Age structure of Juniperus communis L. In the Iberian peninsula: Conservation of remnant populations in Mediterranean mountains

We examined the demographic structure of Juniperus communis L. populations in the Mediterranean high mountains of southern Spain in order to analyse i ts population viability. For this, we compared the age structure of these M editerranean populations with those of northern Spain (Atlantic), and, on a local scale, the populations of different habitats within the Sierra Nevad a. The populations from northern Spain showed age structures with high prop ortions at young stages. In contrast, the Mediterranean populations proved to be dominated by adult and senescent individuals, except for the few habi tats with higher water availability during the summer, which have larger pr oportions of seedlings and juveniles. Dry habitats showed a lower seedling survival rate than did wet ones, mainly due to summer drought. Both the dif ference between Atlantic and Mediterranean categories, and the difference b etween habitats in Sierra Nevada reflect a serious limitation on recruitmen t of J. communis in Mediterranean mountains due to climatic stress imposed by summer drought. The Mediterranean populations provide a clear example of remnant dynamics, surviving for long periods due to great individual longe vity which partially offsets losses to unfavourable environmental condition s. The low ability to recover after anthropic disturbances emphasizes the n eed for conservation of J. communis populations in southeastern Spain. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.