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Safe sites for tree regeneration in wooded pastures: A case of associational resistance ?

  • Smit, Christian Department of Biology, Unit of Ecology & Evolution, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Béguin, Daniel Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL-Antenne romande, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Buttler, Alexandre Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL-Antenne romande, Lausanne, Switzerland- Laboratory of Ecological Systems - ECOS, EPFL, Lausanne,Switzerland - Laboratoire de Chrono-écologie, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
  • Müller-Schärer, Heinz Department of Biology, Unit of Ecology & Evolution, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
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    2005
Published in:
  • Journal of Vegetation Science. - 2005, vol. 16, no. 2, p. 209-214
facilitation
grazing
nurse plant
Picea abies
tree establishment
tree sapling.
English Question: Are tree saplings in wooded pastures spatially associated with specific nurse structures or plants that facili-tate tree sapling survival? Location: Wooded pastures in the Jura Mountains, Switzer-land. Methods: In two sites, 73 km apart, we sampled 294 plots of4 m², systematically distributed on 1 ha. We recorded number and height of all established Picea abies saplings (> 1 a of ageand up to 40 cm in height), and visually estimated cover of rocks, shrubs, tree stumps, overhanging tree branches and unpalatable plant species. Results: Despite differences in site characteristics, we found overall positive effects of cover of unpalatable plants, rocky outcrops and tree stumps on the density of Picea saplings. Plots with tree stumps and higher cover of rocky outcrops and unpalatable plants were more likely to contain Picea saplings. Conclusions: Unpalatable plants, rocky outcrops and treestumps seem to form safe sites for Picea saplings in this grazed system, improving their establishment and survival. Our find-ings support the idea that associational resistance drives thedynamics of wooded pastures, but experimental evidence forthis hypothesis is still required.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Biologie
Language
  • English
Classification
Biological sciences
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/300088
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