Ignacio M.
Pérez-Ramos
1.4 Plant recruitment in declining forests
In the last years, in my research group we are also interested in analysing the interaction between canopy neighbours and understory seedlings in Mediterranean forests affected by the decline and mortality of their dominant species (a phenomenon locally known as “la seca”).
From a perspective of basic science, this information enables us to better understand the consequences of the loss of dominant plant species for plant and soil community dynamics. From an applied perspective, the results of these studies are highly relevant for the restoration of areas affected by tree decline, since they allow us to quantify "legacy effects" of dead trees on soil properties, and their consequences for the establishment of new individuals. Some results from these studies have been recently published in a top-ranked journal (Plos One 10(2): e0117827).
Simultaneously, we also explored the patterns, causes and ecological consequences for seedling recruitment of the spatial variability in pathogen abundance (particularly Phytophthora cinnamomi and Pythium sp.; New Phytol. 194: 1014–1024) and mycorrhizal root colonization (FORECO 353: 1-9) in Mediterranean forest stands largely affected by oak decline.
