Edge type effect on germination of oak tree species in the Highlands of Chiapas,Mexico |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of GeoSciences, Institute of Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Darwin Building, Mayfield Rd, Edinburgh EH9 3JU, Scotland, UK;2. School of Conservation Sciences, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK;1. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 1831 Highway 169 East, Grand Rapids, MN 55744, USA;2. Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 1530 Cleveland Ave. North, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA;3. Department of Forest Resources, North Central Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota, 1861 Highway 169 East, Grand Rapids, MN 55744, USA;1. Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, P.O. Box 61355/144, Iran;2. Department of Agriculture, Payame Noor University, P.O. Box 19395-3697, Tehran, Iran;3. School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Via dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy;1. Oregon State University, Dept. Animal and Rangeland Sciences, 120 Withycombe Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;2. The Nature Conservancy, Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, 906 S. River St., Enterprise, OR 97828, USA |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of habitat edges on the probability of acorn germination of three oak species (Quercus crassifolia Humb. and Bonpl., Quercus rugosa Née and Quercus laurina Humb. and Bonpl.). The effects of edge type (hard and soft), habitat type (grassland, edges and forest) and leaf litter cover (covered or uncovered acorns) on acorn germination was evaluated by the experimental establishment of acorns along transects crossing habitat edges. More acorns developed into seedlings in grasslands (38%) than in the forest edge (18%) or the forest interior (15%). In sites with soft edges, a higher number of seedlings emerged from acorns covered by litter compared with acorns sowed in the adjacent forest edge and forest interior (P < 0.05). In sites with hard edges, fewer seedlings emerged in the edge (14%) compared with the adjacent grassland (38%), and the adjacent forest (20%) presented intermediate values. However, in sites with soft edges significant differences in seedling emergence were recorded between the grassland (38%) and the forest (10%), whereas the edge presented intermediate values (23%). The effect of leaf litter cover on acorn germination was only significant in grasslands in sites with soft edges (P < 0.05). Acorns in grasslands received relatively little insect damage (10%) compared with the edge (19%) and the forest (30%, P < 0.05), emphasising the importance of acorn dispersal for successful oak establishment. The implications for regeneration of these oak species and the dynamics of montane oak forests in Mexico are discussed. |
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