How do light and water influence Pinus pinaster Ait. germination and early seedling development?

Germination and survival in the initial months represent a critical period for forest species. Many factors have significant influences and can produce a negative effect on regeneration. To prevent this, these factors must be known and their influence must be evaluated. The influence of light and of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forest ecology and management 2009-11, Vol.258 (12), p.2647-2653
Main Authors: Ruano, Irene, Pando, Valentín, Bravo, Felipe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
anthropogenic activities
Availability
Biological and medical sciences
Drought
environmental factors
equations
forest trees
Forestry
Forests
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Germination
growth and development
harvest intensity
Light
light intensity
Management
mortality
natural regeneration
Peninsulas
Pine
Pinus pinaster
rain
seed germination
seedling growth
silvicultural practices
Summer
Survival
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
water
water availability
water stress
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Summary:Germination and survival in the initial months represent a critical period for forest species. Many factors have significant influences and can produce a negative effect on regeneration. To prevent this, these factors must be known and their influence must be evaluated. The influence of light and of water availability has been studied in the most important pine species in the Iberian Peninsula, the Pinus pinaster. An experimental seed-sowing was conducted in the Cuéllar experimental site (central Spain), where four different harvest intensities were applied in 2004. Four different watering regimes were performed during two consecutives summers (2006 and 2007) and seedling development was monitored during 18 months. Main findings reveal that, regarding germination and survival in the initial months, light was more important than water availability. Higher germination and survival rates were obtained when the lowest level harvest was applied. However, in terms of biomass and growth, water availability was more influential than harvest intensity. Results improved when there was greater water availability after a few months. The main conclusion of this study is that light shows a higher impact that summer rainfall with respect to germination and survival in the early stages of Mediterranean Maritime Pine.
ISSN:0378-1127
1872-7042
DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.09.027