Quercus pyrenaica Forests Under Contrasting Management Histories in Northern Portugal: Carbon Storage and Understory Biodiversity

Eduardo Pousa, María Villa, Júlio Henrique Germano de Souza and Marina Castro ()
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Eduardo Pousa: Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus Sta Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
María Villa: Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Júlio Henrique Germano de Souza: Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Marina Castro: Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: Old-growth forests are crucial for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation due to their high carbon storage, structural complexity, and resilience to environmental stressors. Yet, such ecosystems are rare in Europe, and their ecological functioning remains poorly understood. This study assesses the capacity of Quercus pyrenaica forests in the Montesinho-Nogueira Natura 2000 site (Bragança, Portugal) to develop maturity attributes under different forest management histories. We compare an area with low human intervention for over 80 years (10.2 ha) to two areas harvested for traditional small-scale firewood and timber extraction around 30 years ago (11.4 ha and 2.73 ha). Dendrometric measurements, carbon storage, floristic inventories of understory vegetation, and regeneration surveys were conducted across 42 sub-plots during June–July 2024. Results show that older forests store significantly more carbon and support greater biodiversity, evenness and regeneration, while younger forests present higher values of species richness, including several rare taxa. Our findings suggest that under favorable conditions, secondary forests can recover substantial biomass and carbon stocks within a few decades, while mature stands continue to accumulate carbon and maintain complex structures. Differences in floristic composition between sites may also reflect distinct silvopastoral practices between patches, such as itinerant grazing through forest patches, which historically characterized the Montesinho landscape. These results highlight the value of preserving a mosaic of successional stages, as both mature and intermediate-phase forests, together with compatible human activities, provide complementary biodiversity benefits and contribute to the multifunctionality of Mediterranean agroforestry systems.

Keywords: old-growth forests; carbon storage; biodiversity conservation; forest management; Natura 2000; species richness; climate change mitigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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