Establecimiento de cuatro especies de Quercus en el sur de la ...

Whithin population variability influences early seedling establishment on four Mediterranean Oaks
species adaptability to the environment and their conservation (McKay and Latta,
2002). Genetic diversity among and within populations varies greatly among taxa
(Byers and Waller, 1999), so the study of these factors on species used in restoration is
necessary to adapt seeding collects on forest management actions (Vander
Mijnsbrugge et al., 2010). Many experiments in both controlled and field conditions
have evaluated multiple environmental constrains in Mediterranean oaks (Sánchez‐
Gómez et al., 2006; Gómez‐Aparicio et al., 2008, Urbieta et al., 2008a). However, it is
also necessary to consider the role of intra specific variability in an ecological context
in order to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying seedling
establishment. To our knowledge, this is the first field experiment that combines
maternal and environmental effects in seedling establishment of various species at the
same time.
The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of mother plants as
determinants of within‐population variability on the establishment of four
Mediterranean oaks, from emergence and early growth to survival in the second year,
across a gradient of environmental factors. Specifically, we designed an experiment to
meet four objectives: 1) tease apart pure seed‐mass effects from mother influence, 2)
identify which factors are more critical (environmental vs. intrinsic) at each
establishment phase, 3) evaluate the benefits of artificial irrigation that simulated a
rainy summer in the first year, and its delayed effects on the second year, and 4)
compare these effects on four late‐successional Quercus species that differ in leaf
longevity.
METHODS
Study area and species
The study area and species are described in general methods section (pag 21‐29).
Experimental design
Acorn collection was carried out in autumn 2006. Mother trees selection, acorn
collection and seed dry mass estimations are described in general methods section
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