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Germination and early seedling growth of Pinus densata Mast. provenances

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Abstract

We studied seed germination and early seedling growth of Pinus densata to explore the range of variability within the species and to inform afforestation practices. Phenotypes were evaluated at a forest tree nursery under conditions that support Pinus yunnanensis, one of the presumed parental species of P. densata. Seeds were collected from 20 open-pollinated trees within each of eight autochthonous populations representing the natural distribution of P. densata in China to assess variation in germination traits and early seedling growth, and to examine the relationships among these traits. Results showed that seeds from all populations germinated and seedlings established successfully. There were significant differences among populations in 13 of 14 traits evaluated. Seed germination and early seedling growth were strongly related to seed size and seed weight. Bigger seeds germinated earlier and faster than small seeds, and seedling size was positively correlated with seed size. Some germination traits were strongly and significantly correlated with climatic variables associated with the provenance of the studied populations. Based on these observations, we conclude there were large, significant, and biologically important differences among P. densata populations in seed germination and seedling growth traits. The observed variability probably reflects a high degree of adaptive differentiation among populations that is likely to be relevant for future afforestation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Use in the Southwest Mountains of China, College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China

    Yulan Xu, Nianhui Cai, Bin He, Ruili Zhang & Anan Duan

  2. The State Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yulan Xu, Jianfeng Mao & Yue Li

  3. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100093, China

    Wei Zhao

  4. USDA Forest Service Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA

    Keith Woeste

Authors
  1. Yulan Xu
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  2. Nianhui Cai
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  3. Bin He
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  4. Ruili Zhang
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  5. Wei Zhao
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  6. Jianfeng Mao
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  7. Anan Duan
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  8. Yue Li
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  9. Keith Woeste
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yulan Xu.

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Project funding: This work was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31070591).

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Corresponding editor: Hu Yanbo

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Xu, Y., Cai, N., He, B. et al. Germination and early seedling growth of Pinus densata Mast. provenances. J. For. Res. 27, 283–294 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0186-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0186-x

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