Expansion of naturally regenerated forest

  Ci a ion: Alday, J.G.; Ma ínez-Ruiz, C. Expansion o Na u ally Regene a ed Fo es . Fo es s 2022,13, 456. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ 13030456 Recei ed: 2 Ma ch 2022 Accep ed: 13 Ma ch 2022 Published: 15 Ma ch 2022 Publishe ’s No e: MDPI s ays neu al wi h ega d o ju isdic ional claims in published maps and ins i u ional a il- ia ions. Copy igh : © 2022 by he au ho s. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land. This a icle is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms and condi ions o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion (CC BY) license (h ps:// c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Edi o ial Expansion o Na u ally Regene a ed Fo es Josu G. Alday 1,2,* and Ca olina Ma ínez-Ruiz 3,4,* 1Join Resea ch Uni CTFC–AGROTECNIO–CERCA, 25198 Lleida, Spain 2Depa men o C op and Fo es y Sciences, Uni e si a de Lleida, A da. Alcalde Ro i a Rou e 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain 3Á ea de Ecología, Depa amen o Ciencias Ag o o es ales, E.T.S. de Ingenie ías Ag a ias, Uni e sidad de Valladolid, A da. de Mad id 50, 34071 Palencia, Spain 4Sus ainable Fo es Managemen Resea ch Ins i u e, Uni e si y o Valladolid-INIA, E.T.S.II.AA., A da. Mad id 50, 34071 Palencia, Spain *Co espondence: [email p o ec ed] (J.G.A.); ca [email p o ec ed] (C.M.-R.) Fo es s co e 31% o he global land a ea and a e home o mos o Ea h’s e es ial biodi e si y. Fo es s supply a wide se o ecosys em se ices, p o ide li elihoods, mi iga e clima e change, and a e essen ial o sus ainable ood p oduc ion, con ibu ing o he heal h o he plane . Howe e , de o es a ion and o es deg ada ion con inue o ake place a ala ming a es in some pa s o he wo ld, whe eas in o he s he end has been e e sed wi h o es s expanding o e abandoned ag icul u al a eas. In his e a o con as , imp o ing ou knowledge o ecological p ocesses and mecha- nisms in ol ed in he na u al egene a ion and expansion o o es s should be a p io i y. Fac o s a ec ing o es expansion a e ex ensi e, such as seed p oduc ion and dispe sal, seedlings es ablishmen , sh ubs species coloniza ion, mic osi es a ailabili y, soil condi ions, as well as he complex in e ac ions ha occu wi hin and be ween all le els o o es bio- logical di e si y (e.g., local, ecosys em, landscape, species, popula ion, and gene ic) in he coloniza ion p ocess. Hence, subs an ial e o s a e needed o in eg a e his knowledge in new managemen and implemen a ion ac ions in hese wo con as ing scena ios: (i) o e e se de o es a ion and biodi e si y loss o he bene i o cu en and u u e gene a ions; and (ii) o manage expanding o es o e ag icul u al a eas o maximize he conse a ion alue o hese new o es s and gua an ee he ecosys em se ices hey p o ide. Wi hin his Special Issue, we collec ed con ibu ions ha a ge di ec ly he e ec o hese ac o s, such as mic osi e a ailabili y, bounda y e ec , ligh condi ions, soil p ope ies, o sh ub coloniza ion o imp o e ou unde s anding o cons ain s/un-cons ain s o na u al o - es expansion all a ound he wo ld, while p o iding p ac ical ecommenda ions o he e o es a ion o deg aded ecosys ems. The Special Issue s a s wi h a manipula i e expe imen abou seedling eme gence o wo con as ing co-occu ing Que cus species unde a bioclima ic limi , using sh ubs as acili a o s. In e es ingly, he clea acili a i e e ec o sh ubs on he seedling eme gence o Q. ilex and Q. py enaica was demons a ed, his being a posi i e e ec o e eme gence e en g ea e han hose caused by aco n size and la ge he bi o e exclusion [ 1 ]. Simila ly, a s udy desc ibing he bounda y o m e ec be ween wo pa ches wi h con as ing ege a ion (mine g assland and adjacen o es ) on woody coloniza ion (Que cus species) and o es expansion showed ha he ee coloniza ion dec eased wi h inc easing dis ance o he o es and di e ed depending on he bounda y o m, wi h mo e in ense coloniza ion in conca e bounda ies han in con ex bounda ies close o he o es [ 2 ]. Bo h manusc ip s showed ha sh ub acili a i e p ocesses and edge cha ac e is ics ha e a s ong po en ial o be used in he es o a ion o Que cus na i e o es s based on na u al p ocesses. The iden i ica ion o he ac o s con olling he unde s o y and main ee species dis ibu ion and seed dispe sal a e essen ial o unde s and na u al o es dynamics. As such, some au ho s using o es in en o y da a epo ed he ela ionships be ween en i onmen al Fo es s 2022,13, 456. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ 13030456 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/ o es s Fo es s 2022,13, 456 2 o 2 g adien s and sh ub unc ional g oups dis ibu ion pa e ns and niche cha ac e is ics as he i s s ep o imp o e ou abili y o discuss po en ial o es conse a ion managemen goals o h ea s due o land-use changes and u u e clima e change [ 3 ]. Rega ding seeds, an expe imen es ing whe he in aspeci ic a ia ion o dispe sal po en ial and he associa ed ai s o seeds (Ace palma um diaspo es) should be in luenced by ma e nal habi a quali y showed ha sama as p oduced by ees om shaded mic ohabi a s had g ea e dispe sal po en ial, in e ms o slowe e minal eloci y o descen , han hose p oduced in open mic ohabi a s [ 4 ]. These indings indica e ha an ac i e ma e nal con ol h ough he mo phological allome y o sama as is p oduced o acili a e species pe sis ence. The main ee species dynamics a e subjec ed o cu en clima e change; he e o e, in eg a ed bio-geog aphic s udies o pine o es migh help o iden i y o es a eas mos suscep ible o clima e change e ec s. He e, he esul s showed ha he mo e agile and p ecipi a ion- poo upland pine se ings display a highe ulne abili y o he cu en clima e change, esul ing in inc eased ee dea h and o es i es [ 5 ]. These h ee main esul s sugges ha he dispe sal po en ial and sh ubs as acili a i e mic ohabi a s could be ac o s o conside in o es expansion managemen plans. Howe e , o es sus ainabili y and adap a ion o he ongoing clima e change can igge de o es a ion and o es deg ada ion wo ldwide. Finally, o es es o a ion has become one o he mos impo an challenges o ecolog- ical es o a ion, al hough he pos -dis u bance eco e y o plan –soil eedback has been a ely assessed o desc ibed. Abo eg ound–belowg ound in e ac ions be ween ees and ungi a e undamen al in nu ien s and ca bon cycles [ 6 ]. He e, biomass and s uc u e o ungal communi ies we e compa ed be ween P. syl es is,Q. obu and Q. ilex (holm oak) o es s and na u ally e ege a ed mined si es o iden i y simila i ies in soil/li e inoculum be ween habi a s o enhance ee seedlings’ es ablishmen success in deg aded a eas [ 6 ]. These esul s showed ha ee es o a ion s a egies in deg aded si es could use speci ic soil/li e inoculum om simila nea by o es a eas upon plan ing/seeding, depending on ee species o in e es , o p o ide a sa is ac o y soil ungal communi y o e which o s a he unc ional op imiza ion be ween ungi and ee species dependen on he plan esou ces needed. Au ho Con ibu ions: Concep ualiza ion, w i ing— e iew and edi ing, C.M.-R. and J.G.A. All au ho s ha e ead and ag eed o he published e sion o he manusc ip . Funding: Josu G. Alday was suppo ed by a Ramón y Cajal ellowship (RYC-2016-20528) om Spanish Go e nmen . Con lic s o In e es : The au ho s decla e no con lic o in e es . Re e ences 1. Díaz-He nández, R.; Vicen e Villa dón, J.L.; Ma ínez-Ruiz, C.; Fe nández-San os, B. The E ec s o Na i e Sh ub, Fencing, and Aco n Size on he Eme gence o Con as ing Co-Occu ing Oak in Medi e anean G azed A eas. Fo es s 2021 ,12, 307. [C ossRe ] 2. Ma ínez-Ruiz, C.; Milde , A.I.; López-Ma cos, D.; Zaldí a , P.; Fe nández-San os, B. E ec o he Fo es -Mine Bounda y Fo m on Woody Coloniza ion and Fo es Expansion in Deg aded Ecosys ems. Fo es s 2021,12, 773. [C ossRe ] 3. Ol ho , A.E.; Ma ínez-Ruiz, C.; Alday, J.G. Niche Cha ac e iza ion o Sh ub Func ional G oups along an A lan ic-Medi e anean G adien . Fo es s 2021,12, 982. [C ossRe ] 4. Chen, B.J.W.; Wang, X.; Dong, Y.; Du ing, H.J.; Xu, X.; An en, N.P.R. Ma e nal En i onmen al Ligh Condi ions A ec he Mo phological Allome y and Dispe sal Po en ial o Ace palma um Sama as. Fo es s 2021,12, 1313. [C ossRe ] 5. Zhumadina, S.; Chlachula, J.; Zhaglo skaya-Fau a , A.; Cze niawska, J.; Sa ybaldie a, G.; Nu baye a, N.; Mapi o , N.; My za- galiye a, A.; Bo ibay, E. En i onmen al Dynamics o he Ribbon-Like Pine Fo es s in he Pa klands o No h Kazakhs an. Fo es s 2022,13, 2. [C ossRe ] 6. Adamo, I.; Dashe skaya, S.; Alday, J.G. Fungal Pe spec i e o Pine and Oak Coloniza ion in Medi e anean Deg aded Ecosys ems. Fo es s 2022,13, 88. [C ossRe ]