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This distribution map has been developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (partly based on the EUFORGEN map) and released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)
Caudullo, Giovanni; Welk, Erik; San-Miguel-Ayanz, Jesús (2017). Chorological maps and data for the main European woody species. figshare. Collection. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2918528
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Status of Quercus pyrenaica conservation in Europe
Pyrenean oak has high levels of genetic diversity across its range, even in populations that have experienced long-term human management or are located at the southern margins of distribution (Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013). Within-population diversity is high, with significant local differentiation influenced by long-term persistence in Mediterranean refugia following the Holocene glaciations, microhabitat variability, and a combination of sexual and asexual reproductive strategies, which contribute to its adaptive potential and resilience (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008; Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013).
Sexual and vegetative reproduction has led to clonal structures where one genet may consist of multiple spatially distant stems (ramets) (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008). While many Pyrenean oak forests exist as coppiced stands, high heterozygosity and allelic richness remain common, showing centuries of coppicing and resprouting have not caused genetic bottlenecks or major losses of unique genotypes (Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013). Studies across long-exploited stands, including those used historically for fuelwood, continue to report high genetic diversity and minimal evidence of recent genetic erosion (Salomón et al., 2017).
Gene flow in Pyrenean oak is shaped by both sexual and asexual reproductive strategies (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008). The species is capable of vigorous vegetative propagation. Its ability to sprout from its entire root system, unique among European oaks, allows rapid recovery after disturbance events such as fire or cutting (Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013). This results in extensive clonal networks, often making it difficult to distinguish individual genets visually (Salomón et al., 2017).
Pyrenean oak is wind-pollinated, allowing long-distance pollen dispersal and genetic exchange. Seed dispersal occurs primarily through gravity and animals, allowing short- and long-distance dispersal (Valbuena-Carabaña et al., 2005). Average seed dispersal distances are around 14 m, with occasional longer-range events contributing to population connectivity (Valbuena-Carabaña et al., 2005).
In coppiced stands, regeneration is mostly clonal, whereas in open woodlands seedlings come from both acorns and resprouts (Salomón et al., 2017). Although vegetative regeneration reduces opportunities for new gene combinations, gene flow through pollen and occasional seed dispersal maintains genetic diversity and prevents strong genetic structuring among populations (Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.
Pyrenean oak is part of the white oak complex that includes sessile oak (Quercus petraea), English oak (Quercus robur), and downy oak (Quercus pubescens) (Valbuena-Carabaña et al., 2005). In central Spain, Pyrenean oak is widespread, while sessile oak occurs at low density near its southern range limit. Genetic differentiation between the two species is high, although low levels of introgression and occasional hybrids have been detected in contact zones where their ranges overlap (Valbuena-Carabaña et al., 2005).
Shared haplotypes likely result from historical connections and common glacial refugia in the Iberian Peninsula. Hybridization remains infrequent due to phenological and ecological barriers. These limited interspecific exchanges contribute marginally to genetic diversity but do not significantly alter the distinct genetic structure of Pyrenean oak populations (Valbuena-Carabaña et al., 2005).
Around 63% of Pyrenean oak’s 600 000-ha range in the Iberian Peninsula remains coppiced (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008). Coppicing has not reduced genetic diversity but has maintained or even enhanced heterozygosity and supported the recruitment of new genotypes, producing uneven-aged stands with complex clonal structures (Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013; Salomón et al., 2017). However, efforts to convert coppices into high forests through heavy thinning risk removing unique genotypes and reducing overall genetic diversity (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008). Continued coppicing appears more beneficial for conserving genetic variation than conversion practices. Historical human exploitation has thus shaped Pyrenean oak’s genetic structure without depleting its diversity, although its low-value wood and acorns have limited it mainly to silvopastoral uses in mountainous regions after replacement by more productive oaks on fertile lands (Salomón et al., 2017).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.
Pyrenean oak faces several threats linked to environmental change and management practices. Climate change poses a major long-term risk, with rising temperatures and declining precipitation threatening populations at the southern limits of the species’ range. These edge populations, however, may hold locally adapted genotypes crucial for the species’ future resilience and survival (Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013). Management interventions such as intensive thinning or inappropriate conversion from coppice to high forest can reduce genetic diversity by eliminating unique genotypes (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008).
Forest management strategies for Pyrenean oak aim to balance conservation and regeneration. Conversion of coppice forests to high forests is often recommended to encourage sexual regeneration, reduce clonality, and enhance resilience to forest fires (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008), although this can reduce genetic diversity by eliminating unique genotypes (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008). At the same time, conserving mature high forests, many of which remain intact, is essential for maintaining high biological and structural diversity (Valbuena-Carabaña, González-Martínez, and Gil, 2008). Adaptive management that preserves both genetic diversity and locally adapted lineages is key to ensuring the long-term survival of Pyrenean oak under changing climatic conditions (Valbuena-Carabaña and Gill, 2013).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.
Genetic Characterisation of Quercus pyrenaica and its GCUs
Availability of FRM
FOREMATIS
Further reading
Valbuena-Carabaña, M. and Gil, L. 2017. Centenary coppicing maintains high levels of genetic diversity in a root resprouting oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.). Tree Genetics & Genomes, 13(1): 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-017-1105-4
References
Salomón, R., Rodríguez-Calcerrada, J., González-Doncel, I., Gil, L., and Valbuena-Carabaña, M. 2017. On the general failure of coppice conversion into high forest in Quercus pyrenaica stands: a genetic and physiological approach. Folia Geobotanica, 52(1): 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-016-9257-9
Valbuena-Carabaña, M. and Gil, L. 2013. Genetic resilience in a historically profited root sprouting oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) at its southern boundary. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 9(5): 1129–1142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-013-0614-z
Valbuena-Carabaña, M., González-Martínez, S.C., and Gil, L. 2008. Coppice forests and genetic diversity: A case study in Quercus pyrenaica Willd. from Central Spain. Forest Ecology and Management, 254(2): 225–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.08.001
Valbuena-Carabana, M., González-Martínez, S.C., Sork, V.L., Collada, C., Soto, A., Goicoechea, P.G., and Gil, L. 2005. Gene flow and hybridisation in a mixed oak forest (Quercus pyrenaica Willd. and Quercus petraea (Matts.) Liebl.) in central Spain. Heredity, 95(6): 457–465. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.hdy.6800752
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