Physiological and field growth responses of oak seedlings to warm storage

Cabral, Raquel; O'Reilly, Conor

doi:10.1007/s11056-008-9090-y

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At the end of cultivation, seedlings of all species grown in peat were taller than those grown in coir. However, the height of seedlings in coir were at least equal to that of comparable forest nursery production systems of the Quercus species [75,76]; in other cases height was higher both in Q. robur [77,78] and in Q. ilex [27,40,79,80], and were in line with the Italian national regulation [81].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Coconut Coir as a Sustainable Nursery Growing Media for Seedling Production of the Ecologically Diverse Quercus Species

Mariotti

Sofía

Raddi

et al. 2020

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Peat, a non-sustainable resource, is still predominately used in forest nurseries. Coconut coir might provide an alternative, renewable, and reliable growing media but few studies have evaluated this media type in forest nurseries. We assessed the influence of pure coir, in combination with various fertilization regimes, on the growth and physiology of three ecologically diverse Quercus species seedlings (Q. robur, Q. pubescens, and Q. ilex) during nursery cultivation. Seedlings were grown using peat and pure coir in combination with three fertilization treatments (standard, K-enriched, and P-enriched). Data were collected for: (1) growth and physiological traits; (2) detailed above- and below-ground morphological traits by destructive analysis; and (3) NPK content in leaves, shoot and roots, and in the growing media, following cultivation. Peat and coir in combination with the various fertilization treatments affected above- and below-ground morphology and, to a lesser extent, the physiological traits of Quercus seedlings. Large effects of the substrate occurred for most morphological variables, with peat being more effective than coir in all studied species. Fertilization also produced significant differences. The effect of K-enriched fertilization on plant growth was clear across the three species and the two growing media. P-enriched fertilization in peat was the only combination that promoted a higher amount of this element in the tissues at the end of cultivation. Despite their smaller size, seedlings produced in coir were compatible with standard Quercus forest stocktype size, and showed a proportionally higher root system development and fibrosity. Our results suggest that coir can be used as an alternative substrate to grow Quercus species seedlings, and that fertilization can offset coir deficiencies in chemical properties. As several functional traits drive planting performance under varying environmental conditions. according to the Target Plant Concept, coir might thus serve as an acceptable material for seedling cultivation in some cases.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Coconut Coir as a Sustainable Nursery Growing Media for Seedling Production of the Ecologically Diverse Quercus Species

Mariotti

Sofía

Raddi

et al. 2020

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The poor performance of our seedlings, especially regarding their height, also indicates that conditions are suboptimal for oak regeneration at our site. Seedling height has been reported to reach 13-20 cm after one (Giertych and Suszka 2010;Devetaković et al 2019), and 30-60 cm after only two growing seasons (Ammer 2003;Cabral and O'Reilly 2008;Andersen 2010).…”

Section: Differences In Oak Regeneration Between the Core Area And Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oak regeneration at the arid boundary of the temperate deciduous forest biome: insights from a seeding and watering experiment

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous studies found that pedunculate oak, one of the most widespread and abundant species in European deciduous forests, regenerates in open habitats and forest edges, but not in closed forest interiors. However, these observations usually come from the core areas of the biome, and much less is known about such processes at its arid boundary, where limiting factors may be different. In a full factorial field experiment, we tested the effects of different habitats (grassland, forest edge, forest interior) and increased growing season precipitation on the early regeneration of pedunculate oak in a forest-steppe ecosystem in Central Hungary, at the arid boundary of temperate deciduous forests. In the grassland habitat, seedling emergence was very low, and no seedlings survived by the fourth year. In contrast, seedling emergence was high and similar at forest edges and forest interiors, and was not affected by water addition. Most seedlings survived until the fourth year, with no difference between forest edge and forest interior habitats in numbers, and only minor or transient differences in size. The lack of oak regeneration in the grassland differs from previous reports on successful oak regeneration in open habitats, and may be related to a shift from light limitation to other limiting factors, such as moisture or microclimatic extremes, when moving away from the core of the deciduous forest biome towards its arid boundary. The similar number and performance of seedlings in forest edges and forest interiors may also be related to the decreasing importance of light limitation.

show abstract