Survival of artificially regenerated Scots pine on till soils with respect to varying dielectric properties

Abstract

Artificial regeneration to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) has faced substantial economical losses in Finnish Lapland on sites underlain by glacial tills and formerly covered by stands dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). We studied the survival of pine seedlings and saplings with respect to soil dielectric permittivity (ε), as dependent on soil water content (θv), of ploughed tills. The ε values (θv) were determined beneath 10 500 pines varying in age between 2 and 41 years and growing on 21 sites, 500 per site. Based on the logistic regression models, the survival rate of 2- to 7-year-old seedlings was independent of the soil ε (i.e., θv). In contrast, a significant correlation between the survival rate of 12- to 16-year-old saplings and soil ε was observed. In this age-class, a survival rate of 50% with ε50 = 15.1, with ε50 = 17.0 for planted saplings and ε50 = 12.7 for sowed saplings, were obtained. Of the 2000 pine trees aged between 20 and 41 years, 96.5% were observed to be growing on dry tills with ε < 15 with mean ε = 9.9. The results of this study suggest that artificial regeneration of Scots pine in Lapland is risky on moist and wet tills (ε > 15, θv > 0.27 cm3·cm–3).

Effects of bedrock and surficial deposit composition on moose damage in young forest stands in Finnish Lapland

“…Kalliola 1973;Sutinen et al 2002Sutinen et al , 2012Närhi et al 2011) and the concentrations of plant elements generally reflect the element composition of the bedrock beneath the growing site (Närhi et al 2013). It has been shown that the forest vegetation communities of Finnish Lapland are intimately related to soil chemistry; Ca-concentration being the major variable in determining plant diversity (Närhi et al 2011).…”

“…Nutrients are also available to plants due to easy dissolving of mafic minerals (Koljonen 1992c;Sutinen et al 2002Sutinen et al , 2011a. Till that has been formed from Svekokarelian schists and gneisses has lower level of nutrients than greenstones but the minerals are also available for plants due to the fine-grained mineral composition of rocks and easy leaching of nutrients with water (Koljonen 1992b).…”

“…In Lapland, a clear difference exists in the natural dispersal of Scots pine and Norway spruce: Norway spruce inhabit areas of fine-grained, Mg-and Ca-rich till that is derived from the weathering of mafic rocks, whereas Scots pine typically grows in coarse-grained, dry, acidic and nutrient-poor soil that is derived from felsic granitoides (Sutinen et al 2002;2011a,b). It has been suggested that low soil moisture is a prerequisite for the growth of Scots pine (Sutinen et al 2002) and the reforestation of previously spruce-dominated fine-grained, moist habitats with pine has often failed (Sutinen et al 2007).…”

“…It has been suggested that low soil moisture is a prerequisite for the growth of Scots pine (Sutinen et al 2002) and the reforestation of previously spruce-dominated fine-grained, moist habitats with pine has often failed (Sutinen et al 2007). In addition, pines planted in mesic sites often suffer from high incidences of fungal diseases, e.g.…”

Hirven Alces alces resurssinvalinta useilla mittakaavan tasoilla – puista, taimikoista- ja elinpiireistä maisemiin ja ja ja alueisiin

“…In Lapland, Scots pine and Norway spruce naturally regenerate on different soils. Norway spruce inhabit areas of fine-grained, Mg-and Ca-rich till, whereas Scots pine typically grows in more coarse-grained, dry, acidic and nutrient-poor soil (Sutinen et al 2002;Sutinen et al 2007;Sutinen et al 2011). The analysis in IV did not separate soil types by site-type, but because more than half of the damaged stands were located on moist or sub-xeric heaths with nutrient-rich bedrock, presumably some of the pine plantations were located on former Spruce sites.…”