Fig. 1

Effects of thinning treatments on soil water content. Upper panel dynamics of soil water content (30-cm depth) according to treatments. The x-axis plots day of the year (DOY) for two consecutive years. Lower panel mean seasonal soil water content. Bars give the standard errors of 9 (Ayora) to 12 (St Mitre) probes per treatment. Different letters indicate differences between treatments (p < 0.05). At both sites, soil water content in autumn and winter followed a similar trend to soil water content in summer and spring