In the last century, eucalypt plantations are increasing all over the world. Concretely, in the Basque Country (northern Iberian Peninsula), 7% of pine plantations have been recently substituted by eucalypt plantations, where little is known about their ecological impact on soil and plant diversity. However, the most relevant impact is due to forest management, as Eucalyptus globulus Labill. plantations have a short harvesting cycle, 12–15 years rotations. In fact, the species is able to regenerate from stumps; therefore, those plantations are replanted after 3–4 rotations. This type of invasive and frequent management could lead to further adverse effects on the ecosystem. The aim of this study was to characterise and compare the eucalypt plantations newly established (New: never been harvested) with older ones (Old: several times harvested and grown from stumps), having been established for at least 35 years, and to identify the primary factors that could influence the richness and diversity of vascular plant species in those plantations. The results indicated that both plantations exhibited comparable characteristics with respect to deadwood (volume and decay stage) and tree size and density. However, the Old plantations exhibited higher forest heterogeneity, pH, and higher shrub and herb richness and diversity. Overall, generalist and invasive species were found in the New plantations, while in the Old plantations, typical species of the native forests were also observed. The factor that influenced plant diversity was the volume of deadwood. Regarding life forms, higher altitude and proximity to watercourses favoured tree diversity; and lower canopy cover, shrub diversity. In conclusion, the longer the plantation has been established, the greater the number of species that are able to survive and adapt. This is probably due to the fact that management disturbance is specific and not sufficient to remove the already established plants and the soil seed bank.

中文翻译：

---

桉树种植园轮换频率的影响


在上个世纪，世界各地的桉树种植园正在增加。具体来说，在巴斯克地区（伊比利亚半岛北部），7% 的松树种植园最近被桉树种植园所取代，而桉树种植园对土壤和植物多样性的生态影响知之甚少。然而，最相关的影响是由于森林管理，如蓝桉 Eucalyptus Labill。种植园的收获周期短，12-15 年轮作。事实上，该物种能够从树桩中再生;因此，这些种植园在 3-4 次轮换后重新种植。这种侵入性和频繁的管理可能会对生态系统造成进一步的不利影响。本研究的目的是描述和比较新建立的桉树种植园（新：从未收获）与已经建立至少 35 年的旧种植园（旧：多次收获并从树桩上生长），并确定可能影响这些种植园中维管植物物种丰富性和多样性的主要因素。结果表明，两个人工林在枯木（体积和腐烂阶段）以及树木大小和密度方面表现出相似的特征。然而，老人工林表现出更高的森林异质性、pH 值以及更高的灌木和草本丰富度和多样性。总体而言，在新人工林中发现了通用物种和入侵物种，而在旧人工林中，还观察到了原始森林的典型物种。影响植物多样性的因素是枯木的体积。在生命形式方面，较高的海拔和靠近水道有利于树木的多样性;和较低的树冠覆盖，灌木多样性。 总之，种植园建立的时间越长，能够生存和适应的物种数量就越多。这可能是由于管理干扰是特定的，不足以去除已经建立的植物和土壤种子库。