Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula

Mediterranean wood pastures are the result of traditional silvo-pastoral uses that shaped these ecosystems into a mosaic of trees and open grassland. This ecosystem structure is generally associated with increased soil fertility under tree canopies. However, the response of herbaceous plant function...

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Autores: Ibáñez, Mercedes, Aljazairi, Salvador, Leiva Morales, María José, Chocarro, Chocarro, Werner, Ronald A., Ghashghaie, Jaleh, Sebastià, Maria Teresa
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/177038
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/177038
https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061135
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Canopy
Savannah
Dehesas
Forbs
Grasses
Isotopes
Legumes
Plant functional types (PFTs)
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spelling Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian PeninsulaIbáñez, MercedesAljazairi, SalvadorLeiva Morales, María JoséChocarro, ChocarroWerner, Ronald A.Ghashghaie, JalehSebastià, Maria TeresaCanopySavannahDehesasForbsGrassesIsotopesLegumesPlant functional types (PFTs)Mediterranean wood pastures are the result of traditional silvo-pastoral uses that shaped these ecosystems into a mosaic of trees and open grassland. This ecosystem structure is generally associated with increased soil fertility under tree canopies. However, the response of herbaceous plant functional types (PFTs)—grasses, legumes, and non-legume forbs—to these heterogeneous microenvironments (under the canopy vs. open grassland) remains largely unknown, particularly regarding carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) acquisition and use. Even less is known about how different tree species and environmental conditions influence these responses. In this study, we aim to assess how tree canopies influence carbon and nitrogen cycling by comparing the effects of traditional oak stands and pine plantations on herbaceous PFTs and soil dynamics. For that we use C and N content and natural isotopic abundances (δ13C and δ15N) as proxies for biogeochemical cycling. Our results show that ecosystem C and N patterns depend not only on herbaceous PFTs and the presence or absence of tree canopies but also on tree species identity and environmental conditions, including climate. In particular, pine-dominated plantations exhibited lower nitrogen availability compared to those dominated by oak, suggesting that oak stands may contribute more effectively to enhance soil fertility in Mediterranean wood pastures. Furthermore, the canopy effect was more pronounced under harsher environmental conditions, highlighting the role of trees in buffering environmental stress, particularly in arid regions. This suggests that changes in tree cover and tree species may drive complex changes in ecosystem C and N storage and cycling.MDPIBiología Vegetal y EcologíaMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN). España2025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/11441/177038https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061135reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevillainstname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)InglésLand, 14 (6), 1135.GL2013-49142-C2-1-RCGL2017-85490-Rhttps://doi.org/10.3390/land14061135info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:idus.us.es:11441/1770382026-06-17T12:51:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
title Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
spellingShingle Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
Ibáñez, Mercedes
Canopy
Savannah
Dehesas
Forbs
Grasses
Isotopes
Legumes
Plant functional types (PFTs)
title_short Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
title_full Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
title_fullStr Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
title_full_unstemmed Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
title_sort Tree Canopies Drive δ13C and δ15N Patterns in Mediterranean Wood Pastures of the Iberian Peninsula
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ibáñez, Mercedes
Aljazairi, Salvador
Leiva Morales, María José
Chocarro, Chocarro
Werner, Ronald A.
Ghashghaie, Jaleh
Sebastià, Maria Teresa
author Ibáñez, Mercedes
author_facet Ibáñez, Mercedes
Aljazairi, Salvador
Leiva Morales, María José
Chocarro, Chocarro
Werner, Ronald A.
Ghashghaie, Jaleh
Sebastià, Maria Teresa
author_role author
author2 Aljazairi, Salvador
Leiva Morales, María José
Chocarro, Chocarro
Werner, Ronald A.
Ghashghaie, Jaleh
Sebastià, Maria Teresa
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Biología Vegetal y Ecología
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN). España
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Canopy
Savannah
Dehesas
Forbs
Grasses
Isotopes
Legumes
Plant functional types (PFTs)
topic Canopy
Savannah
Dehesas
Forbs
Grasses
Isotopes
Legumes
Plant functional types (PFTs)
description Mediterranean wood pastures are the result of traditional silvo-pastoral uses that shaped these ecosystems into a mosaic of trees and open grassland. This ecosystem structure is generally associated with increased soil fertility under tree canopies. However, the response of herbaceous plant functional types (PFTs)—grasses, legumes, and non-legume forbs—to these heterogeneous microenvironments (under the canopy vs. open grassland) remains largely unknown, particularly regarding carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) acquisition and use. Even less is known about how different tree species and environmental conditions influence these responses. In this study, we aim to assess how tree canopies influence carbon and nitrogen cycling by comparing the effects of traditional oak stands and pine plantations on herbaceous PFTs and soil dynamics. For that we use C and N content and natural isotopic abundances (δ13C and δ15N) as proxies for biogeochemical cycling. Our results show that ecosystem C and N patterns depend not only on herbaceous PFTs and the presence or absence of tree canopies but also on tree species identity and environmental conditions, including climate. In particular, pine-dominated plantations exhibited lower nitrogen availability compared to those dominated by oak, suggesting that oak stands may contribute more effectively to enhance soil fertility in Mediterranean wood pastures. Furthermore, the canopy effect was more pronounced under harsher environmental conditions, highlighting the role of trees in buffering environmental stress, particularly in arid regions. This suggests that changes in tree cover and tree species may drive complex changes in ecosystem C and N storage and cycling.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/11441/177038
https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061135
url https://hdl.handle.net/11441/177038
https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061135
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Land, 14 (6), 1135.
GL2013-49142-C2-1-R
CGL2017-85490-R
https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061135
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
instname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
instname_str Universidad de Sevilla (US)
reponame_str idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
collection idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,812429

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