Assessing the limiting factors of natural regeneration in Mediterranean planted hedgerows
Identifiers
Permanent link (URI): http://hdl.handle.net/10017/59749DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1206000
ISSN: 1072-5369
Date
2023-08-28Funders
Comunidad de Madrid
Universidad de Alcalá
Bibliographic citation
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (ISSN 10725369), 2023, v. 11, n. , p. 1206000-1206000
Keywords
Germination
Herb competition
Herbivory
Resprouts
Summer drought
Description / Notes
12 p.
Project
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/CAM// REMEDINAL, refTE-CMS2018/EM-4338/ES//
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/UAH//CM/JIN/2019-023/ES//
Document type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Rights
© 2023 García de León, Rey Benayas and Villar-Salvador
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Access rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Abstract
Conservation and restoration of hedgerows promote biodiversity and multifunctionality in agricultural landscapes. However, in Mediterranean environments, natural regeneration of hedgerows is often poor, and factors hindering the establishment and growth of hedgerow woody species remain unclear. This study aimed to address this gap by (1) quantifying natural regeneration, including seedling establishment and resprouting of planted hedgerow species and the establishment of woody species coming from outside the hedgerows; and (2) experimentally assessing the impact of drought, herbivory, and herb competition on seedling establishment. We selected 12 planted, 11?13-year-old hedgerows in four sites in Central Spain to sample their natural regeneration. In addition, we transplanted 1,356 seedlings of Colutea arborescens L., Crataegus monogyna Jacq. and Rhamnus alaternus L. to two field sites under three treatments that were applied factorially for two years: irrigation to alleviate summer drought, protection against herbivory, and herb clipping to reduce competition with transplanted seedlings. We found that only 66 juveniles of woody species, including 29 of species that were not planted in the hedgerows, developed from seed germination, and 316 sprouts recruited spontaneously along 10 years (14 individuals ha?1 year?1 ). Of the transplanted seedlings, only 22% survived after two years with protection against herbivory strongly enhancing seedling survival. To a lesser extent, irrigation and herb competition affected survival through interactions with herbivory and species identity. Irrigation and protection against herbivores accelerated seedling growth. Survival and growth of C. arborescens (14%; seedling height = 12 ± 9 cm) were lower than those of C. monogyna (41%; 21 ± 11 cm) and R. alaternus (17%; 13 ± 8 cm). We conclude that natural regeneration in Mediterranean planted hedgerows is low, herbivory is the main limiting factor for seedling survival, especially for deciduous species, and summer drought and herb competition mostly limit growth. These findings have important implications for the conservation and restoration of hedgerows in Mediterranean environments.
Files in this item
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assessing_garcia_FEVO_2023.pdf | 4.207Mb |
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assessing_garcia_FEVO_2023.pdf | 4.207Mb |
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