changes, in which decreased rainfall in spring and increased summer drought are expected in the Mediterranean region, may be a significant threat to the Q. ilex ecosystems.

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Author contribution statement

D. Martín has written the first draft of the manuscript, done the data analysis and field data collection. J. Vázquez-Piqué has participated in the data analysis, co-written the manuscript, collaborated in data collection and in plot establishment. M. Fernández has reviewed the manuscript, collaborated in data collection and in plot establishment. R. Alejano has co-written the manuscript, participated in data collection and in plot establishment.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Department of Innovation, Science and Business of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Spain [C03-192]; and the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia – Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Spain [SUM2006-00026-00-00]. We thank Rocio Macias, Enrique Andivia and Felipe Carevic for their help with the fieldwork.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agroforestry Sciences, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, University of Huelva, Campus Universitario de La Rábida, Palos de la Frontera, 21819, Huelva, Spain

    Daniel Martín, Javier Vázquez-Piqué, Manuel Fernández & Reyes Alejano

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  1. Daniel Martín
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  2. Javier Vázquez-Piqué
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  3. Manuel Fernández
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  4. Reyes Alejano
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Correspondence to Javier Vázquez-Piqué.

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Communicated by Y. Sano.

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Martín, D., Vázquez-Piqué, J., Fernández, M. et al. Effect of ecological factors on intra-annual stem girth increment of holm oak. Trees 28, 1367–1381 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-1041-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-1041-y

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