<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">We assessed the influence of some environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) on the litterfall and BAI (basal area increment), in three close forests in the Montseny massif (NE part of the Iberian peninsula, Spain). Two of them are composed of deciduous species <italic>Fagus sylvatica</italic> and <italic>Quercus petraea</italic>, and the other one is a Mediterranean evergreen species, <italic>Quercus ilex</italic>. We have collected monthly data about litterfall and radial growth since 2007. For each forest there are tree plots, with litterfall traps and band dendrometers. This data has been related with the meteorological parameters of meteorological station closed to the study area. Our results show that <italic>F. sylvatica</italic> recorded the biggest drop in annual litterfall (6 Mg·ha−1·year−1), followed by <italic>Q. ilex</italic> (4.34 Mg·ha−1·year−1) and <italic>Quercus petraea</italic> (4.4 Mg·ha−1·year−1) and that all the values were similar to those observed in other forests and mountains with the same state of maturity. Regarding the litterfall, the investigation found a decline in the leaves fall in deciduous trees in years with hot summers. In addition, these warm summers produce a decline in the <italic>F. sylvatica</italic> BAI, but not in <italic>Q. petraea</italic>. Concerning growth, we found that <italic>Q. petraea</italic> increases the BAI on the study period while <italic>F. sylvatica</italic> does not. In conclusion, we believe that in the future <italic>Q. petraea</italic> will be more tolerant to the warm conditions than <italic>F. sylvatica</italic>, making the former a possible replacement of the second species.</abstract>

We assessed the influence of some environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) on the litterfall and BAI (basal area increment), in three close forests in the Montseny massif (NE part of the Iberian peninsula, Spain). Two of them are composed of deciduous species Fagus sylvatica and Quercus petraea, and the other one is a Mediterranean evergreen species, Quercus ilex. We have collected monthly data about litterfall and radial growth since 2007. For each forest there are tree plots, with litterfall traps and band dendrometers. This data has been related with the meteorological parameters of meteorological station closed to the study area. Our results show that F. sylvatica recorded the biggest drop in annual litterfall (6 Mg·ha−1·year−1), followed by Q. ilex (4.34 Mg·ha−1·year−1) and Quercus petraea (4.4 Mg·ha−1·year−1) and that all the values were similar to those observed in other forests and mountains with the same state of maturity. Regarding the litterfall, the investigation found a decline in the leaves fall in deciduous trees in years with hot summers. In addition, these warm summers produce a decline in the F. sylvatica BAI, but not in Q. petraea. Concerning growth, we found that Q. petraea increases the BAI on the study period while F. sylvatica does not. In conclusion, we believe that in the future Q. petraea will be more tolerant to the warm conditions than F. sylvatica, making the former a possible replacement of the second species.

Litterfall and growth dynamics relationship with the meteorological variability in three forests in the Montseny natural park

University of Girona – Institute of the Environment, Laboratory of Landscape Analysis and Management, Campus Montilivi, 17071 Girona, Spain, phone: 972 41 82 79, fax: 972 41 81 50

Folia Forestalia Polonica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

We assessed the influence of some environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) on the litterfall and BAI (basal area increment), in three close forests...

Litterfall and growth dynamics relationship with the meteorological variability in three forests in the Montseny natural park

Published Online: Dec 22, 2015

Page range: 145 - 159

Received: Apr 14, 2015

Accepted: Jul 15, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ffp-2015-0015

Keywords
litterfall, BAI, forest ecology, Montseny

© 2015 Jordi Bou et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Litterfall and growth dynamics relationship with the meteorological variability in three forests in the Montseny natural park

Published Online: Dec 22, 2015

Page range: 145 - 159

Received: Apr 14, 2015

Accepted: Jul 15, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ffp-2015-0015

Keywordslitterfall, BAI, forest ecology, Montseny

© 2015 Jordi Bou et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
litterfall, BAI, forest ecology, Montseny