El milagro de regenerar en especies de Quercus. ¿Cómo serán los bosques del futuro?

Abstract

Perez-Ramos, M.I. 2014. The miracle of regenerating in Quercus species. How will be oak forests in future?. Ecosistemas 23(2):13-17. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.2014.23-2.03 Quercus species are particularly vulnerable during their early life-history stages due to the negative effects of several factors, which could potentially put in risk the persistence of their populations and alter plant community dynamics. In this paper I have synthesized the main factors limiting the recruitment process in mediterranean Quercus species, I have discussed the role of microhabitat heterogeneity on this process, and I have reviewed the ecological effects of the expected increasing aridity on natural oak regeneration. Results from this review indicate that the main factors limiting oak recruitment are: (i) the high rates of post-dispersal seed predation; (ii) the negative effects caused by the invasion of soil-borne pathogens on adults and seedlings; and (iii) the strong dependence of plants on precipitation patterns for both the occurrence of large seed crop sizes and a successful seedling establishment. The success of oak regeneration is strongly conditioned by the microhabitat type where the seed is dispersed, with remarkable differences along plant ontogeny (for example, when seed and seedling stages are compared). In a time of climate change, it would be expected that ongoing increasing aridity exacerbates recruitment limitation in oak species, alters their relative abundances within plant communities, and intensifies the facilitative effect of nurse shrubs as key components for a successful establishment of seedlings and saplings.