RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Regeneration niche of the Canarian juniper: the role of adults, shrubs and environmental conditions
A1 Otto, Rüdiger
A1 Krüsi, Bertil O.
A1 Delgado, Juan Domingo
A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María
A1 García del Rey, Eduardo
A1 Arévalo, José Ramón
K1 Juniperus turbinata ssp. canariensis
K1 regeneration
K1 microhabitat
K1 GLM
K1 Canary Islands
K1 regeneración
K1 Islas Canarias
AB Canarian Juniper woodlands, now very scarce, are rich in endemic and endangered plants. However,many aspects of juniper regeneration are almost unknown.This paper relates occurrence and abundance of recruits of Juniperus turbinata ssp. canariensis to(1) small-scale soil characteristics; (2) vegetation cover; and (3) distance to conspecific adults in twocontrasting juniper stands in the eastern mountains of Tenerife.We used non-parametric classificationtrees and generalised linear models (GLM) to evaluate the effect and importance of each explanatoryvariable on the occurrence of juniper saplings.Sapling density, vitality and growth rate, as well as fruit production by adult trees, but neither conedensity on the ground nor sapling size, varied significantly with respect to slope orientation, representingenvironmental stress. Within each stand, distance to nearest adult tree was the most importantvariable explaining the spatial distribution of juniper saplings and availability of seeds in cones. Additionally,saplings were positively associated with shrub cover at the microsite-level, but not withspiny shrub cover. Soil depth and rock cover had a weak negative effect on sapling establishment, butonly at the south-facing site and in the open space microhabitat.Results suggest that recruitment of Canarian juniper is facilitated by microhabitats offered byadults and shrubs. The key factors affecting recruitment are thought to be (1) favourable microenvironmentalconditions and (2) high ambient seed availability. Browsing intensity in recent decadeswas very low. The presence of spiny shrubs did not favour juniper establishment. Facilitation thereforeappears to result from amelioration of abiotic conditions rather than from protection againstherbivory.
PB Springer Verlag
YR 2010
FD 2010
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18187
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18187
LA en
NO Comunidad Europea
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 26-dic-2024