Drivers of seedling emergence and early growth of 12 European oak species: Results from a cross-continental experiment

Seedling emergence constitutes a critical recruitment step, and early growth relates to plant competitive ability. Understanding their drivers has implications for forestry and forest ecosystem conservation, restoration, and adaptation to climate change. We seeded 6984 acorns in an experiment with 97 cases at 45 sites in 15 European countries, encompassing 12 oak species. We tested whether the quality of the acorn batch, site-level weather and soil characteristics, year of seeding, and species’ mean specific leaf area (SLA) affected the emergence and early growth of seedlings after the first summer. Germination potential and acorn dry weight, measured under controlled conditions, were positively associated with emergence and early growth. Seedling emergence was negatively associated with the mean monthly temperature and cumulative winter precipitation, and it was higher in the seedling cohort that was spared from the 2021 drought. Additionally, seedling emergence was positively related to soil nutrient concentration and negatively to increasing soil pH, but not to water-holding capacity, and growth was unrelated to soils. Species-level SLA was not related to either response. The four main study species – Quercus cerris , Q. ilex , Q. petraea, and Q. robur – responded similarly to weather but not to soil conditions. We conclude that, at a continental scale, and assuming that species establish within their current distributions, (a) oak seedling emergence and early growth are associated with acorn quality rather than species identity or SLA, (b) they are highest at sites with low winter precipitation and temperature, (c) emergence is reduced in dry years, and d) soil properties play a secondary role at this early recruitment stage. • Seed quality drove seedling emergence and early growth of 12 oak species in Europe. • Sites with a cold and dry winter had higher emergence and early growth. • Responses to soils were secondary and species-specific. • Seeding in a drought year negatively affected seedling emergence.

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Publication Details

Journal
Forest Ecology and Management
Published
2025-10-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123223
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Seedling growth and survival studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.63

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article

Drivers of seedling emergence and early growth of 12 European oak species: Results from a cross-continental experiment

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2 citations
Forest Ecology and Management
Seedling growth and survival studies
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article

Drivers of seedling emergence and early growth of 12 European oak species: Results from a cross-continental experiment

Viktorija Vendiņa, Antonio Montagnoli, Zoran Poduška, Michele De Sanctis, Manuel Esteban Lucas‐Borja, José María Rey Beñayas, Arndt Hampe, Peter Ferus, Vladan Popović, Maria do Sameiro Patrício, Klaus Kremer, Alberto Maltoni, Emanuele Lingua, Piotr Robakowski, Kārlis Dūmiņš, Arkadiusz Tomczak, Sofia Corticeiro, Lorena Gómez‐Aparicio, Paola Mairota, Jürgen Bauhus, Jorge Castro, Marek Szczerba, Branislav Cvjetković, Melanie Morales, Marcin Klisz, Dario La Montagna, Donato Chiatante, Anna Rita Bizzarri, Barbara Mariotti, Paola Bolzon, Alexandro B. Leverkus, Paula Maia, Juan A. Oliet, Branko Kanjevac, Luís Nunes, Nicolò Anselmetto, Claudia Cocozza, Giovanbattista de Dato, Wojciech Kowalkowski, Roman Malik, Raffaella Marzano, Dagnija Lazdiņa, Jovana Devetaković, Manuel Ceballos, Radosław Puchałka, Marina Nonić, Henrik Böhlenius, Raquel Benavides, Francisco B. Navarro, Jelena Lazarević, Pedro Villar‐Salvador, Ivona Kerkez Janković, Magnus Löf, Vito Emanuele Cambria, Maria Pilar Martin, Johanna Witzell, Enrique Andivia, Piotr Sewerniak, J.C.J.M. de Kroon, Lenka Ehrenbergerová, Antonín Martiník, Marcin Jakubowski, Olivia Lorente-Casalini, Ryan McClory, Ana Topalović, Adrian Łukowski, Pedro Antonio Plaza‐Álvarez, Roberta Proietti, Kjersti Hanssen, Luis Matías, Sanja Jovanović, Laura Levy, María Cristina Monteverdi, Fabio Meloni, María Dolores Carbonero Muñoz, María Medina, Alba Lázaro-González, Lucia Mondanelli, Carmen Ureña-Lara, Ricardo A. Moreno Llorca, Stefano Puccinelli, Fløistad Inger Sundheim
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Seedling emergence constitutes a critical recruitment step, and early growth relates to plant competitive ability. Understanding their drivers has implications for forestry and forest ecosystem conservation, restoration, and adaptation to climate change. We seeded 6984 acorns in an experiment with 97 cases at 45 sites in 15 European countries, encompassing 12 oak species. We tested whether the quality of the acorn batch, site-level weather and soil characteristics, year of seeding, and species’ mean specific leaf area (SLA) affected the emergence and early growth of seedlings after the first summer. Germination potential and acorn dry weight, measured under controlled conditions, were positively associated with emergence and early growth. Seedling emergence was negatively associated with the mean monthly temperature and cumulative winter precipitation, and it was higher in the seedling cohort that was spared from the 2021 drought. Additionally, seedling emergence was positively related to soil nutrient concentration and negatively to increasing soil pH, but not to water-holding capacity, and growth was unrelated to soils. Species-level SLA was not related to either response. The four main study species – Quercus cerris , Q. ilex , Q. petraea, and Q. robur – responded similarly to weather but not to soil conditions. We conclude that, at a continental scale, and assuming that species establish within their current distributions, (a) oak seedling emergence and early growth are associated with acorn quality rather than species identity or SLA, (b) they are highest at sites with low winter precipitation and temperature, (c) emergence is reduced in dry years, and d) soil properties play a secondary role at this early recruitment stage. • Seed quality drove seedling emergence and early growth of 12 oak species in Europe. • Sites with a cold and dry winter had higher emergence and early growth. • Responses to soils were secondary and species-specific. • Seeding in a drought year negatively affected seedling emergence.

Forest Ecology and ManagementVol. 599
Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES), Université de Bordeaux (FR), University of Freiburg (DE), Universidad de Granada (ES), University of Banja Luka (BA), Universidad de Alcalá (ES), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), University of Belgrade (RS), Institute of Forest Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ES), Forestry Research Centre (IT), Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (ES), UMR BIOdiversity, GEnes & Communities (FR), Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NO), University of Florence (IT), University of Life Sciences in Poznań (PL), Mendel University in Brno (CZ), Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, European Commission, Universidad de Granada, Junta de Andalucía, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Seedling growth and survival studies
4.63
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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