Władysław Chałupka

DIFFERENTIAL ABOVE- AND BELOW-GROUND BIOMASS ACCUMULATION OF EUROPEAN PINUS SYLVESTRIS POPULATIONS IN A 12-YEAR-OLD PROVENANCE EXPERIMENT

Abstract Growth and the distribution of biomass among above- and below-ground components were measured in 12-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from 19 populations grown in a provenance experiment in central Poland (52° N). The populations originated from the northern (>55°N in Russia, Sweden and Latvia), central (54–47° N in Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, Slovakia, Hungary), and southern (<45° N in Bosnia, Montenegro and Turkey) European range of Scots pine. Height, diameter and biomass were all significantly related to latitude of origin. For populations of northern, central and southern origin, above-ground biomass averaged 3.1, 4.7 and 3.3 kg tree−1 and 25, 43 and 12 Mg ha−1. Total root biomass accounted for 22, 19 and 28% of total stand biomass for northern, central and southern populations, respectively. These differences were primarily the result of proportionally higher fine root biomass in the slower-growing northern and southern than central populations. Since the allometric regression...

Geographic origin of Pinus sylvestris populations influences the effects of air pollution on flowering and growth

Flowering and height growth of 20 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) populations from 10 countries were analyzed at two replicated provenance sites established in 1984 in western Poland. One site was 2 km from a phosphate fertilizer factory that emits SO2 and fluorides, and the other 12 km to the southeast in an area free of acute air pollution levels was treated as a control. Slow-growing populations from the southern (40 to 45°N) and northern (58 to 61°N) part of the species range exhibited relatively smaller air pollutioninduced growth reductions than those from the central part of the range (45 to 58°N). Trees growing in the control area started flowering 4 yrs earlier than those at the polluted site. The percent of trees flowering at the control site differed significantly among provenances in both 1988 and 1990. The mean percent of trees with flowers was three times lower at the polluted site. The least sensitive southern and northern provenances in terms of pollutioninduced reductions in growth exhibited the largest pollution-induced decreases in flowering. These findings indicate that the sensitivity of vegetative organs to air pollution stress is not always paralleled by the sensitivity of reproductive organs.

Control of the first flowering in forest trees

Precocious flowering provides opportunities to shorten a breeding cycle. A tree may flower for the first time when sufficient crown development has occurred and there are enough meristems to support both vegetative and reproductive buds. Precocious flowering can be promoted through the use of cultural techniques, such as photoperiod, accelerated growth, gibberellins and water stress. The length of the juvenile phase is dependent on genetic and environmental variables that affect achievement of a minimum size, and is positively correlated with the height of the plants within a family. Selection pressure can be applied successfully to the precocious flowering character, and crossed or inbred lines of precocious flowering progeny can be developed. Various levels and amounts of genetic control have been implicated in the control of precocious flowering.

Stimulation of flowering in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) grafts by gibberellin injection

Abstract Gibberellins A 4 7 and A3 in methanolic solution (2 mg GA per ml methanol) were injected into the branches in the upper part of Scots pine grafts in mid-August. Application of GA 4 7 significantly increased the percentage of female-flowering shoots from 3.5 to 18.0, while GA3 was ineffective. Neither GA 4 7 or GA3 affected male flowering.