Recruitment of a genotyped Quercus robur L. seedling cohort in an expanding oak forest stand: diversity, dispersal, and
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RESEARCH PAPER
Recruitment of a genotyped Quercus robur L. seedling cohort in an expanding oak forest stand: diversity, dispersal, and performance across habitats Gabriel Gerzabek 1
&
Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio 2 & Arndt Hampe 1
Received: 12 March 2020 / Accepted: 26 June 2020 # INRAE and Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract & Key message Few studies have linked the origin of dispersed tree seeds with their post-dispersal fate. We show that habitat-dependent mortality in a pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) seedling cohort reshapes the effective fecundity of individual mother trees but has little effect on the cohort’s genetic diversity. & Context Initial tree recruitment plays a key role in forest regeneration, yet little is known on how patterns of recruit mortality feed back on the fecundity of reproducing trees. & Aims To investigate how among-habitat variation in seedling arrival and survival alters initial patterns of genetic diversity and maternal reproductive success. & Methods We genotyped a pedunculate oak seedling cohort (n = 809) and monitored it over 3 years. The mother trees of 81% of the seedlings were identified through parentage analysis. Seedlings were assigned to one of three habitats (broadleaved forest, pine plantation, or open area). & Results Broadleaved forest received most seedlings (≈ 65%) but their survival was reduced by a third compared with pine plantations or open areas. Thus, mother trees dispersing many descendants to broadleaved forest suffered a disproportionate reduction of their reproductive success. Genetic diversity did not vary among habitats, nor over the monitoring period. & Conclusion The quality of seed dispersal, in terms of delivery sites, can considerably influence the reproductive success of individual mother trees without affecting the overall genetic diversity of the recruits. Keywords Genetic diversity . Quercus robur L. . Reproductive success . Seed dispersal . Seedling . Recruitment Handling Editor: Raquel Alfaro-Sánchez Contribution of the co-authors A.H. conceived the study, G.G. and A.H. performed the field and laboratory work, and G.G., S.O.M., and A.H. analysed the data. All three co-authors contributed to the final text and approved its final version. This article is part of the topical collection on Establishment of secondgrowth forests in human landscapes: ecological mechanisms and genetic consequences * Gabriel Gerzabek [email protected] Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio [email protected] Arndt Hampe [email protected] 1
Univ. Bordeaux, INRAE, BIOGECO, 33610 Cestas, France
2
INRAE, URFM “Ecology of Mediterranean Forests”, 84000 Avignon, France
1 Introduction Seed dispersal creates the initial template for regeneration and is widely accepted to have a profound influence on the spatial, demographic, and genetic structure of plant populations because of its cascading effects on subsequent recruitment processes (Jordano and Godoy 2002; Wang and Smith 2002). A vast number of studies have assessed patterns of seed disp
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