FEDER Project

Role of shrubs as nurse plants of forest species under Mediterranean climatic conditions: design and evaluation of a new reforestation technique
Financed by: CICYT - FEDER
Period: 1999-2001
Principal Investigator: Regino Zamora
Number of members: 6

     The aim of this project is to evaluate the potential role of shrubs in facilitating forest regeneration and reforestation, under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Reforestation will be performed by sowing seed or planting seedlings under the shrub cover and in nearby open areas, along a broad environmental gradient. We will specifically consider three recruitment stages: seed germination, seedling establishment, and sapling survival and growth. The forest species to be considered are: Pinus sylvestris, P. nigra, Quercus ilex and Q. pyrenaica. We also include two endangered species: Acer granatense and Taxus baccata. For these species, we shall identify the ecologic ecological factors that limit regeneration, and this information will be used to design in situ reforestation models. This project, in collaboration with the TRAGSA corporation, will conduct experimental reforestation in protected areas, which will provide a new reforestation techniques, effective for restoration of forested areas.

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