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Analysis of institutional authors

Rodríguez-Calcerrada JAuthorGonzalez GAuthorGil L.Author

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March 13, 2023
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Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pyrenaica: Two neighbors with few things in common

Publicated to: Forest Ecosystems. 10 100097- - 2023-01-01 10(), DOI: 10.1016/j.fecs.2023.100097

Authors:

Marín, SD; Rodríguez-Calcerrada, J; Arenas-Castro, S; Prieto, I; González, G; Gil, L; de la Riva, EG
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Affiliations

Brandenburg Tech Univ Cottbus Senftenberg, Dept Ecol, Konrad Wachsmann Allee 6, D-03046 Cottbus, Germany - Author
Brandenburgische Technische Universitat Cottbus - Author
Univ Cordoba, Fac Sci, Area Ecol, Bot Dept,Ecol & Plant Physiol, Cordoba, Spain - Author
Univ Leon, Fac Biol & Environm Sci, Ecol Dept, Leon, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Sch Forestry Engn, Forest Genet & Ecophysiol Res Grp, Madrid, Spain - Author
Universidad de Córdoba - Author
Universidad de León - Author
Universidad de León , Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
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Abstract

Background: The Iberian Peninsula comprises one of the largest boundaries between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian vegetation, known as sub-Mediterranean zone. This ecotone hosts many unique plant species and communities and constitutes the low-latitude (warm) margin of numerous central European species which co-occur with Mediterranean vegetation. Two of the main species found in this region are the Eurosiberian European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and the Mediterranean Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.). It remains unclear how the different physiological and adaptive strategies of these two species reflect their niche partitioning within a sub-Mediterranean community and to what extent phenotypic variation (intraspecific variability) is driving niche partitioning across Eurosiberian and Mediterranean species. Methods: We quantified functional niche partitioning, based on the n-dimensional hypervolume to nine traits related to resource acquisition strategies (leaf, stem and root) plus relative growth rate as an additional whole-plant trait, and the environmental niche similarity between Pyrenean oak and European beech. Further, we analyzed the degree of phenotypic variation of both target species and its relationship with relative growth rates (RGR) and environmental conditions. Plant recruitment was measured for both target species as a proxy for the average fitness. Results: Species’ functional space was highly segregated (13.09% overlap), mainly due to differences in niche breadth (59.7%) rather than niche replacement (25.6%), and beech showed higher trait variability, i.e., had larger functional space. However, both species shared the environmental space, i.e., environmental niches were overlapped. Most plant traits were not related to abiotic variables or RGR, neither did RGR to plant traits. Conclusions: Both target species share similar environmental space, however, show notably different functional resource-use strategies, promoting a high complementarity that contributes to maintaining a high functionality in sub-Mediterranean ecosystems. Therefore, we propose that conservation efforts be oriented to preserve both species in these habitats to maximize ecosystem functionality and resilience.
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Keywords

climate-changeeconomics spectrumenvironmental gradientseuropean beechforest dynamicsfunctional nichehypervolumeland-useleaf construction costspinus-sylvestris l.pyrenean oakregeneration dynamicsspecies coexistencesub-mediterranean communitywater relationsEnvironmental nicheEuropean beechForest dynamicsFunctional nicheHypervolumePlant functional traitsPyrenean oakSpecies coexistenceSub-mediterranean community

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Forest Ecosystems due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 5/89, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Forestry. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 4.09. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-10, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 14
  • Scopus: 14
  • Google Scholar: 4
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-10:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 37.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 35 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 9 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Germany.

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