Dans le contexte des changements climatiques actuels, de nombreux cas de dépérissement de la végétation sont observés à travers le monde. Les écosystèmes forestiers méditerranéens français, bien qu'adaptés aux périodes de sécheresse, souffrent aussi de l'augmentation de la fréquence et de l'intensité de ces épisodes. Les objectifs de cette étude on...
Mixed plantations have been receiving increasing attention for their documented or supposed potential benefits over monospecific plantations. In particular, the use of neighbouring (or nurse) vegetation around target plants can enhance their performance through limitation of the competing herb layer, and can also improve their morphology. Here we e...
Question: How do forest microhabitats impact seasonal microclimate conditions and phenological seedling strategies in two co-occurring Mediterranean Quercus species with different leaf habits? Location: Pinus halepensis woodlands, Provence, SE France. Methods: Ninety sets of three acorns of Quercus ilex (evergreen) or Quercus pubescens (winter-deci...
The use of shelterwoods to favour the development of natural or underplanted seedlings is common in temperate forests but rare in the pine forests of the Mediterranean area. Our aim was to assess the use of shelterwoods in Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) woodlands in southern France to promote the survival and growth of two co-occurring oak species:...
Les changements en cours du climat méditerranéen réduisent les apports de précipitations et modifie le régime pluviométrique. Comment peut-on anticiper les effets de ces changements sur le fonctionnement des écosystèmes? Nous avons retenu deux espèces dominantes d'arbres ayant des réponses contrastées vis-à-vis de la contrainte hydrique: une espèce...
1. Competitive and facilitative interactions shape plant communities. Whereas a number of studies have addressed competition and direct facilitation among plants in dry ecosystems, indirect facilitation has received little attention. 2. We investigated the relative importance of direct and indirect facilitation by the nurse plant Retama sphaerocarp...
Published in Annals of botany
Marginal populations of widely distributed species can be of high conservation interest when they hold a significant or unique portion of the genetic diversity of the species. However, such genetic information is frequently lacking. Here the relevance of genetic surveys to develop efficient conservation strategies for such populations is illustrate...
Regeneration by seeds for cork oak (Quercus suber) and companion oaks (holm oak Q. ilex and downy oak Q. pubescens) is likely to be poor in the fire-prone Maures massif (southern France) but the causes are poorly known. Our objective was to assess the effective recruitment for these three oak species and their temporal pattern of recruitment, in or...
