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Defining the optimal regeneration niche for Pinus pinea L. through physiology-based models for seedling survival and carbon assimilation

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Seedling survival in Pinus pinea is controlled by both water status and photosynthetic performance. Optimal regeneration niche for the species is found at mid-shaded sites.

Abstract

Summer survival has been identified as the main bottleneck preventing natural regeneration in Mediterranean forests, although the physiological processes resulting in seedling mortality are not sufficiently known. In the present work, the effect of water status and photosynthetic performance on seedling survival and regeneration niche in a Mediterranean pine (Pinus pinea L.) was analyzed by means of a modeling approach. Midday water potential was modeled as a nonlinear function of environmental factors, and this model was coupled with an existing model for carbon assimilation. A model for seedling survival was then constructed using lifetime analysis techniques, including predicted values of daily and cumulative net assimilation and probability for critical midday water potentials as predictors. The model was applied over a wide range of irradiance environments in order to identify the optimal regeneration niche for the species. Results indicate that midday water potential for P. Pinea seedlings is affected by relative soil water content, leaf temperature, and irradiance, with younger seedlings being more likely to reach critical values. Seedling survival in P. pinea is controlled by both water status and photosynthetic performance, with mortality being triggered by the joint occurrence of low water potentials and negative assimilation rates, although photoassimilates stored during the spring season increase survival in older seedlings. Simulations indicated that seedling survival is optimized in shaded environments, while carbon assimilation reaches maximum values on more open sites, thus the optimal regeneration niche for the species is found on mid-shaded locations.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Guillermo Madrigal, Santiago de Blas, and Enrique Garriga for data collection, and Javier Gordo and Ayuntamiento de El Portillo for helping in maintaining the experimental trial.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INIA-CIFOR, Forest Research Centre, Ctra. A Coruña km 7.5, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Rafael Calama & Marta Pardos

  2. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK

    Jaime Puértolas

  3. INRA, UMR 1092 LERFoB, 1, rue de l’Arboretum, 54280, Champenoux, France

    Rubén Manso

Authors
  1. Rafael Calama
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  2. Jaime Puértolas
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  3. Rubén Manso
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  4. Marta Pardos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafael Calama.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Spanish Program for Research + Development (grant AGL-2010-15521) and INIA sectorial program for research in Agricultural Sciences (grants RTA2013-00011-C2.1 and AT2013-04).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by E. Priesack.

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Calama, R., Puértolas, J., Manso, R. et al. Defining the optimal regeneration niche for Pinus pinea L. through physiology-based models for seedling survival and carbon assimilation. Trees 29, 1761–1771 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1257-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1257-5

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