Establishment and survival of Pinus brutia Ten. seedlings over the first growing season in abandoned fields in central Cyprus

Abstract

The present study was carried out in abandoned fields in central Cyprus. The main objective was to examine the impact of the regeneration environment on the establishment and survival of Pinus brutia seedlings. Sixty-four permanent plots of 16 m² were randomly established in two distinct sites. Four regeneration environments were recorded: (a) bare soil under the crown of a P. brutia tree, (b) soil under the canopy of a P. brutia tree and low shrubs, (c) bare soil in open areas, and (d) soil under the canopy of low shrubs in open areas. All P. brutia seedlings were classified in categories according to their regeneration environment. In all plots, the density of the P. brutia seedlings was measured in three different seasons (spring, summer, autumn). Soil temperatures were recorded, samples of surface soil were taken and the percentage of soil organic matter was measured. The main conclusions drawn from this research were the following: (1) the mature P. brutia trees and low shrubs facilitate the establishment and especially the survival of P. brutia seedlings, as all seedlings in bare vegetation ground had died by the end of the growing season, and (2) the importance of facilitation increases as abiotic stress rises.

Keywords:

• Cyprus
• facilitation
• Pinus brutia
• regeneration
• survival

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. George Menexes for his help in the statistical analysis. Also, we thank Professor Paulos Smiris, Director of the Laboratory of Silviculture of the School of Forestry and Natural Environment at Aristotle University, who allowed us to use the laboratory for the soil analyses. We also thank Dr. Elias Pipinis who analyzed the soil samples. Special thanks to the Forest Department of Cyprus for their cooperation and to Kountouri Evdokia for her assistance during our fieldwork.