Current issue: 58(5)
Articles containing the keyword 'cold tolerance'
Category : Article
The European Pine Sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer Geoffroy) is one of the most serious defoliators of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in northern Europe. We studied the pattern in the regional occurrence of the outbreaks of N. sertifer in Finland in years 1961-90, and made predictions about the outbreak pattern to the year 2050 after predicted winter warming. We tested whether minimum winter temperatures and forest type and soil properties could explain the observed outbreak pattern. We analysed outbreak patterns at two different spatial levels: forest board- and municipal-level.
The proportion of coniferous forests on damage-susceptible soils (dry and infertile sites) explained a significant part of the variation in outbreak frequency at small spatial scale (municipalities) but not at large spatial scale (forest boards). At the forest board level, the incidence of minimum temperatures below -36 °C (= the critical value for egg mortality) explains 33% of the variation in the outbreak pattern, and at the municipal level the incidence of cold winters was also the most significant explaining variable in northern Finland. Egg mortality due to cold winters seems to be the most parsimonious factor explaining why there have been so few N. sertifer outbreaks in northern and north-eastern Finland. We predict that climate change (increased winter temperatures) may increase the frequency of outbreaks in eastern and northern Finland in the future.
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Virtanen,
E-mail:
tv@mm.unknown
- Neuvonen, E-mail: sn@mm.unknown
- Niemelä, E-mail: pn@mm.unknown
- Nikula, E-mail: an@mm.unknown
- Varama, E-mail: mv@mm.unknown
Seven hundred one-year-old Betula pendula Roth seedlings were given different concentrations of potassium fertilizer. Over the study period seedlings were subjected to artificial growing and dormant phases. Frost resistance of the seedlings was assessed by artificial freezing tests and electrical impedance measurements on stem cuttings. In general, high concentrations of potassium fertilizer reflected a low tolerance to frost. Pre-freezing impedance readings decreased with increasing potassium fertilizer dosages. Results from pre-freezing impedance measurements were found to be in broad agreement with the hypothesis that high impedance readings indicate a frost hardy tissue whereas low readings imply the opposite.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
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Jozefek,
E-mail:
hj@mm.unknown
The red spruce (Picea rubens sarg.) population in the Green Mountains in Vermont has showed foliar deterioration that has not been fully explained. The most characteristic needle injuries of the sensitive trees appear in late winter when the first-year needles turn brown. The cytopathological and external observations on the symptoms support the interpretation that winter stress triggers the damage. It is possible that some anthropogenic stress factors (components of acid deposition or ozone) and/or natural factors predispose the trees to the damage.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
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Kärenlampi,
E-mail:
lk@mm.unknown
- Friedland, E-mail: af@mm.unknown
Frost resistance during shoot elongation in seedlings of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) was studied in two experiments. The aim of the first study was to evaluate the effect of varying mineral nutrition. Except for potassium, only minor differences in mineral elements concentrations were established, presumably due to low levels of irradiance and thus a low rate of dry matter production. No significant differences in frost injuries were found between the treatments in the experimental series, but the control seedlings were significantly less injured. It is assumed that poor hardiness development at the end of one growth period resulting from low levels of irradiance may decrease the frost resistance during the next shoot elongation phase. Observations from the second experiment with Norway spruce nursery stocks representing different seedling ages and production systems, support this assumption.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
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Rostad,
E-mail:
hr@mm.unknown
The effect of different environmental conditions (four outdoor localities and one greenhouse locality in Northern Sweden) on cold hardening of 29 one-year-old full-sib families from plus-trees of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were studied by artificial freeze testing. Plants exposed to low night temperatures during August achieved faster cold hardening than plants raised in milder localities. The family ranking for rate of winter hardening was consistent among outdoor localities if freeze testing was performed at times when plants from different localities had attained similar levels of cold hardiness. However, significant family x locality interactions were obtained when plants from the outdoor localities were freeze tested on the same occasion. Freeze damage was positively correlated with plant height but not correlated with dry matter content in the autumn. Freezing damage of greenhouse raised plus-tree families was uncorrelated with damage of plants raised outdoors. Possible implications for hardiness breeding are suggested.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
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Nilsson,
E-mail:
jn@mm.unknown
Nursery grown Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) seedlings from 12 different seed orchards were tested for early autumn frost hardiness using artificial freezing tests. Seed orchards containing grafted parent clones originating from high altitudes produced seedlings showing higher damage than commercial control seed lots of the commercial controls. A seed orchard containing both German and Norwegian clones produced seedlings showing high damage. The correlation between bud-set and frost damage was high at the provenance level, but lower at the half- and full-sib-levels. Families with good growth capacity in progeny field tests showed large between-family variation in frost damage in the artificial freezing tests. This indicates the possibility to combine high growth rate with acceptable autumn frost hardiness in the selection of parent trees.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
Visible frost damage to forest trees in Sweden seldom occurs in winter but is frequent in late spring, summer and early autumn. Frosts are frequent in all seasons in various parts of Sweden, even in the southernmost part (lat. 56°, N) and temperatures may be as low as -10°C even around mid-summer. Ice crystal formation within the tissues, which in most seedlings takes place at around -2°C, causes injury, not the sub-zero temperatures themselves.
The apical meristem, the elongated zone, and the needles of seedlings of Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. in a growing phase were damaged at about -3°C and those of Pinus sylvestris L. at about -6°C. Other species of the genus Pinus were tested and most were found to be damaged at about -6°C, with some variations. Picea species tested were damaged at about -3°C to -4°C.
A method has been designed to compare the response of different species to winter desiccation, which occurs under conditions of (1) low night temperature, (2) very high irradiation and increase in needle temperature during the photoperiod, (3) frozen soil, and (4) low wind speed. There were differences in response to winter desiccation between pine and spruce species. Seedlings of Pinus contorta tolerated these winter desiccation conditions much better than those of P. sylvestris or Picea abies. Picea mariana was the least tolerant of the species tested.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
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Christersson,
E-mail:
lc@mm.unknown
- Fircks, E-mail: hf@mm.unknown
