Frost hardiness, root growth capacity, and field performance relationships in interior spruce, lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, and western hemlock seedlings

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 566-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson

Interior spruce (Piceaglaucaengelmannii complex), lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) were grown from seed for 20 weeks in containers, with 18-h photoperiods. Fortnightly, over a 12-week acclimation period (September 7 – December 1) outdoors at Vernon, B.C., samples were taken for (i) foliage frost hardiness measurement, (ii) poststorage root growth capacity, and (iii) outplanting on forest sites. In all species, frost hardiness and root growth capacity increased with weeks of acclimation. Frost hardiness and root growth capacity were correlated with each other in western hemlock, lodgepole pine, and Douglas-fir, and with field performance (survival or growth) in interior spruce, lodgepole pine, and Douglas-fir.

1984 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 335-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson

The antitranspirants, XEF-4-3561-A. Wilt Pruf, Plantgard, Folicote, Clear Spray, and Vapor Gard, were sprayed on container-grown lodgepole pine, white spruce, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir seedlings before or after a 12-week cold (+ 2 °C) storage period. The effects of the six antitranspirants on root growth capacity, storability, and field performance varied between species. XEF-4-3561-A. Wilt Pruf, Folicote, and Vapor Gard increased moisture stress avoidance of all species, while Plantgard and Clear Spray had no effect. None of the six antitranspirants are recommended for use on white spruce, western hemlock, or Douglas-fir planting stock because of the risk of reducing field performance. Further trials of XEF-4-3561-A and Wilt Pruf on lodgepolo pine seedlings seem War-ranted.


1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 740-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. van den Driessche

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl.), and white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings, each represented by two seed lots, were grown in Styroblock containers in a greenhouse and plastic shelter house from February 1989 to January 1990. The seedlings were exposed to two nitrogen (N) treatments and three potassium (K) treatments arranged factorially within three drought treatments. After winter storage, seedlings from a complete set of treatments were planted into hygric, mesic, and xeric sand beds during 12–14 March. Increasing nursery drought stress increased survival of Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine after planting, and high N treatment level increased survival of lodgepole pine and white spruce. Under xeric conditions, combined nursery drought and high N treatments increased survival of lodgepole pine by 33%, indicating the importance of nursery cultural regime for stock quality. Increase in nursery drought decreased seedling size relatively little, but increase in N increased seedling size one season after planting. A positive relationship between shoot/root ratio and survival in lodgepole pine and white spruce indicated that increase in N increased both shoot growth and drought resistance over the N range investigated. Only Douglas-fir showed an interaction between drought and N treatment and a small response in both survival and dry weight to K. Root growth capacity, measured at the time of planting, showed an approximate doubling in all species due to high N treatment, and was also increased in white spruce by drought stress. Survival and root growth capacity were poorly correlated, but dry-weight growth in sand beds was well correlated with root growth capacity. Shoot dry weight and percent N in shoots measured after nursery growth were correlated with root growth capacity. Manipulation of root growth capacity by changing nursery treatment was apparently possible without altering resistance to drought stress after planting.


1995 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson ◽  
Alan Vyse

Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii var glauca (Beissn.) Franco], interior spruce [Picea glauca Moench (Voss), Picea engelmannii (Parry) and their naturally occurring hybrids] and lodge-pole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) seedlings were planted on several forest sites in south central British Columbia. At planting, root growth potential (number of newly elongated roots longer than 10 mm per seedling) was determined. Trees were assessed for survival and height for at least five years. Survival of Douglas-fir and growth of all three species was affected by planting site, probably reflecting moisture and growing season temperature differences among sites. High (> 70%) survival, but not total height or mean annual relative growth rate was associated with root growth potential levels greater than 10 new roots per seedling in interior spruce and lodgepole pine. Survival and growth of Douglas-fir were not related to root growth potential. Fertilization of interior spruce seedlings at planting decreased survival 18% over seven growing seasons, and did not affect growth of surviving seedlings. Key words: reforestation, root growth potential, seedling quality, Douglas-fir, interior spruce, lodgepole pine, field performance


1991 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. Pendl ◽  
B. N. D'Anjou

Four stock types of amabilis fir (Abies amabilis) planted on Vancouver Island were compared for root growth capacity and field performance. Initial root growth capacity ratings and field performance of the stock types after five years differed significantly. Ranking the stock types by decreasing survival, stem height and diameter: 1 + 1 PBR 211 (89.4%, 78 cm, 15.7 mm), 1 + 0 PSB 313 (79.7%, 73 cm, 13.8 mm), 1 + 0 PSB 211 (76.8%, 66 cm, 12.9 mm) and 2 + 0 BR (58.9%, 59 cm, 11.0 mm). Given current nursery and planting costs and survival rates, the 1 + 0 PSB 313 and 211 are least expensive reforestation options, the 2 + 0 BR and 1 + 1 PBR 211 the most expensive. Root form of samples of each stock type lack well developed tap and lateral roots with root spiralling evident in the styroblock stock. Key words: Amabilis fir, stock types, bareroot, styroblock plugs


1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 566-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. van den Driessche

Seedlings of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl.), and white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) were grown in a container nursery from February to July 1988 and then exposed to three temperatures and three levels of drought stress applied factorially during mid-July to October 1988. Seedlings were retained in a shelter house until January 1989, when they were cold-stored until early May. Measurements of stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), and specific leaf area (SLA) were made at the end of the treatment period in September 1988 and again after growth the following year at the end of June. Root growth capacity (RGC) was tested in early May 1989. Results were considered in conjunction with performance of other samples of the same plants that had been planted in sand beds in April 1989, where irrigation was regulated to provide three levels of moisture stress. Low temperature (13 °C) generally reduced gs and E, which were adjusted for xylem pressure potential, and SLA in all species by the time nursery treatment was completed at the end of September. No effect of nursery temperature treatment on gs and E could be detected when new needles were measured in June and July (after 9 to 12 weeks of growth), but SLA of lodgepole pine increased with nursery temperature treatment, and SLA of white spruce decreased with nursery temperature treatment. RGC was higher for the 13 °C treatment than for the 16 and 20 °C treatments. Survival of outplanted seedlings was mainly inversely related to nursery temperature. Low nursery temperature reduced gs, E, and SLA and increased RGC. SLA of planted lodgepole pine increased with level of nursery drought treatment, and severe nursery drought increased gs under stress, when measured in June. No other effects of drought were detected, although drought treatment was effective in increasing survival of planted seedlings.


1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Burdett

The survival of lodgepole pine (Pinusconforta Dougl.) planted in the spring under a variety of conditions was found to be closely related to its root growth capacity as measured by two newly developed methods. One method employed a displacement technique to measure the root volume of test seedlings, nondestructively, both at the beginning and end of a period of growth under standard conditions. The change in root volume that occurred during the test was taken as a measure of root growth capacity. The other method for measuring root growth capacity was to record, by means of a semiquantitative scale, the number of newly elongated roots possessed by test seedlings after a 1-week period of growth under standard conditions. For comparative purposes, it was found that very similar results were obtained in root growth capacity tests of this type run at two widely differing temperatures (30 °C day – 25 °C night temperature, and a constant temperature of 15 °C).


1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. van den Driessche

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings were subjected to wrenching treatments during their 2nd year of growth in two experiments at different nurseries on Vancouver Island. Seedlings were wrenched with a fixed blade at 20–25 cm below the bed surface. In experiment 1 wrenching reduced water potential of trees on unirrigated loam soil by an average of 300 kPa during August and September. Wrenched trees lifted in October, which were stored at 2 °C until May, showed 25% higher survival than unwrenched trees 1 year after planting. Trees lifted in December had uniformly high survival (98%) and showed no effect of wrenching. Wrenched trees from irrigated plots had lower shoot length relative growth rates (RGR) than unwrenched trees during the year after planting. In experiment 2 wrenching treatments were applied to seedlings, growing in a loamy sand, for different periods between 15 May and 11 September as follows: (i) unwrenched, (ii) early summer, (iii) midsummer, (iv) late summer, (v) all summer. Three different levels of fertilization were applied to each wrenching treatment, and seedlings were lifted for storage at 2 °C in October and December. Stored trees and freshly lifted trees were planted at 700 m elevation on 3 March. Wrenching increased root dry weight, particularly when additional fertilizer was applied, but had no measurable effect on cold hardiness or root growth capacity. Nevertheless, late summer wrenching increased survival 5 and 7% above control 1 and 2 years after planting, when average survival was 47% after 1 year. Wrenching had little subsequent effect on new shoot growth of planted trees during 2 years after planting. However, late summer wrenched trees showed significantly more new shoot growth than all summer wrenched trees. Increasing fertilization reduced cold hardiness and survival of cold-stored trees, but increased root growth capacity. Cold hardiness, measured by electrical impedance, was correlated with survival of cold-stored trees after planting (r2 = 0.82). Root growth capacity, averaged over all fertilizer levels, was closely correlated with survival of stored and freshly lifted trees (r2 = 0.93). Foliar nutrient concentrations were reduced by wrenching, but fertilization increased nutrient reserves within the seedling.


1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 794-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Sutton

Data from tests of root growth capacity (RGC) of jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) and black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) on subsamples of planting stock outplanted on variously prepared sites appropriate to the species in boreal Ontario are examined in relation to field performance. These data were collected from six outplantings per species (two per annum for 3 years) and from further subsamples of the planting stock planted in low-stress nursery plantings. Five kinds of microsite were outplanted: untreated, Bräcke patch bottom, and two kinds of mound. On each site, 600 bare-root trees, either2 + 0 pine or 1.5 + 1.5 spruce, were slit planted during the spring planting season. The RGC data are designated RGC-a (no. of roots < 1 cm), RGC-b(no. of roots > 1 cm), RGC-c (mean aggregate length of roots > 1 cm), and RGC-d (mean mean length of roots > 1 cm). Against these, all available quantifications of performance were examined by correlation analysis. In general, correlation of RGC-d with 3rd-year field performance was much stronger than that of RGC-a, RGC-b, and RGC-c. In particular, the correlation between RGC-d and 3rd-year survival was highly significant (P < 0.01) in both species.


2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1096-1105 ◽  
Author(s):  
C DB Hawkins ◽  
K B Shewan

Fifteen seed lots, five each from natural-stand, seed-orchard, and full-sib collections, of interior spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm., and their naturally occurring hybrids) were sown in February 1993. One half of each seed lot received an ambient photoperiod (control) treatment, while the other half got a blackout (short-day) treatment. All seedlings were grown under ambient photoperiod except during the 17 days of blackout. Frost hardiness assessments were done between July and May. Blackout treatment was effective in regulating height and promoting frost hardiness in all seed lots, particularly vigorous ones. Seed lots originating from high latitude or elevation were more frost hardy both at fall lift and spring planting. Full-sib seed lots from similar latitude displayed no elevational frost-hardiness trend. Blackout treatment promoted seedling dormancy (estimated with days to bud break) at lift, but it had little or no effect on dormancy at planting. Seedling dormancy and frost hardiness were acquired and lost differently, suggesting that they are independent physiological processes. Blackout treatment significantly reduced new roots at planting in all lots. This could retard early field performance and negate the apparent utility of blackout treatment.


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