“…Continentality provides optimum conditions for seedling establishment and growth in two ways. Firstly, higher moisture during summer tends to increase seedling growth and decrease mortality (Madsen and Larsen, 1997;Petritan et al, 2007) whereas high moisture in winter, as in the case of Atlantic forests, improves pathogens like Rhizoctonia solani for seeds (Perrin and Muller, 1979) and Phytophtora for seedlings (Savoie et al, 1988). Secondly, winter chilling could improve germination quality by the induction of seed dormancy, the conservation of germinative capacity during winter, and the renewal of bud growth and shoot elongation (Falusi and Calamassi, 1990).…”