Tillage induced differential morphometric responses and growth patterns in afforestation with Quercus ilex

This study describes the changes in height and diameter in Quercus ilex trees grown on agricultural land in a semi-arid Mediterranean climate, in response to different soil management practices: mechanical weeding (MW), chemical weeding (CHW) and no treatment (NT); and compares trees grown from 1-year-old saplings and from acorns. After 6 years, trees that had been mechanically weeded were largest; for trees grown from saplings the average height was 120 cm and diameter was 3.83 cm, for trees grown from acorns average height was 100 cm and diameter was 2.56 cm. Soil organic matter increased in all managed plots while phosphorus, nitrate, and water content oscillated between years. The no treatment plot had the highest values for nitrate and organic matter while the chemical weeding plot had the highest level of phosphorus. Annual mean on C/N ratios were higher in the mechanical weeding (12.6 ± 3.3) followed by the chemical weeding (12.0 ± 1.6). Also mechanical weeding treatment showed the lowest soil water content throughout the study. An old tillage-induced compaction zone appeared in all plots at a depth of 12.5–17.5 cm with mechanical weeding causing the greatest compaction. However, no relationships were found with tree heights, neither with spatial compaction zoning. All trees showed the same growth pattern, whether raised from saplings or acorns and irrespective of soil management system. The height and diameter of trees were linked to the sum of height and diameter ratios from previous years. Our study shows that soil management does influence tree growth rate. Mechanical weeding should be considered for afforestation of agricultural lands with Q. ilex in semiarid Mediterranean lands.