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Scale-specific determinants of a mixed beech and oak seedling–sapling bank under different environmental and biotic conditions

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Abstract

The persistence of seedlings in the forest understorey is of major importance for the maintenance and regeneration of canopy trees in several forested ecosystems. In the present study, we examine the small-scale spatial pattern of a mixed beech and oak seedling–sapling bank in two areas of an unmanaged temperate deciduous forest with different environmental conditions. We used environmental, biotic and spatial variables to establish the main factors that explain the spatial pattern of these seedling–sapling banks at different scales. The stand structure in both areas was similar, but while in plot A beech dominated the canopy, plot B was dominated by oaks. In both areas, established beech individuals showed a clear reverse J-shaped distribution, whereas established oaks showed a unimodal distribution with only a few young individuals. Seedlings of beech and oak were distributed in aggregates, whereas beech saplings had a random distribution. At broader scales, the abundance of seedlings and saplings is affected by the environment as well as by inter-species competition, while at finer scales the spatial pattern is mainly influenced by stochastic processes, probably related to seed predation and establishment. The structure of the seedling–sapling bank indicates an advantage of beech over oak as far as regeneration is concerned. Beech seedlings and saplings tolerate the stress induced by the canopy and the understorey and persist for many years, while oak seedlings decline in a few years. Therefore, if current conditions persist, after canopy opening beech seedlings and saplings can grow rapidly into the canopy and the stands will move towards beech dominance.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Etienne Laliberté and Daniel Borcard for technical advice in the variation partitioning analysis performed. Helpful suggestions from two anonymous reviewers further improved the manuscript. We are also grateful to the Parque Natural “Señorío de Bértiz” for giving permission to conduct this research within the protected area. The research was partially supported by Fundación Caja Navarra (programa “Tú eliges, Tú decides”) as well as by Fundación Universitaria de Navarra and by a predoctoral grant from the Asociación de Amigos de la Universidad de Navarra to Antonio Gazol. We also thank Jaime Uría for his help in the field work.

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  1. Department of Plant Biology, University of Navarra, Irunlarrea s/n, 31008, Pamplona, Spain

    Antonio Gazol & Ricardo Ibáñez

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  1. Antonio Gazol
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  2. Ricardo Ibáñez
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Correspondence to Antonio Gazol.

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Gazol, A., Ibáñez, R. Scale-specific determinants of a mixed beech and oak seedling–sapling bank under different environmental and biotic conditions. Plant Ecol 211, 37–48 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-010-9770-5

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