Abstract
Context: Mediterranean landscapes are composed of different interacting vegetation patches. Pine and oak ecosystems form contiguous patches within these landscapes, in pure stands, or as mixed pine-oak ecosystems. During the nineteenth century, pine forest distribution in the Mediterranean Basin increased dramatically as a result of large-scale re-forestation and spontaneous forest regeneration. At the same time, secondary succession of abandoned agricultural land allowed development of pine and oak ecosystems. Consequently, a pine-oak mosaic has developed, which created opportunities for cross-colonization, i.e. species colonization from one ecosystem in the reciprocal system. Pines shed their wind-dispersed seeds and colonize Mediterranean oak vegetation. Oaks regenerate in different ecosystems, including pine forest understories. Research question: This paper reviews fire-free landscapescale dynamics of pine-oak Mediterranean mosaics and analyze how landscape-scale interactions are leading to pine-oak ecosystems by different processes. Results: Published information from the Mediterranean Basin illustrates pathways of pine-oak ecosystems formation. Using Mediterranean literature, I try to elucidate the factors that (1) control colonization potential and (2) modulate the resistance to colonization, in different habitats, land uses, and landscape settings. Conclusion: Management implications for these mixed pine-oak ecosystems are suggested. The question of whether they are novel ecosystems is discussed.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 429-443 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Annals of Forest Science |
Volume | 69 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2012 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:I would like to thank Avi Perevolotsky and Jaime Kigel for revising the text; Gidi Ne’eman, Eric Rigolot and the organizers of MEDPINE 4 conference for the opportunity to explore these issues, in such depth; Miguel Angel de Zavala, Paloma Ruiz Benito, Cristina Armas, and Lorena Gomez-Aparicio for their help in providing comments and information about these phenomena in Spain; and two anonymous reviewers for helping me improve this paper. This work was funded by Nekudat Hen, the Israeli Science Foundation, and the Jewish National Fund Forest Authority.
Keywords
- Colonization
- Emerging ecosystems
- Forest regeneration
- Land-use change
- Landscape
- Mediterranean
- Novel ecosystems
- Pinus
- Plantations
- Quercus
- Succession