Abstract
Major demographic processes in Spartocytisus supranubius, an endemic shrub dominant in the alpine zone of Tenerife, Canary Islands, were studied by a combination of dendrochronological and demographical techniques. Dendrochronological data were used to estimate growth rates of adult shrubs, frequency of fragmentation of shrubs by clonal growth, mortality, and seedling establishment. Isozymes were used to identify the extent of clonal growth in the species. The data collected were used to construct population projection matrices and to identify the role of generative reproduction vs. clonal growth in the life cycle of the species. Both isozymes and morphological analysis showed that the shrub is capable of clonal growth, but its contribution to the variation in the growth rate is much smaller than that of generative reproduction. The current population dynamics of the shrub seem to be strongly affected by rabbit grazing of seedlings, which controls effective establishment of young shrubs. Analysis of data from enclosures shows that rabbit removal would lead to rapid population growth of the species. Transition matrices showed that Spartocytisus supranubius populations currently are likely decreasing; this contrasts with the rapid increase over the past 40 years shown by historical aerial photographs. The stage structure of the shrub is far from equilibrium, indicating that the dynamics are driven by rare establishment events; dendrochronological analysis identified a peak in regeneration around 1980; this can be attributes to a combination of cessation of management in the caldera and to a series of wet years in that period.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ablay G.J., Ernst G.G.J., Marti J., Sparks R.S.J.(1995). The similar-to-2 KA subplinian eruption of Montana-Blanca, Tenerife. Bull. Volcanol. 57: 337–355
Ancochea E., Huertas M.J., Cantagrel J.M., Coello J., Fúster J.M., Arnauld N., Ibarrola E. (1999). Evolution of the Canadas edifice and its implification for the origin of the Canadas Caldera (Tenerife, Canary Islands). J. Vulcanol. Geothermal Res. 88: 177–199
Anonymous (1984). Tenerife, Mapa Geologico. Servicio de publicaciones, Ministerio de industria y energia, Madrid
Anonymous (1999). Idrisi32, Guide to GIS and Image Processing, Volume 1, 2. Clark Labs, Clark University, Worcester
Anonymous (2001). ERDAS Field Guide 5th Edition (V8.5). ERDAS Corporation, Atlanta, GA
Caswell H. (2001). Matrix Population Models: Construction, Analysis, and Interpretation. Sinauer, NY
Cook E. and Holmes R. 1986. User Manual for Computer␣Program Arstan. Chronology series VI, University Arizona
Corradini P., Edelin C., Bruneau A., Bouchard A. (2002). Architectural and genotypic variation in the clonal shrub Taxus canadensis as determined from random amplified polymorphic DNA and amplified fragment length polymorphism. Can. J. Bot. 80: 205–219
Cuscoy L.D. 1968. Los Guanches. Vida y cultura del primitivo habitante de Tenerife. Santa Cruz
De Kroon H., Plaisier A., Van Groenendael J., Caswell H. (1986). Elasticity – the relative contribution of demographic parameters to population growth rate. Ecology 67: 1427–1431
Dickson J.H., Rodriguez J.C., Machado A. (1987). Invading plants at high altitudes on Tenerife especially in the Teide National Park. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 95: 155–179
Lovett Doust J., Lovett Doust L. (1988). Modules of production and reproduction in a dioecious shrub, Rhus typhina. Ecology 69: 741–750
Fernández Santos B., Gómez Gutierrez J.M., Moreno-Marcos G. (1999). Effects of disturbance caused by traditional Spanish rural land use on the regeneration of Cytisus multiflorus. Appl. Veg. Sci. 5: 463–472
Fernández Santos B., Gómez Gutierrez J.M. (1994). Changes in Cytisus balansae populations after fire. J. Veg. Sci. 5: 463–472
Gómez Sal A., Rey Benayas J.M., López-Pintor A., Rebollo S. (1999). Role of disturbance in maintaining a savanna-like pattern in Mediterranean Retama sphaerocarpa shrubland. J. Veg. Sci. 10: 365–370
Hoffmann W.A. (1999). Fire and population dynamics of woody plants in a neotropical savanna: Matrix model projections. Ecology 80: 1354–1369
Huenneke L.F. (1985). Spatial distribution of genetic individuals in thickets of Alnus incana ssp. rugosa, a clonal shrub. Am. J. Bot. 72: 152–158
Knibbe B. (2000). Past 32 – User Manual. Sciem, Vienna
Kreher S.A., Fore S.A., Collins B.S. (2000). Genetic variation within and among patches of the clonal species, Vaccinium stamineum L. Mol. Ecol. 9: 1247–1252
Lantz T.C., Antos J.A. (2002). Clonal expansion in the deciduous understory shrub, devil′s club (Oplopanax horridus; Araliaceae). Can. J. Bot. 80: 1052–1062
Lorenzo C.D., Prendes C., Hodgson F.M. and Cabrara R. 1991. Estudio fitopatológico de las poblaciones de Spartocytisus supranubius (Retama). Estudios de Fitopatología. Soc. Esp. Fitopatología 187–189.
Mathsoft (1999). Matlab. The Language of Technical Computing. Natick, MA
Miriti M.N., Wright S.J., Howe H.F. (2001). The effects of neighbors on the demography of a dominant desert shrub (Ambrosia dumosa). Ecol. Monogr. 71: 491–509
Norton D.A., Ogden J. (1990). Problems with the use of tree rings in the study of forest dynamics. In: Cook E.R., Kairiuktis L.A. (eds), Methods of Dendrochronology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dotrecht, pp. 284–288
Persson H.A., Gustavsson B.A. (2001). The extent of clonality and genetic diversity in lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) revealed by RAPDs and leaf-shape analysis. Mol. Ecol. 10: 1385–1397
Pyšek P. (1991). Sprout demography and intraclonal competition in Lycium barbarum, a clonal shrub, during an early phase of revegetation. Folia Geobotanica & Phytotaxonomica 26: 141–169
Schenk H.J. (1999). Clonal splitting in desert shrubs. Plant Ecol. 141: 41–52
Schönfelder P., Voggenreiter B. (1994). Zur Abgrenzung und Gliederung der Klassen Spartocytisetea supranubii cl. nov. und Cytiso-Pinetea canariensis auf Tenerife/Kanariche Inseln. Phytocoenologia 24: 461–493
Schweingruber F.H. 1996. Growth in branches. In: Tree Rings and Environment. Dendroecology. Birmensdorf, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Haupt, Berne, Stuttgart, Vienna, pp. 119–120.
Sharma I.K. (2001). Understanding clonal diversity patterns through allozyme polymorphism in an endangered and geographically restricted Australian shrub, Zieria baeuerlenii and its implications for conservation. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 29: 681–695
Silvertown J., Franco M., Pisanty I., Mendoza A. (1993). Comparative plant demography – relative importance of life-cycle components to the finite rate of increase in woody and herbaceous perennials. J. Ecol. 81: 465–476
Stokes M.A., Smiley T.L. (1968). An Introduction to Tree-Ring Dating. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Tarrega R., Calvo L., Trabaud L. (1992). Effect of high-temperatures on seed-germination of 2 woody Leguminosae. Vegetatio 102: 139–147
Vallejos C.E. (1983). Enzyme activity staining. In: Tanksley S.D., Orton T.J. (eds), Isozymes in Plant Genetics and Breeding, Part A. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 469–516
Velari T.C., Chiapella L.F. (1994). Karyological studies of Spartocytisus Webb & Berth. (Genisteae – Fabaceae). Studia Geobotanica 14: 33–39
Voggenreiter V. 1975. Vertikalverbreitung der natürlischen und introduzierten Flora in der zentralen SW-Abdachung von Tenerife. Monographiae Biologicae Canarienses 6
Watson I.W., Westoby M., Holm A.M. (1997). Continuous and episodic components of demographic change in arid zone shrubs: models of two Eremophilaspecies from western Australia compared with published data on other species. J. Ecol. 85:833–846
Wheeler C.T., Dickson J.H. (1990). Symbiotic nitrogen fixation and distribution of Spartocytisus supranubius on Las Cañadas, Tenerife. Vieraea 19: 309–314
Wiegand T, Milton S.J, Esler K.J., Midgley G.F (2000). Live fast, die young: estimating size-age relations and mortality pattern of shrubs species in the semi-arid Karoo, South Africa. Plant Ecol. 150: 115–131
Wigley T.M.L., Jones P.D., Briffa K.R. (1987). Cross-dating in dendrochronology. J. Archeol. Sci. 14: 51–64
Acknowledgements
We thank José María Fernandez-Palacios for extensive help in obtaining aerial photographs, and helping to find local contacts and information wherever necessary. Keith Emmerson provided us with a lot of information on biology of rabbits and shared with us his enormous understanding of the ecological processes in the caldera ecosystems. Karin Kottová, Jan Štěpánek and Ivana Plačková helped us with the isozyme analysis. Zuzana Münzbergová and Jonathan Rosenthal read and criticized the first draft of this paper. Jonathan Rosenthal also helped us with the English. We thank the Administration of the National Park Las Cañadas del Teide for the permits, and for copies of inaccessible literature. The research was funded by the GAČR project no. 206/00/1445.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kyncl, T., Suda, J., Wild, J. et al. Population dynamics and clonal growth of Spartocytisus supranubius (Fabaceae), a dominant shrub in the alpine zone of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Plant Ecol 186, 97–108 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9115-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9115-6