The role of soil-borne pathogens on seedling emergence and survival of Quercus suber and coexisting woody species
| Autor: | Gómez Aparicio, Lorena, Sánchez Hernández, Mª Esperanza, García, Luis V., Domínguez Begines, J. |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Zdroj: | Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC instname |
| Popis: | Exotic pathogens are an important cause of tree decline and mortality in forests worldwide. In the Iberian Peninsula in particular, the exotic oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi is considered the main biotic driver of the mortality of evergreen oaks (Quercus suber and Quercus ilex). However, its role as a limiting factor of oak regeneration has been poorly assessed under natural conditions. Here we aim to analyze the effect of soil-borne pathogens and their interaction with abiotic conditions (light availability, soil moisture) on woody species recruitment in declining Q. suber forests of Los Alcornocales Natural Park (southwestern Spain). For this, we sowed seeds of Q. suber and 7 coexisting tree and shrub species along abiotic gradients of light and moisture with and without an oomycete-specific fungicide (Armetil 5G). Seedling emergence, survival and growth were monitored during 18 months. We found that the application of fungicide increased Q. suber emergence and survival as much as 30% and 50%, respectively. The positive effects of fungicide were particularly large in microsites characterized by high water and light availability, conditions known to favor pathogen abundance and cause hydric stress in Q. suber seedlings. The fungicide application had null or very small effects on the emergence and survival of the remaining woody species. Our results experimentally indicate that soil-borne pathogens (particularly P. cinnamomi) act as a limiting factor of Q. suber regeneration in declining forests, making difficult to compensate for adult mortality and threatening the dominance of the species in the long term. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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