This paper is the final report of a study on the damage of tree transplants induced before the trees are planted in the field. The injury development is viewed as a transient rather than a ”step-like” process. The main objective of the study is to develop concepts and methods for recognizing and analysing the dynamic aspects of that process. The report consists of three parts: i) characterization of the environments to which the plants are exposed, ii) theoretical part of model development, and iii) experiments with bare-rooted Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) transplants in which the model was applied.
The results of the first part indicate fast temporal variation of the environmental stress factors, and a slow response of the plant in terms of visible injury symptoms. A model is developed in the second part of the paper for analysing the relationship between the fast stress variables and the slow injury variables. The model is employed in the third part of the study for developing experiments in which the transplants were subjected to different stress conditions. The conclusions emphasize the hazardous role of root desiccation. Similar injury development was observed over a range of different planting sites. Controlling high temperatures during the transportation and storage of the plants was introduced as an indirect method for avoiding the risk of root desiccation.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.