An integrative analysis of the dynamics of landscape- and local-scale colonization of Mediterranean woodlands by Pinus halepensis.

ABSTRACT: Afforestation efforts have resulted in extensive plantations of either native or non-native conifers, which in many regions has led to the spread of those conifers into surrounding natural vegetation. This process of species colonization can trigger profound changes in both community dynamics and ecosystem processes. Our study disentangled the complexity of a process of colonization in a heterogeneous landscape into a simple set of rules. We analyzed the factors that control the colonization of natural woodland ecosystems by Pinus halepensis dispersing from plantations in the Mediterranean region of Israel. We developed maximum-likelihood models to explain the densities of P. halepensis colonizing natural woodlands. Our models unravel how P. halepensis colonization is controlled by factors

SUBMITTER: Sheffer E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3938658 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature