Fig. 3

Leaf biomass (a), stem biomass (b), and proportion of new leaves (biomass-based) (c) in June and proportion of plants under different phenological stages in April (d) of planted Holm oak (Q. ilex) as affected by treatments of fall fertilization in the nursery (see Fig. 1 for treatment descriptions). Phenological stages 0—plants with leaf buds; 1—swollen leaf buds; 2—growing leaves; 3—leaves formed but not completely expanded; 4—leaves completely expanded. Asterisks on control bars indicate significance of the contrast that compares control mean with the average of all the other treatments means (P < 0.05). Within a factor level, when no letters are given next to the bars, no significant effect was apparent from the ANOVA treatment. See Table 2 for sample size