VARIACIÓN ALTITUDINAL EN EMERGENCIA Y CRECIMIENTO INICIAL DE PLANTAS DE Pinus patula

Abstract

Pinus patula es una especie de amplio uso e importancia en México y otros países por sus características de crecimiento y calidad de madera. Con la finalidad de identificar la existencia de un patrón de variación entre procedencias de diferente origen altitudinal (1959 a 2579 msnm), se evaluó en vivero la emergencia de plántulas, además de la altura y diámetro basal a los seis meses de edad en plantas de siete poblaciones de los estados de Hidalgo, Puebla y Veracruz, México. Se recolectó semilla de 49 árboles y la siembra se realizó en contenedores de polietileno. La emergencia de plántulas varió entre las poblaciones de 54.2 a 88.3 %, la velocidad de emergencia de 35.5 a 45.3 días, la altura varió de 25.8 a 27.9 cm y el diámetro basal de 3.4 a 3.6 mm. Las plantas provenientes de sitios de mayor altitud tuvieron mayor porcentaje y velocidad de emergencia que las procedentes de sitios de menor elevación. No se encontró un patrón de diferenciación en el crecimiento en altura y diámetro de las plantas en relación con la altitud del sitio de origen.

Altitudinal Genetic Variation of Pinus oocarpa Seedling Emergence in the Southern Mountains, Oaxaca, Mexico

“…Generally, the higher-elevation provenances (San Pedro, El Tizne, Las Tejas and El Nanche) did not exhibit issues in seedling emergence compared to the lower-elevation ones (Sesteadero and Rosario). This aligns with the reports for P. patula and P. chiapensis (Martínez) Andresen, where higher-elevation populations showed the greater capacity and speed of seedling emergence [13,20]. According to the results of this study, the hypothesis that the provenance and tree factor influence the parameters studied is accepted because the environmental variations of the site of origin shape the genetic component.…”

“…Therefore, there is strong genetic control over the germination parameters, as has been demonstrated for the morphological variables and initial growth of this species [6,15]. In other species such as P. cembroides, P. orizabensis and P. patula, significant effects of the provenance on seed quality have been demonstrated [12,13]. However, it is important to note that the physiological quality of seeds also depends on factors such as provenance, seed maturity, harvest season, the age of harvested trees and the seed year [34,35].…”

“…In other species such as P. cembroides Zucc., P. orizabensis D. K. Bailey and Hawksworth and P. patula Schiede ex Schltdl. and Cham, the variation in physiological seed quality is due to the effects of geographical origin [12,13]. For P. oocarpa, the variation in physiological seed quality is not known; however, in the growth characteristics and wood density, there is wide variation and genetic control [6,14,15].…”

“…On the other hand, the altitude and climatic factors of geographic origin influence the physiological quality of seeds of the genus Pinus L. [13,16,17], generating patterns of clinal variation as an adaptive response [18][19][20]. Although the relationship between the physiological quality of seeds and elevation and environmental variables has not been studied in P. oocarpa, it has been demonstrated that the growth in the diameter and height of seedlings has a quadratic relationship with the elevation of the sites of origin [18,19].…”

“…Study of the association between elevation and environmental factors is important for the selected P. oocarpa resin trees since these factors can define the capacity and speed of seedling emergence. The speed of seedling emergence can benefit the establishment and initial growth of seedlings [13,21]; in addition, it could reduce the exposure of plants to random mortality events such as frost and drought [13,22].…”