Damage by pathogens and insects to Scots pine and lodgepole pine 25 years after reciprocal plantings in Canada and Sweden

Abstract

ABSTRACTA combined species – provenance – family experiment with Scots pine and lodgepole pine was planted in Canada and Sweden. One aim of the experiment was to evaluate the two species’ sensitivities to pathogens and insects 25 years after establishment in their non-native continents. In Canada, Scots pine had better average survival than lodgepole pine, but survival rates among trees from the best seed-lots were equal. In Canada only western gall rust infected Scots pine to some extent, and mountain pine beetles attacked and killed Scots pine more frequently than lodgepole pine. At one site in Sweden, lodgepole pine had higher survival rates than Scots pine, whether evaluated as an overall average or with data from only the best surviving seed-lots. At the other Swedish site, the species’ survival rates were equal, largely since moose damage was much more frequent on lodgepole pine than on Scots pine. Adaptation to local conditions seemed to be important in the resistance of stem breakage caused by heavy snowfalls. The exotic species generally seemed to resist the new threats, but more serious damage by mountain pine beetle on Scots pine than on lodgepole pine in Canada demonstrates possible drawbacks when using exotic species which are phylogenetically similar to native.