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Título
Differences in the environmental control of leaf senescence of four Quercus species coexisting in a Mediterranean environment
Autor(es)
Materia
Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Sistemática y Conservación de Plantas Vasculares y Hongos
Climate change
Deciduous
Evergreen
Leaf abscission
Temperature
Water availability
Fecha de publicación
2015
Citación
Del Río-García, T., Mediavilla, S., Silla, F., Escudero, A. (2015). Differences in the environmental control of leaf senescence of four Quercus species coexisting in a Mediterranean environment. Forest Systems, Volume 24, Issue 2, e027, 12 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.5424/fs/2015242-07263
Resumen
[EN] Aims of study: Our aim is to check the effect of different environmental factors on the leaf senescence of four Quercus species
with different leaf longevities, to help us better understand the implications of climate change on leaf demography.
Area of study: The study was carried out in two sites of the province of Salamanca (central-western Spain), both sites showing
differences in their temperatures and soil water availability.
Material and Methods: Over four years (2007-2010) we monitored the number of leaves of the different cohorts labelled on five
specimens of each species at both sites to elaborate life-tables and calculate mortality rates. Mortality rates were then related to
several other variables measured during the same period: air temperature, soil water availability, precipitation, predawn water potentials (Ψpd) and leaf N resorption.
Main results: In the two deciduous species maximum daily temperatures and the time during which their values remain above a
certain threshold (between 11 and 12ºC of maximum daily temperature) are the main factors controlling the timing of leaf abscission. In the evergreen species abscission of old leaves showed no relationship with the environmental factors analyzed. By contrast,
mortality rates of old leaves were related to seasonal N resorption values, with the maximum mortality of old leaves coinciding in
time with the maximum withdrawal of N from shed leaves and also with the emergence of the new leaf cohort.
Research highlights: The increase in the duration of the leaves of the two deciduous species, as a result of the delayed senescence
by warmer autumnal temperatures, could contribute to reducing the differences in the length of the productive leaf life with respect
to the evergreen species. This could improve the competitive capacity of deciduous species as opposed to that of evergreen species,
and thus alter their respective distribution patterns.
URI
ISSN
2171-5068
DOI
10.5424/fs/2015242-07263
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