Quercus Ilex L. Ecosystems: Function, Dynamics and Management

Holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) forests and woodlands have been considered as a paradigm for Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems. In the western part of the Mediterranean Basin, these forests and woodlands occupy large areas and thus play a very important role in the landscape. A number of research projects from the Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), the Centre de Recerca Ecológica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), and from many other laboratories are currently focusing on Q. ilex ecosystems, and a number of problems have appeared concerning not only basic knowledge but also management aspects. For this reason, the CEFE and the CREAF decided to jointly organize the workshop on Quercus ilex L. Ecosystems, which was held in Montpellier and Barcelona in September 1990.
The present volume consists of a selection of papers presented during the workshop and other papers contributed after the workshop.
The papers are divided into five sections: Biogeography and History; Structure, Productivity and Dynamics; Water Relationships; Nutrient Cycling; and Management.

A: Biogeography and history.- The ecological significance of sclerophyllous oak forests in the western part of the Mediterranean basin: a note on pollen analytical data.- Biogeography, ecology and history of Mediterranean Quercus ilex ecosystems.- Notes on Quercus ilex L. in Liguria (NW Italy).- B: Structure, productivity and dynamics.- Structure, biomass and production of a resprouted holm-oak (Quercus ilex L.) forest in NE Spain.- Factors affecting radial growth of Quercus ilex L. in a coppice stand in southern France.- Litterfall as a measure of primary production in Mediterranean holm-oak forest.- Growth and yield of young Quercus ilex coppice stands in the Tafferte forest (Morocco).- Comparative phenology and growth in different species of the Mediterranean maquis of central Italy.- Dynamics of holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppices after clearcutting in southern France Flora and life cycles changes.- Variation in the genetic structure and reproductive biology of holm oak populations.- Evidence for hybridization between sympatric holm-oak and cork-oak in Spain based on diagnostic enzyme markers.- Temperature-vegetation structure interaction: the effect on the activity of the ant Messor barbarus (L.).- What are the consequences of being a downy oak (Quercus pubescens) or a holm oak (Q. ilex) for breeding blue tits (Parus caeruleus)?.- C: Water relationships.- The influence of summer and winter stress and water relationships on the distribution of Quercus ilex L..- Quercus ilex facing water stress: a functional equilibrium hypothesis.- Morphological adaptions of Quercus ilex leaves in the Castelporziano forest.- Evaluation of actual evapotranspiration of a Quercus ilex L. stand by the Bowen Ratio-Energy Budget method.- Comparison of the hydrological characteristics of three small experimental holm oak forested catchments in NE Spain in relation to larger areas.- Comparative water relations of four Mediterranean oak species.- Daily and seasonal variation in water relations of macchia shrubs and trees in France (Montpellier) and Turkey (Antalya).- Water relations of cork-oak (Quercus suber L.) under natural conditions.- D: Nutrient cycling and budget.- Is primary production in holm oak forests nutrient limited? A correlational approach.- Organic matter distribution and fluxes within a holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) stand in the Etna volcano A synthesis.- The efficiency of nitrogen retranslocation from leaf biomass in Quercus ilex ecosystems.- Litter dynamics in post-fire successional forests of Quercus ilex.- Soil nitrogen dynamics in a holm oak forest.- Decomposition rate of Quercus rotundifolia leaves in an evergreen oak forest of the Duero Basin (Province of Zamora, Spain).- Productivity and nutrient uptake in a holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) stand and during regeneration after clearcut.- Variation in tissue element concentrations in Quercus ilex L. over a range of different soils.- Preliminary results of a fertilization-irrigation experiment in a Quercus ilex L. forest in relation to leaves and twigs characteristics.- The role of Diplopoda litter grazing activity recycling processes in a Mediterranean climate.- E: Management.- Ecological dynamics of Quercus dominated woodlands in California and southern Spain: a state-transition model.- Old holm oak coppices... new sylvopastoral practices.- Quercus ilex browse utilization by Caprini in Sierra de Cazorla and Segura (Spain).- Ecology of vegetative regeneration after coppicing in macchia stands in central Italy.- Matter transfer and land use by cattle in a dehesa ecosystem of central Spain.- Regeneration by sprouting of holm oak (Quercus ilex) stands exploited by selection thinning.- Effect of cleaning and thinning on height growth and girth increment in holm oak coppices (Quercus ilex L.).- List of Contributors.