Tracking the leading edge of Fagus sylvatica in North-Western Iberia: Holocene migration inertia, forest succession and recent global change

摘要

The Iberian Peninsula constitutes the south-western limit of the European distribution of Fagus sylvatica L. However, although the Iberian North-West extreme would appear to be climatically suitable for the species, F. sylvatica is not present there. This fact has led to the suggestion that the species is not yet in equilibrium with the climate and that there is a migration lag in the post-glacial expansion of the species. The objective of this work is to understand the main biotic and abiotic factors driving F. sylvatica distribution and population dynamics in the Iberian Atlantic biogeographical region over recent decades. Furthermore, in the light of other studies which suggest that the expansion of F. sylvatica in North-Western Iberia might be related to the retraction of Q petraea (Matt.) Leibl. forests, we also study the demographic trends of both F. sylvatica and Q petraea along with oak-beech interaction processes to infer forest succession dynamics.