Group selection cutting for regenerating Mediterranean Pinus pinaster plantations: Gap effects on seedling survival

Abstract

Diversification of forests, both in terms of structure and species, has been identified as one of the main strategies for adapting forests to climate change. Among the different options available for managers to promote diversification, regeneration cuttings are a suitable option to meet these objectives in adult stands close to rotation ages. The regeneration of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) stands is a major issue throughout its distribution area, with summer survival being the main bottleneck for seedling establishment and development. Group selection cutting system may be the best option to promote uneven-aged and mixed structures in shade intolerant species, such as maritime pine. Gaps generate different regeneration niches for species of contrasting shade tolerance while creating uneven-aged stands, which are potentially more resilient to the impacts of climate change.In our experiment, gaps of two different sizes (1.5 and 2.5 times the dominant height of the stand, both sizes being smaller than those proposed in literature) were opened up to test the effects on natural regeneration success in a planted 53-year-old maritime pine stand in Central Spain. There were nine gaps of each size, along with nine control plots, containing 1-m radius subplots distributed within them to record natural regeneration of maritime pine and other species, in addition to several ecological factors and seedling characteristics. A survival model was fitted to highlight the main factors driving seedling survival. Gaps were found to have a significant positive effect on seedling survival, as well as mid-shade positions within the gaps and the age of the seedlings. Summer was found to have a negative effect on seedling survival. No effect of inter-species competition (scrub or herbs), litter coverage or geomorphological characteristics (slope, aspect or altitude) was found. Our results indicate, therefore, that group selection system cuttings, even with small gap sizes (1.5 and 2.5 times the dominant height), would provide a suitable method for the regeneration of Mediterranean maritime pine plantations.