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Is nitrogen fertilization in the nursery a suitable tool for enhancing the performance of Mediterranean oak plantations?

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Abstract

Mediterranean oaks frequently have poor performance in forest restoration projects. We analyzed if nitrogen (N) fertilization during nursery cultivation enhances the outplanting performance of two ecologically distinct oaks, Quercus coccifera L. an evergreen shrub, and Quercus faginea L., a deciduous tree. Additionally, we compared the sufficiency N levels of both oaks and if root growth capacity (RGC) and photosynthesis testing at low air temperature better discriminated among fertilization treatments than testing at mild temperature. Plants were cultivated under five N fertilization rates (0, 30, 75, 150 and 200 mg N plant−1) for one growing season. At the end of the cultivation period several plant material and performance attributes were measured. RGC and photosynthesis were assessed at mild temperature and cool conditions in Q. coccifera, while in Q. faginea these attributes were only analyzed at mild temperature conditions. Q. coccifera seedlings were transplanted into four terraces that imposed increasing drought stress, while Q. faginea seedlings were transplanted into an abandoned wheat cropland. Sufficiency level was higher for the tree (150 mg N plant−1) than for the shrub (75 mg N plant−1) Nitrogen-deprived Q. coccifera plants had higher frost damage than remaining treatments, which did not differ among them. Fertilization in Q. faginea did not affect photosynthesis rate but it delayed leaf senescence and abscission. RGC increased with fertilization in both species. Testing temperature did not change the effect of fertilization on RGC in Q. coccifera. Photosynthesis in cool conditions discriminated N-deprived seedlings from the remaining treatments, but treatments did not differ in photosynthesis at mild temperature. Fertilization enhanced outplanting survival in Q. coccifera, primarily in the terraces imposing stronger drought stress, while fertilization only increased growth in the terraces imposing mild drought stress. Overall, survival and growth was positively related to seedling size at planting in both oaks. Additionally, Q. coccifera survival was also positively related to RGC in the harsh planting conditions. Field growth was positively related to RGC and plant N concentration in both oaks but the relation was weak or nonexistent under harsh conditions in Q. coccifera. We conclude that fertilization in the nursery is an important tool for improving the success of oak plantations in Mediterranean continental sites, and that large and N-rich seedling have greater field performance than small and low tissue N concentration seedlings, especially in harsh field sites.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funds of the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente and the Projects AGL2011-24296 (ECOLPIN) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the network REMEDINAL-2 (S2009/AMB/1783) of the Community of Madrid. We are grateful to Julio Sánchez Plumed and Enrique Valencia for field assistance and to the Forest Departments of the Generalitat Valenciana and Gobierno de Aragón for their support in the field plots.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Ecology and Restoration Group, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, U.D. Ecología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro Villar-Salvador

  2. Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, Centro Nacional de Recursos Genéticos Forestales “El Serranillo”, P.O. Box 2025, 19080, Guadalajara, Spain

    Pedro Villar-Salvador, Juan L. Peñuelas, Juan L. Nicolás-Peragón, Luis F. Benito & Susana Domínguez-Lerena

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  1. Pedro Villar-Salvador
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  2. Juan L. Peñuelas
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Correspondence to Pedro Villar-Salvador.

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Villar-Salvador, P., Peñuelas, J.L., Nicolás-Peragón, J.L. et al. Is nitrogen fertilization in the nursery a suitable tool for enhancing the performance of Mediterranean oak plantations?. New Forests 44, 733–751 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-013-9374-8

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