Search results for "Cork oak forests"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
The role of phanerogams and cryptogams in the recolonization of cork oak forests crossed by wildfire in Sicily
2017
The actual distribution and structure of cork oak woods is the result of a process of anthropogenic alteration (utilization of cork, deforestation, coppicing, overgrazing, changes in land use, fire). Additional causes of threats in Q suber woods are pests and fungal disease. Although cork oak is an active pyrophyte the decortication of trunks makes trees more vulnerable to external agents and to fire in particular. Post-fire species are mainly carbonicolous fungi, some Ascomycetes make their appearance after around six weeks while other fungi begin to appear from the second year. The proliferation of fungal hyphae in the ash, as well as of some pioneer mosse protonemata, promotes soil aggre…
Recovery of cork forests and enhancement of by-products
2022
Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a tree species native to the western Mediterranean Basin (EUFORGEN 2019). Cork oak forests are human-shaped ecosystems that have to be managed to be preserved in a long-term perspective. Cork oak stands range from closed forests to open woodlands, provide high ecosystem services, mainly through cork production, support high biodiversity and provide carbon storage and water regulation services. Due to their important ecological role, these ecosystems are listed in the European Habitats Directive (Habitat 9330: Quercus suber forests, EEC, 1992). In the last years, especially in Italy, cork oak stands are undergoing a relevant regression due to the decline of tra…