Predicting field performance of Douglas-fir seedlings: comparison of root growth potential, vigor and plant moisture stress

New Forests ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas D. McCreary ◽  
Mary L. Duryea
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
Plant Moisture

Planting stock performance: Site and RGP effects

1995 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson ◽  
Alan Vyse
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
South Central ◽  
Interior Spruce

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

scholarly journals Root Growth Potential and Microsite Effects on Conifer Seedling Establishment in Northern Idaho

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 597
Author(s):  
Jacob A. Reely ◽  
Andrew S. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Seedling Quality ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Larix Occidentalis ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
Western Larch ◽  
Neighborhood Conditions ◽  
Seedling Performance ◽  
Survival And Growth

Environmental conditions and seedling quality interact to produce complex patterns of seedling survival and growth. Root growth potential (RGP) is one metric of seedling quality that can be rapidly measured prior to planting, but the correlation of RGP and seedling performance is not consistent across studies. Site factors including microsite objects that cast shade and competing vegetation can also influence seedling performance. We examined the effects of RGP, presence/absence of a microsite object, and competition cover on the survival and growth of three native conifers to the Inland Northwest, USA, over 5 years. We found that RGP had no effect on the survival or growth of western larch (Larix occidentalis), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca), and grand fir (Abies grandis) at a mesic north aspect site and a xeric south aspect site. Comparatively, the presence of a microsite increased the odds of survival by 37% for western larch and 158% for grand fir, while the absence of forb cover increased the odds of survival of western larch by 72% and of grand fir by 26%. Douglas fir was less sensitive to microsites and competition. The strong effects of neighborhood conditions around seedlings help inform silvicultural practices to enhance the establishment of western larch and grand fir, including planting seedlings near shading objects and competition control, while these practices may not be as important for Douglas fir.

Carbohydrate reserves and root growth potential in Douglas-fir seedlings before and after cold storage

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 905-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary A. Ritchie
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Cold Storage ◽  
Drought Resistance ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Frost Hardiness ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
Carbohydrate Reserves ◽  
Before And After

Carbohydrate reserves and root growth potential (RGP) of 2 + 0 Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings were monitored through a lifting season and during dark, cold storage. Concentrations of total nonstructural carbohydrate and extractable sugars in root and stem tissues remained relatively constant through winter, while foliar sugars showed a sharp midwinter peak at about 195 mg•g−1 dry weight. RGP was lowest in November and March and peaked in January. During storage at +2 and −1 °C, carbohydrates were depleted in all tissues through respiratory consumption. In contrast, RGP increased during the first 6 months in storage and then fell rapidly. The results do not support the view that changes in RGP are driven by changes in carbohydrate concentrations. Storage may affect frost hardiness and drought resistance through its effect on sugar concentrations.

Field performance potential of interior spruce seedlings: effects of stress treatments and prediction by root growth potential and needle conductance

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 576-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson ◽  
C.F. Thompson ◽  
Craig D. Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Root Growth ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Stem Diameter ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
High Survival ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
Interior Spruce

Root growth potential (RGP) and needle conductance to water vapour (Gn) of container-grown interior spruce (Piceaglauca–(Moench) Voss Piceaengelmannii Parry complex) seedlings that had been subjected to mechanical (dropping), low-temperature (−15 °C), or heat (35 °C) stresses were determined prior to planting on two forest sites. Field performance measured as survival, height, stem diameter, stem volume, and mean stem volume relative growth rate (RGR) was assessed for each of the 4 years following planting. RGP, Gn, and field performance did not differ between mechanically stressed and nonstressed seedlings. Low temperature and heat stresses reduced RGP, Gn, and field performance of some batches of seedlings, indicating that stock lots with different nursery cultural history had substantially different stress resistance. RGP and Gn were correlated with field performance such that for RGP greater than five new roots per seedling, high (>80%) survival and to a lesser extent greater growth occurred, whereas for RGP less than five new roots per seedling, survival and growth were unpredictable. High survival and better growth occurred for stock lots having Gn > 50 mmol•m−2•s−1, while for Gn < 50 mmol•m−2•s−1, survival decreased. Preplanting stress effects on growth were small and due to RGR reductions in the first field season, which are projected to result in a time delay of 1 year or less in trees reaching a height of 150 cm and a stem diameter of 3.5 cm.

Influence of nursery culture on growth, cold hardiness, and drought resistance of yellow cypress

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 2537-2547 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.T. Arnott ◽  
S.C. Grossnickle ◽  
P. Puttonen ◽  
A.K. Mitchell ◽  
R.S. Folk
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Drought Resistance ◽  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Shoot Growth ◽  
Net Photosynthesis ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
Short Day

The influence of short-day (9 h) and long-day photoperiods (18 h), and three levels of plant moisture stress (none and dried to predawn shoot water potentials of −1.0 or −1.8 MPa), applied for 7 weeks beginning in mid-July 1990, were studied on greenhouse-grown stecklings (rooted cuttings) of yellow cypress (Chamaecyparisnootkatensis (D. Don) Spach). A series of morphological and physiological measurements were made on the stecklings during and after the treatment period. Moisture stress significantly reduced steckling shoot growth and shoot dry weight by lowering net photosynthesis rates, while short-day photoperiods did not. The most pronounced growth reductions occurred when the treatments were combined, but effects were short-lived, with shoot growth resuming soon after the treatments ended. The short-day and moisture-stress treatment had no significant effect on root dry weight, shoot/root ratio, or water balance ratio. The risk of using moisture stress to control shoot growth in the nursery was low; mortality did not occur until the stecklings had been without water for at least 9 days. Moisture-stress treatments increased steckling root growth potential but had little effect on osmotic adjustment, cell elasticity, dry weight or symplastic fractions, cuticular transpiration, resistance to plant water movement, and relative water content of the shoots; short-day treatments had no influence on any of these parameters. Short days and moisture stress, singly or combined, had little effect on steckling cold hardiness. Steckling gas exchange rates were reduced significantly by low root temperature. In a 6-week controlled-environment simulation of planting-site moisture conditions, no significant differences in steckling net photosynthesis, transpiration, or stomatal conductance were found among nursery treatments; those that had been subjected to moisture stress in the nursery had small growth increases after planting in both wet and dry soil moisture regimes. We conclude that shoot growth of yellow cypress stecklings was controlled in the nursery using 9-h photoperiods and −1.8 MPa predawn shoot water potentials. Improved cold hardiness of the stecklings was not achieved using these nursery cultural methods, but moisture stress did confer some measure of drought resistance immediately after treatment, with higher root growth potential and lower shoot mass.

scholarly journals Filmforming Antitranspirants: Their Effects on Root Growth Capacity, Storability, Moisture Stress Avoidance, and Field Performance of Containerized Conifer Seedlings

1984 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 335-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Growth Capacity ◽  
Root Growth Capacity ◽  
Stress Avoidance ◽  
Vapor Gard

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.

scholarly journals Does woody species with contrasting root architecture require different container size in nursery?

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luz María De la Fuente ◽  
Juan Francisco Ovalle ◽  
Eduardo C. Arellano ◽  
Rosanna Ginocchio
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Root Architecture ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Morphological Parameters ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
Baccharis Linearis

Small containers used in seedlings production of tree species with different root architecture can result in serious constraints for root growth and unsuitable plant quality, with potential impacts on field performance. We compare responses of root morphology to changes in container size and shape in both deep-rooting (Acacia caven) and shallow-rooting (Baccharis linearis) species, both commonly used in active restoration plans in central Chile. For both species, seedlings were cultivated in four different PVC container-types varying in size (440 mL and 880 mL) and shape ([10, 20, 35, and 45] cm in length), and a control treatment that consists in the commonly container-type used in Chilean nurseries (440 mL black polyethylene bag). Seedlings were cultivated for one growing season under controlled conditions and a set of above- and belowground morphological parameters were evaluated. A second short experiment was performed afterwards to evaluate potential seedling quality through the root growth potential (RGP) test. Results showed that an increase in container volume differently affected morphological parameters of A. caven and B. linearis seedlings. The control treatment had high presence of spiral roots for the deep-rooting species, restricting normal root growth. For both species, elongated containers (>35 cm) produced seedlings with smaller shoots with longer root systems and without deformations in the taproot or main root. Elongated containers also restarted growth of new roots more deeply in the container as result of the RGP test. We concluded that contrasting root architecture of native species require different container size in nursery to promote an adequate root development and growth.

Effects of Air Drying on Survival, Height, and Root Growth Potential of Loblolly Pine Seedlings

1985 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter P. Feret ◽  
Richard E. Kreh ◽  
Carolyn Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
First Year ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Root Growth Potential ◽  
Air Drying

Abstract Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) seedlings were dried by exposure to ambient conditions and their subsequent quality evaluated for both field performance and root-growth potential. Seedling survival after one growing season was diminished 6.9% and first-year height growth 17% for each 10 minutes of exposure out-doors. Root-growth potential was significantly diminished by air drying with the half-life of a seedling ranging from 15 to 35 minutes depending on ambient conditions. A strong relationship between field performance and root-growth potential was shown. Results support earlier research concluding that seedling desiccation must be avoided if seedling quality is to be maintained at the planting site.1

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