Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Is diameter at the base of the root collar a key characteristic of seedling sprouts in a Quercus pubescens–Quercus frainetto grazed forest in north-eastern Greece? A morphological analysis

  • Published:
New Forests Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study was conducted in a degraded lowland Quercus pubescens–Quercus frainetto forest in north-eastern Greece. The forest was divided into two site types according to the intensity of grazing (one site of intense grazing and another of lower intensity grazing). In order to analyse the regeneration of the forest, 180 seedling sprouts of both Quercus species, having a height equal to or exceeding 20 cm, were randomly selected under relatively dense groups of trees in both site types. Εach regeneration plant was cut and extracted from a depth of at least 4 cm below the root collar. Many morphological variables such as the diameter at the base of the root collar, the number of living stems, the number of dead basal sprouts, the height and the diameter of the stem base of the tallest (living) stem, and other relative variables were measured (or counted). In addition, height increments of stems in the recent growth period were recorded. Seedling sprouts were mainly multi-stemmed and both species exhibited the same ecological behaviour regarding sprouting. The different grazing intensities did not affect the sprouting ability of Q. pubescens. The results of this study support the significant relation between the root collar diameter and the growth of seedling sprouts. The diameter at the base of the root collar was found to be related to almost all (measured) morphological features of seedling sprouts. This relation was also strong for many characteristics of Q. frainetto. There were somewhat different patterns of morphological relations between the two species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander HD, Arthur MA, Loftis DL, Green SR (2008) Survival and growth of upland oak and co-occurring competitor seedlings following single and repeated prescribed fires. For Ecol Manag 256:1021–1030. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alias S, Bianchi L, Calamini G, Gregori E, Sioni S (2010) Shrub facilitation of Quercus ilex and Quercus pubescens regeneration in a wooded pasture in central Sardinia (Italy). iForest 3:16–22. doi:10.3832/ifor0517-003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arabatzis TJ (1998) Shrubs and trees in Greece, vol I. Ecological Group of Drama and Technological Educational Institute of Kavala, Drama (in Greek)

    Google Scholar 

  • Athanasiadis N (1986) Forest botany, part II. Giahoudis-Giapoulis, Thessaloniki (in Greek)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakken PN, Cook JE (1998) Regeneration potential of six habitat types common to north-central Wisconsin. North J Appl For 15(3):116–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergmeier E, Dimopoulos P (2008) Identifying plant communities of thermophilous deciduous forest in Greece: species composition, distribution, ecology and syntaxonomy. Plant Biosyst 142(2):228–254. doi:10.1080/11263500802150357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bognounou F, Tigabu M, Savadogo P, Thiombiano A, Boussim IJ, Oden PC, Guinko S (2010) Regeneration of five Combretaceae species along a latitudinal gradient in Sahelo-Sudanian zone of Burkina Faso. Ann Sci For 67:306. doi:10.1051/forest/2009119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boratynski A, Browicz K, Zielinski J (1992) Chorology of trees and shrubs in Greece. Kornik, Poznan

    Google Scholar 

  • Brose PH (2010) Long-term effects of single prescribed fires on hardwood regeneration in oak shelterwood stands. For Ecol Manag 260:1516–1524. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.07.050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brose P, Van Lear D (2004) Survival of hardwood regeneration during prescribed fires: the importance of root development and root collar location. In: Proceedings of Upland oak ecology symposium: history, current conditions, and sustainability. General Technical Report SRS–73. Asheville: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. p 311

  • Burns RM, Honkala BH (1965) Silvics of North America. Volume 2, Hardwoods, Agriculture Handbook 654. Forest Service, United States, Department of Agriculture, Washington

  • Christensen KI (1997) Fagaceae. In: Strid A, Tan K (eds) Flora Hellenica. Königstein, pp 40–50

  • Clark SL, Hallgren SW (2003) Dynamics of oak (Quercus marilandica and Q. stellata) reproduction in an old-growth cross timbers forest. Southeast Nat 2(4):559–574. doi:10.1656/1528-7092(2003)002[0559:DOOQMA]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark SL, Schlarbaum SE, Kormanik PP (2000) Visual grading and quality of 1-0 northern red oak seedlings. South J Appl For 24:93–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark SL, Schlarbaum SE, Saxton AM, Hebard FV (2012) Nursery performance of American and Chinese chestnuts and backcross generations in commercial tree nurseries. Forestry 85:589–600. doi:10.1093/forestry/cps068

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collet C, Colin F, Bernier F (1997) Height growth, shoot elongation and branch development of young Quercus petraea grown under different levels of resource availability. Ann Sci For 54:65–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dey DC, Parker WC (1997) Morphological indicators of stock quality and field performance of red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings underplanted in a central Ontario shelterwood. New For 14:145–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dey CD, Jacobs D, McNabb K, Miller G, Baldwin V, Foster G (2008) Artificial regeneration of major oak (Quercus) species in the eastern United States: a review of the literature. For Sci 54:77–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillaway DN, Stringer JW, Rieske LK (2007) Light availability influences root carbohydrates, and potentially vigor, in white oak advance regeneration. For Ecol Manag 250:227–233. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2007.05.019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutca I, Negrutiu F, Ioras F, Maher K, Blujdea VNB, Ciuvat LA (2014) The influence of age, location and soil conditions on the allometry of young norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) trees. Not Bot Horti Agrobot 42(2):579–582. doi:10.15835/nbha4229714

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eichhorn MP, Paris P, Herzog F, Incoll LD, Liagre F, Mantzanas K, Mayus M, Moreno G, Papanastasis VP, Pilbeam DJ, Pisanelli A, Dupraz C (2006) Silvoarable systems in Europe: past, present and future prospects. Agrofor Syst 67:29–50. doi:10.1007/s10457-005-1111-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan Z, Ma Z, Dey DC, Roberts SD (2012) Response of advance reproduction of oaks and associated species to repeated prescribed fires in upland oak-hickory forests, Missouri. For Ecol Manag 266:160–169. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.08.034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gazal RM, Blanche CA, Carandang WM (2004) Root growth potential and seedling morphological attributes of narra (Pterocarpusindicus Willd.) transplants. For Ecol Manag 195:259–266. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2004.03.023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hara M (1987) Analysis of seedling banks of a climax beech forest: ecological importance of seedling sprouts. Vegetatio 71:67–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho R (2006) Handbook of univariate and multivariate data analysis and interpretation with SPSS. Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson TF, Yaussy DA, Long RP, Rebbeck J, Sutherland EK (2012) Long-term (13-year) effects of repeated prescribed fires on stand structure and tree regeneration in mixed-oak forests. For Ecol Manag 286:87–100. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.08.036

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson LR, Hutchinson TF, Prasad AM, Peters MP (2008) Thinning, fire, and oak regeneration across a heterogeneous landscape in the eastern U.S.: 7-year results. For Ecol Manag 255:3035–3050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izenman A (2008) Modern multivariate statistical techniques: regression, classification, and manifold learning. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs DF, Salifu KL, Seifert JR (2005) Relative contribution of initial root and shoot morphology in predicting field performance of hardwood seedlings. New For 30:235–251. doi:10.1007/s11056-005-5419-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs DF, Goodman RC, Gardiner ES, Salifu KF, Overton RP, Hernandez G (2012) Nursery stock quality as an indicator of bottomland hardwood forest restoration success in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. Scand J For Res 27:255–269. doi:10.1080/02827581.2011.628948

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson PS, Shifley SR, Rogers R (2005) The ecology and silviculture of oaks, 2nd edn. CABI Publishing, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitikidou K, Milios E, Tsirekis E, Pipinis E, Stampoulidis A (2015) Site quality assessment of degraded Quercus frainetto stands in central Greece. iForest 8:53–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp BO, Geoff Wang G, Van Lear DH, Walker JL (2006) Predicting root biomass of burned and unburned white oak advance reproduction from diameter and height. South J Appl For 30(1):40–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Korakis G (2015) Forest botany (e-book). Association of Greek Academic Libraries, Athens (in Greek). http://hdl.handle.net/11419/742

  • Larsen DR, Johnson PS (1998) Linking the ecology of natural oak regeneration to silviculture. For Ecol Manag 106:1–7. doi:10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00233-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lempesi A, Kyriazopoulos AP, Orfanoudakis M, Korakis G (2013) Soil properties and plant community changes along a goat grazing intensity gradient in an open canopy oak forest. Not Bot Horti Agrobot 41(2):567–575

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loftis DL (1990) Predicting post-harvest performance of advance red oak reproduction in the Southern Appalachians. For Sci 36(4):908–916

    Google Scholar 

  • Loftis DL (2004) Upland Oak regeneration and management. In: Spetich MA, (ed) 2004. Upland oak ecology symposium: history, current conditions, and sustainability. General Technical Report SRS–73. Asheville: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station

  • Magalhaes TM (2015) Allometric equations for estimating belowground biomass of Androstachysjohnsonii Prain. Carbon Balance Manag 10:16. doi:10.1186/s13021-015-0027-4

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Milios E, Pipinis E, Petrou P, Akritidou S, Smiris P, Aslanidou M (2007) Structure and regeneration patterns of the Juniperus excelsa Bieb. stands in the central part of the Nestos valley in the northeast of Greece, in the context of anthropogenic disturbances and nurse plant facilitation. Ecol Res 22:713–723. doi:10.1007/s11284-006-0310-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milios E, Pipinis E, Kitikidou K, Batziou M, Chatzakis S, Akritidou S (2014) Are sprouts the dominant form of regeneration in a lowland Quercus pubescens –Quercus frainetto remnant forest in Northeastern Greece? a regeneration analysis in the context of grazing. New For 45:165–177. doi:10.1007/s11056-013-9399-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milios E, Smiris P, Pipinis E, Petrou P (2009) The growth ecology of Juniperus excelsa Bieb. trees in the central part of the Nestos valley (NE Greece) in the context of anthropogenic disturbances. J Biol Res 11:83–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Agriculture (1992) Results of the first national forest inventory: the final data process was made by Tsaprounis I., Publication of Department of forest mapping, Athens (in Greek)

  • Moreno G, Pulido FJ (2009) The functioning, management and persistence of dehesas. In: Rigueiro-Rodriguez A et al (eds) Agroforestry in Europe: current status and future prospects. Springer, Berlin, pp 127–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Papaioannou G (2008) The torrential environment of river Kosynthos. MSc. thesis, Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, p 118 (in Greek)

  • Papanastasis VP, Mantzanas K, Dini-Papanastasi O, Ispikoudis I (2009) Traditional agroforestry systems and their evolution in Greece. In: Rigueiro-Rodriguez A et al (eds) Agroforestry in Europe: current status and future prospects. Springer, Berlin, pp 89–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardini A (2009) Agroforestry systems in Italy: traditions towards modern management. In: Rigueiro-Rodriguez A et al (eds) Agroforestry in Europe: current status and future prospects. Springer, Berlin, pp 255–267

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips CJ, Marden M, Lambie SM (2015) Observations of “coarse” root development in young trees of nine exotic species from a New Zealand plot trial. N Z J For Sci 45:13. doi:10.1186/s40490-015-0043-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinchot CC, Clark SL, Schlarbaum SE, Saxton AM, Sung SS, Hebard FV (2015) Effects of temporal dynamics, nut weight and nut size on growth of American Chestnut, Chinese chestnut and backcross generations in a commercial nursery. Forests 6:1537–1556. doi:10.3390/f6051537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plieninger T (2007) Compatibility of livestock grazing with stand regeneration in Mediterranean holm oak parklands. J Nat Conserv 15:1–9. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2005.09.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plieninger T, Pulido FJ, Konold W (2003) Effects of land-use history on size structure of holm oak stands in Spanish dehesas: implications for conservation and restoration. Environ Conserv 30(1):61–70. doi:10.1017/S0376892903000055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulido FJ, Diaz M, Hidalgo de Trucios SJ (2001) Size structure and regeneration of Spanish holm oak Quercus ilex forests and dehesas: effects of agroforestry use on their long-term sustainability. For Ecol Manag 146:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers R, Johnson PS, Loftis DL (1993) An overview of oak silviculture in the United States: the past, present, and future. Ann Sci For 50:535–542. doi:10.1051/forest:19930602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose R, Atkinson M, Gleason J, Sabin T (1991) Root volume as a grading criterion to improve field performance of Douglas-fir seedlings. New Fort 5:195–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sander IL (1972) Size of oak advance reproduction: key to growth following harvest cutting. USDA Forest Service Research paper nc-79

  • Sander IL (1977) Oaks in the North Central States. General technical report NC-37

  • Sasaki T, Okayasu T, Jamsran U, Takeuchi K (2008) Threshold changes in vegetation along a grazing gradient in Mongolian rangelands. J Ecol 96:145–154. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2007.01315.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Schinas K, Ziangas E, Nakos G (1995) Soil map of Greece: land resource map, Xanthi, Avdhira. Ministry of Agriculture, Forest Service

  • Siam AMJ, Radoglou KM, Noitsakis B, Smiris P (2009) Differences in ecophysiological responses to summer drought between seedlings of three deciduous oak species. For Ecol Manag 258:35–42. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.03.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DM, Larson BC, Kelty MJ, Ashton P, Mark S (1997) The practice of silviculture: applied forest ecology. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Suh MH, Lee DK (1998) Stand structure and regeneration of Quercus mongolica forests in Korea. For Ecol Manag 106:27–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theodoropoulos KG (1996) The vegetation of a small downy oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) forest in the Thessalian plain (C. Greece). In: Proceedings of the ‘‘6th scientific conference of the hellenic botanical society and the biological society of Cyprus’’. Paralimni, 6–11 April 1996, Cyprus, pp 89–98 (in Greek)

  • Tryon EH, Powell DS (1984) Root ages of advance hardwood reproduction. For Ecol Manag 8:293–298. doi:10.1016/0378-1127(84)90061-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zywiec M, Holeksa J (2012) Sprouting extends the lifespan of tree species in a seedling bank: 12-year study. For Ecol Manag 284:205–212. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.08.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the Directorship of the Forest Service and the Forest Service of Xanthi for their cooperation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pantazidou 193, 682 00, Orestiada, Greece

    Maria Batziou, Elias Milios & Kyriaki Kitikidou

Authors
  1. Maria Batziou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elias Milios
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kyriaki Kitikidou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elias Milios.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Batziou, M., Milios, E. & Kitikidou, K. Is diameter at the base of the root collar a key characteristic of seedling sprouts in a Quercus pubescens–Quercus frainetto grazed forest in north-eastern Greece? A morphological analysis. New Forests 48, 1–16 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-016-9552-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-016-9552-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation