Intra-annual tree diameter increment and seasonal leaves nutrients in cork oak species under three understory management alternatives

Abstract

An experimental trial implemented on a pure unevenaged cork oak stand, in Podzol soil, with the specific goal of comparing understory management alternatives, was monitored between 2003 and 2015. The stand understory layer is composed by spontaneous vegetation dominated by Cistus salvifolius, Lavandulla peduncalata and Ulex airensis. Cork samples from two distinct cork rotation cycles (2003 to 2012 or 2006 to 2015), taken at the beginning and end of the debarking period, were analyzed regarding cork ring width (Faias et al. 2018, Faias et al. 2019). Results suggest a different effect on cork annual growth depending on whether the operations are performed at the middle or at the beginning of the cork rotation cycle. Under the CorkNeighbors research project, this trial was continuously monitored and analyzed between 2016 and 2019 (Faias 2019).