Format: ORAL

Marina Talln, Carmen Urea, M. Esther Prez-Corona, Enrique Andivia1

1 Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, España

Tree species admixture is considered as a key management strategy for improving forest ecosystem functioning under climate change due to niche complementarity between species. Mixing species with different leaf habit can increase carbon and nutrient stocks in forest soils. However, the effect of admixture on tree nutritional status has been less explored. In this study, we compared the foliar nutrient status of Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pyrenaica in mixed and monospecific stands in Mediterranean mountains. Our results showed interspecific differences in foliar nutrient concentration. Pines showed higher C concentrations while oaks had higher P concentrations in leaves, which resulted in higher C:N and N:P in pines. Despite no significant differences were found in the nutritional status of study species between mixed and monospecific stands, we found an improvement in the nutritional status of the trees of both species in mixed stands as the proportion of basal area of the other species increased in the vicinity. These results show that complementarity between these two species occurs at the local scale, which has practical implications for the design of forest management actions aimed at diversifying monospecific stands.