La Regeneració de les rouredes de Quercus petraea al Montseny

Abstract

We conducted this research in the Parc Natural i Reserva de la Biosfera del Montseny located in the Catalan pre-coastal mountain range (Serralada Prelitoral Catalana), which is dominated by a diverse forest landscape. That is why the forest is considered the most suitable place for the study of the climate change impact on forests. The rise of temperatures and the frequency and severity of droughts may end up altering the distribution in latitude and altitude of some forest species, depending on their vulnerability. Quercus petraea forests are likely to be colonized by Quercus ilex because it is a more resistant species and therefore in this study we work on the forest regeneration in order to see if the recruits indicate a settlement of species, which are less vulnerable to the forests with more risks. We have specifically calculated the recruitment of sessile mixed and pure oak forests and we have correlated this information with the ecological conditions of the forest. The results show that the regeneration has its optimum between 900 and 1000 meters and the density of the forest determines Q. petraea, as there are more of them when the forest is less dense. It is not the only species with such relationships as Q. ilex also suffers from densodependence but in another way, since it is mainly oak sprouts. As for the mixed oak forests, we have observed that a higher proportion of seedlings of Q. ilex. On the other hand, pure oak forests recruitment percentages are similar to the adult forest structure. Regarding to future evolutions, we see that oak forests, when they grow older, they lose their species richness of seedlings and juveniles, except for the forests that have maturity characteristics such as those in Fontdellops. Finally, we conclude that the effects of climate change would not be noticed until there was a very high recurrence of droughts and high temperatures since the oak forest presents recruitments that give them a significant resilience