e-journal

Quercus suber dieback alters soil respiration and nutrient availability in Mediterranean forests

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1. An increase in tree mortality rates has been recently detected in forests world-wide. However,
few works have focused on the potential consequences of forest dieback for ecosystem functioning.

2. Here we assessed the effect of Quercus suber dieback on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles
in two types of Mediterranean forests (woodlands and closed forests) affected by the aggressive
pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. We used a spatially explicit neighbourhood approach to analyse
the direct effects of Q. suber dieback on soil variables, comparing the impact of Q. suber trees with
different health status, as well as its potential long-term indirect effects, comparing the impact of
non-declining coexistent species.

3. Quercus suber dieback translated into lower soil respiration rates and phosphorus availability,
whereas its effects on nitrogen varied depending on forest type. Coexistent species differed strongly
from Q. suber in their effects on nutrient availability, but not on soil respiration rates. Our models
showed low interannual but high intra-annual variation in the ecosystem impacts of tree dieback.

4. Synthesis. Our results support that tree dieback might have important short- and long-term
impacts on ecosystem processes in Mediterranean forests. With this work, we provide valuable
insights to fill the existent gap in knowledge on the ecosystem-level impacts of forest dieback in
general and P. cinnamomi-driven mortality in particular. Because the activity and range of this
pathogen is predicted to increase due to climate warming, these impacts could also increase in the
near future altering ecosystem functioning world-wide.

Key-words: carbon cycle, drought, forest disease, invasive species, neighbourhood, nutrient availability,
Phytophthora cinnamomi, plant–soil (below-ground) interactions, soil pathogen, tree mortality

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Ketersediaan

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

Journal of Ecology

No. Panggil

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Penerbit

London : British Ecological Society., 2016

Deskripsi Fisik

Journal of Ecology 2016, 104, 1441–1452

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

doi: 10.1111/1365-27

Klasifikasi

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Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

2016, 104

Subjek

EKOLOGI

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

agus

Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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