Pinus Sylvestris Seeds Research Articles

Семенная продуктивность и качество семян Pinus sylvestris L. в лесных культурах на крымских яйлах

The seed production and quality of Pinus sylvestris seeds in forest plantations on the Crimean yaylas has been studied. The dynamics of biometric indicators of cones and seeds by year and in connection with the peculiarities of growing conditions has been characterized. Significant differences in the quality of seeds of P. sylvestris trees have been revealed in terms of the level of germination energy. It has been shown that, along with the temperature regime, a significant impact on the effectiveness of P. sylvestris reproduction processes is exerted by air humidity and the nature of precipitation, as well as the dynamics of air mass movement, since the success of pollination is determined by the quantity and quality of pollen that has reached the female reproductive structures. Based on the analysis of weather phenomena and the dynamics of seed quality, it has been found that the level of seed germination is best reflected by an integrated index that takes into account the combined effect of several factors – the dryness index. In addition, the results of the analysis allowed us to conclude that the efficiency of the pollination process of female cones of P. sylvestris under yayla conditions is most likely influenced by the number of hours of sunshine. The germination energy and seed germination differ not only within the studied plantations, but also depending on the year of study. During the observation period, the forest plantations of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla have produced the highest quality seeds. In 2014, in the plantations with a density of 0.5, the seed germination rate was 74.5±2.2 %. The lowest level of germination energy and seed germination has been noted in artificial plantations of P. sylvestris on the Tirke Yayla; in 2012, these indicators here amounted to 15.2±0.7 and 46.2±2.1 %, respectively. In general, the development of the generative sphere of P. sylvestris in artificial plantations on the Crimean yaylas is quite effective. Based on this, a conclusion has been made that the growing conditions on the yaylas are favourable for the implementation of the initial stages of the ontogenesis of the species.

Can the Seed Trade Provide a Potential Pathway for the Global Distribution of Foliar Pathogens? An Investigation into the Use of Heat Treatments to Reduce Risk of Dothistroma septosporum Transmission via Seed Stock.

The international plant trade results in the accidental movement of invasive pests and pathogens, and has contributed significantly to recent range expansion of pathogens including Dothistroma septosporum. Seeds are usually thought to present a lower biosecurity risk than plants, but the importation of Pinus contorta seeds from North America to Britain in the mid-1900s, and similarities between British and Canadian D. septosporum populations suggests seeds could be a pathway. Dothistroma septosporum has not been isolated from seeds, but inadequately cleaned seed material could contain infected needle fragments. This case study investigated whether cone kilning, and wet and dry heat treatments could reduce D. septosporum transmission without damaging seed viability. Pinus needles infected with D. septosporum were incubated alongside cones undergoing three commercial seed extraction processes. Additional needles were exposed to temperatures ranging from 10 to 67 °C dry heat for up to 48 h, or incubated in water heated to between 20 and 60 °C for up to one hour. Pinus sylvestris seeds were exposed to 60 and 65 dry heat °C for 48 h, and further seed samples incubated in water heated to between 20 and 60 °C for up to one hour. Dothistroma septosporum survived the three kilning processes and while seeds were not damaged by dry heat exceeding 63.5 °C, at this temperature no D. septosporum survived. Wet heat treatments resulted in less than 10% pathogen survival following incubation at 40 °C, while at this temperature the seeds suffered no significant impacts, even when submerged for one hour. Thus, commercial seed kilning could allow D. septosporum transmission, but elevated wet and dry heat treatments could be applied to seed stock to minimise pathogen risk without significantly damaging seed viability.

Global warming could shorten the seed lifespan of pioneer tree species and thus natural regeneration window of damaged areas

Prolonged periods without precipitation in spring prevent timely and rapid germination of pioneer tree seeds and could lead to an accelerated loss of germination capacity (reduced lifespan). To get knowledge about the shortening of seed lifespan and, thus, the shortening of natural regeneration windows under climate change, an experiment was conducted. Seeds of Alnus glutinosa, Betula pendula, Populus tremula, Salix caprea, Larix decidua, Pinus sylvestris, and Picea abies were exposed to temperatures of 15 °C, 25 °C (past or present climate), and 40 °C (future climate) with low or high humidity for a period of 3 months. Regardless of air humidity, the initial germination percentage of Alnus glutinosa, Betula pendula, Larix decidua, and Pinus sylvestris seeds decreased only slightly by 5–15% over the 91-day period when stored at 15 °C and 25 °C. For Populus tremula and Salix caprea, time windows of maximum 14–49 days and 42–91 days were identified, respectively.However, as climate change progresses with rising temperatures and increasing absolute air humidity values, the window of opportunity for successful germination will shorten for all studied tree species. In the moist air humidity variant of 40 °C, the germination percentage dropped to 0% after 42 days for Alnus glutinosa, Betula pendula, and Larix decidua. The natural regeneration window will be reduced by half from more than three months to about three weeks under climate change. The lifespan of Populus tremula and Salix caprea seeds will be shortened to 1 week. For Picea abies, the time window will shorten to a maximum of 28 days.

PINUS SYLVESTRIS L. БІРЖЫЛДЫҚ СЕППЕ КӨШЕТТЕРІНЕ AGRO-MIX, AGRARKA ЖӘНЕ ЭПИН БИОПРЕПАРАТТАРЫН ҚОЛДАНУ

This article presents studies of the effect of biological products "Agro-MIKS", "Agrarka" and "Epin" on the growth of annual seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in 2022 with the financial support of KATU named after. S. Seifullin of young scientists about research work carried out within the framework of internal grant funding No. 2VGF/21. The research work was carried out in a forest nursery located in the city of Schuchinsk, Burabay district, Akmola region. In the forest nursery, a total area of 0,4 ha was surveyed, of which 0.2 ha was pre-treated and sown with seeds of Pinus sylvestris L. Some details of this research work were published in other publications, but in this paper only one object of study, seedlings of Pinus sylvestris, was fully analyzed. L. The composition of chlorophyll was studied to assess seasonal growth and physiological development, as well as the biochemical activity of seedlings. The biological products used in the experimental samples were compared with each other and with control options. The biomass, growth and viability of seedlings were analyzed. Soil cultivation, sowing and care were carried out according to generally accepted methods of experimental work. The samples were built according to the linear-diagonal method, and the data were collected throughout the season. Statistical data were processed using the SPSS, STATISTICA 13, and SNEDECOR programs.

Seed quantity affects the fungal community composition detected using metabarcoding

Pest introductions via trade in tree seed may result from a lack of adequate survey and validation protocols. Developing better diagnostic protocols to identify potentially harmful pests and pathogens in forest tree seed is of critical importance. High-throughput sequencing-based barcoding and metabarcoding provide effective tools for screening potentially harmful organisms in various plant materials, including seeds. However, the sample size needed to detect the total microorganism diversity of a community is a major challenge in microbiome studies. In this work, we examined how increasing sample size (ranging between 100 and 1000 seeds) influences diversity of fungal communities detected by high throughput sequencing in Pinus sylvestris seeds. Our results showed that as sample size increased, fungal alpha diversity also increased. Beta-diversity estimators detected significant differences between the mycobiota from different samples. However, taxonomic and functional diversity were not correlated with sample size. In addition, we found that increasing the number of PCR replicates resulted in a higher abundance of plant pathogens. We concluded that for the purpose of screening for potentially harmful pathogens using HTS, greater efforts should be made to increase the sample size and replicates when testing tree seed.

Differences in stress defence mechanisms in germinating seeds of Pinus sylvestris exposed to various lead chemical forms.

Exposure to lead (Pb) can have serious toxic effects on the physiological and biochemical processes of plants. The chemical form of the metal determines the degree of its toxicity. In our research, we examined the effect of lead in the form of lead nitrate [Pb(NO3)2] and lead chloride (PbCl2) in concentrations of 12.5 mM and 25 mM on pine (Pinus sylvestris) seed germination. Nitrogen salt causes more severe changes than chloride salt. Increasing levels of electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde, and hydrogen peroxide were detected during germination processes. The high levels of ROS lead to redox changes in the cell. We observed a reduction in the level of the reduced form of glutathione (GSH), and at the same time observed increased levels of the oxidised form of glutathione (GSSG) depending on the concentration and also the time of exposure to lead compounds. At the beginning of germination processes, the effective non-enzymatic activity of the antioxidant cycle was dominant, and at the late stage the enzymatic activity was noticed in the presence of Pb compounds. CAT activity significantly increased after Pb compound exposition.

Опыт интенсивного выращивания однолетних сеянцев сосны обыкновенной в Павлодарской области Республики Казахстан

The studies were conducted in State Forest Natural Reserve “Ertis Ormany” in Pavlodar region by the example of one-year-old seedlings of Pinus sylvestris L. The experiments were laid out by pre-sowing preparation of the seeds with the use of stimulants Baikal, Humate+7, Zircon and fungicide Trichocyne as well as by adding of the growth substances (Agroperlite, AridGrow, KZ Culture and KZ Soil, Humate Phosphate, Trichocin, Trichoderma, Nitrogen and Phosphorus) into soil before and after sowing of the seeds. The average value of laboratory viability in experiment on soaking of the seeds in stimulants exceeded control for 5 %, in experiment on combined use of stimulants and fungicide – for 3.5 %. From all the performed experiments, the biggest average height (8.1 cm) was at seedlings in experiment under watering of the soil by growth substances after sowing of the seeds and at the use of covering material “Agrotex”. What is more, some specimens on the first year of life reached the height of 13 cm that corresponds to the indices of standard planting material. All the variants of the experiment exceeded control on height in 2.0–2.4 times. Seedlings in the analogous experiment by watering of the soil by growth substances, but without covering of the crops considerably lagged in growth and the average height was 4.8 cm. Application of dry fertilizers before sowing of the seeds positively influenced the intensity of growth of one-year-old seedlings which reached the average height of 4.9 cm. By complex of studied qualitative indices of growth of one-year-old seedlings it was determined that the rational way of growing the planting material for conditions of Pavlodar region is watering of the soil by “AridGrow”, Trichoderma and Trichocyne with the subsequent covering of the crops by “Agrotex”. Application of biological fungicides positively influenced the intensity of growth of the plants. It should be marked that the seedlings which grew under the covering material had the largest indices of overground and underground parts of the plants in comparison with all the other experiments. Besides, the pre-sowing processing of the seeds of Pinus sylvestris L. by Zircon (6 hours) and Humatophosphate (12 hours) in combination with Trichocyne (2 hours) is recommended.For citation: Kabanova S.A, Danchenko M.A., Kochegarov I.S.,. Kabanov A.H. The Experience of Intensive Cultivation of One-year-old Seedlings of Pinus sylvestris L. in Pavlodar Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2019, no. 6, pp. 104–117. DOI: 10.17238/issn0536-1036.2019.6.104 *The article is published within the framework of implementation of the scientific journals development program in 2019.

Вариативность массовых характеристик семян Pinus sylvestris L. в таежной зоне

Вариативность массовых характеристик семян Pinus sylvestris L. в таежной зоне

Tocopherols, tocotrienols and fatty acids as indicators of natural ageing in Pinus sylvestris seeds

During long-term storage, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seeds are susceptible to ageing, leading to declined vigour and poor germinability. To characterize biochemical changes associated with this ageing, vitamin E and fatty acid compositions of Scots pine seeds stored for 3–31 years were analysed. The seeds contained seven homologues of the vitamin E family: α-, β-, δ- and γ-tocopherols (T) and α-, δ- and γ-tocotrienol (T3). The major tocopherol was γ-T, constituting on average 62.1% of total vitamin E. Total vitamin E concentration was markedly lower in older seeds, e.g. 21-year-old seeds contained 52% less vitamin E than the reference for high-quality seed. The α-T concentration was affected the most by seed age, whereas the γ-T concentration decreased more gradually and the concentrations of the other E vitamers seemed to remain relatively constant during natural ageing. Ageing also induced changes in the fatty acid composition of the seeds, e.g. a 29.6% reduction in the unsaturation/saturation ratio. These biochemical changes were associated with decreased germinability and increased electrolyte leakage.

Effects of forest fire ash on germination and early growth of four pinus species

Fire modifies the germination of seeds of numerous species. One of the fire factors that cause these modifications is the ash. This study analysed the germination of seeds of Pinus sylvestris L., Pinus nigra Arn. Pinus radiata D. Don and Pinus pinaster Aiton, subjected to different ash treatments, and the development of seedlings that grew in these conditions for 14 weeks. We obtained the ash by completely burning leaves and small twigs from the most abundant woody species in populations of pines. The ash treatments applied were as follows: Control (without ash), Low (half of the amount registered in a fire), Medium (equal to the amount registered in a fire) and High (double the amount registered in a fire). Germination took place on paper inside Petri dishes and in soil, and growth was only analysed for the plants that grew in the soil. For all species, and especially P. nigra, germination rate decreased as the amount of ash applied increased. The negative effects of the ash were more apparent following treatments in Petri dishes than in the soil. In the dishes, the average germination time varies little between the four species of pine. In soil, the average germination time is more prolonged, and only some differences were observed between treatments in P. sylvestris and P. nigra. In these species the high treatment significantly increased the average germination time. We found a greater sensitivity of P. sylvestris and P. nigra to the addition of ash, showing a higher seedling mortality rate. However, it appears that seedling development (length and weight) was not affected in any of the species through the addition of ash. These tests allow us to deduce that, in P. sylvestris, P. nigra, P. radiata and P. pinaster, the ash produced by forest fires has an inhibiting effect on germination and little effect on the development of seedlings in the first months of life.

Determination of Moisture Conditions using Pinus sylvestris Seeds as Biosensors

The aim of this study was to ascertain whether it might be possible to use seeds (Pinus sylvestris L.) as biosensors for determining seedbed moisture conditions by repeatedly weighing them during inhibition and desiccation. To make the seeds manageable, they were glued on to a Nylon thread. Tests were conducted in the laboratory under different moisture regimes (close to 75% and 100% air humidity with and without a wet substrate) to determine whether water uptake or water loss was influenced by this gluing. In a very moist environment (resulting in 40-50% seed weight change), the increase in seed weight was a few percentage units lower for glued seeds than for non - glued ones. However, gluing had no significant effect when seeds were exposed to air humidity only (10% and 20% seed weight change). It was concluded that it is possible to use seeds as biosensors for the determination of moisture conditions.

Effects of Seedbed Substrate on Moisture Conditions and Germination of Pinus sylvestris Seeds in a Clearcut

The objective of the investigation was to describe moisture conditions and germination of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seeds in different seedbed substrates (feather mosses, mineral soil, humus and ground organic material) with and without irrigation during 2 weeks, in a clearcut in northern Sweden. Without irrigation no seeds germinated, which could be explained as an effect of the low moisture conditions of the seedbed substrates. This was shown in the seeds' low moisture content, with highest values in mineral soil, 10-20%, and for the other seedbed substrates 5-15%. The moisture conditions were highest during the night and lowest in the afternoon. With irrigation, moisture conditions improved (seed moisture content 20-50%) and diurnal changes were moderated. Seeds germinated in all substrates with most seedlings in mineral soil (60% of sown germinable seeds). The moisture conditions of the seedbed substrates proved to be in poor agreement with the seeds' requirement for germination, especially during warm weather with no precipitation.

Responses ofBetula pendula,Picea abies, andPinus sylvestrisseeds to red/far-red ratios as affected by moist chilling and germination temperature

The effect of continuous exposure to various red/far-red ratios (R/FR) on the germination ofBetula pendula Roth, Picea abies (L.) Karst., and Pinus sylvestris L. seeds was studied at four different germination temperatures (10, 13, 16, and 20°C) using both moist-chilled and unchilled seeds. Germination of B. pendula seeds was prevented by low R/FR. In B. pendula the relationship between germination probability and R/FR (log2) at different temperatures was successfully quantified using parallel logistic curves. The relationship between mean germination time (log10) and R/FR (log2) was linear. Moist chilling for 3 weeks reduced but did not eliminate the R/FR response in B. pendula. In Picea abies seeds, low R/FR prevented germination at 10°C but not at 13-20°C. Pinus sylvestris seeds did not respond to low R/FR at the studied temperatures. It appears that B. pendula has evolved a light-sensing mechanism that prevents seed germination in shaded conditions. This mechanism could operate more effectively in autumn than in spring after natural moist chilling during overwintering in soil. Picea abies seeds have also evolved a light-sensing mechanism that regulates germination in cool conditions.

Post-dispersal predation on Pinus sylvestris seeds by Fringilla spp: ground substrate affects selection for seed color.

Background matching might lower the risk of seeds being eaten by seed predators that search visually. In aviary experiments, we analyzed the selection of diff erent-colored seeds by ground-feeding finches (Fringillacoelebs and F.montifringilla) against four naturally occurring forest soil substrates. The substrates were fresh burn (black), 6-year-old burn (brown), mineral soil (pale yellow) and Pleuroziumschreberi feather moss (green). We used color-sorted seeds of Pinussylvestris, a species with a large natural variation in seed color, ranging from pale yellow to black. Although seeds were scattered on the substrates at a density of only 91 seeds m-2, birds removed seeds effectively. Both bird species found more pale than dark seeds on the fresh burn substrate. F. montifringilla also recovered more pale than dark seeds on the old burn, and more dark than pale seeds on mineral soil. In moss, the birds found very few seeds compared to the other substrates, and there was no color discrimination. P.sylvestris is frequently regenerating after fire, suggesting that dark seeds would be favored under selection from visually searching predators. Fire-adapted conifers with serotinous cones, e.g., Pinuscontorta ssp. latifolia, which spread their seeds primarily on freshly burnt surfaces, produce uniformly black or dark brown seeds. However, regeneration of the non-serotinous P.sylvestris is often extended for several years after a fire, during which substrate color and structure change. This may have helped to maintain variation in seed color. When regeneration of a plant species occurs on a substrate of uniform color, we believe that selection by visually searching seed predators will result in the evolution of cryptic seed color.

The morphological background to imbibition in seeds ofPinus sylvestris L. of different provenances

An examination was made of the structure of the coats of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seeds of different provenance and the contribution of this factor to differences in imbibition. The seed coat layers derived from the integument, the sarcotesta, sclerotesta and endotesta did little to restrict imbibition, even though the sclerotesta of the northern provenance seeds was composed of a double multicellular layer and the sarcotesta contained large numbers of pigmented, phenol-bearing cells. In addition to the micropyle, the sclerotesta was found to possess structural openings at the chalazal end and at the ridge joining the two halves of the seed, but being covered by the pigmented cells of the sarcotesta, these did not allow water to enter any more than did the micropyle itself. Imbibition was chiefly regulated by the lipophilic covers surrounding the endosperm, which are mainly of nucellar origin, especially by the megaspore membranes nearest to the endosperm, the outer and inner exine. The nucellar cap covering the micropylar end of the endosperm proved to be impermeable to water, and its edge extended between the exine layers, which further enhanced the importance of the endosperm covers as regulators of imbibition.

Tree establishment and microhabitat relationships in north Swedish peatlands

We sowed seeds of Pinussylvestris L., Pinuscontorta Dougl, Piceaabies (L.) Karst., and Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P. at five different virgin peatland sites in northern Sweden. Seeds were sown in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990. The seeds were sown in three different types of microhabitat, viz Pleurozium, Sphagnumfuscum, and Sphagnumangustifolium. Germination and seedling mortality were monitored each year. Both germination and mortality were significantly affected by the micro-habitat. Sphagnumangustifolium microhabitats were most favourable and Pleurozium microhabitats were least favourable for germination of all tree species. In contrast, the mortality for all tree species was highest in Sphagnumangustifolium microhabitats and lowest in Pleurozium microhabitats. Lowest average mortality was found among the nonindigenous Pinuscontorta and Piceamariana. The coniferous tree species had a species-specific relationship with the microhabitat. Pinussylvestris seeds were the most able to germinate in the Pleurozium microhabitats, and seedling mortality was strongly affected by the microhabitat. Piceaabies was the least affected by the microhabitat, and seedling mortality was high irrespective of microhabitat.

Endogenous Hormones, Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Dalbergia dolicbopetala

Summary The gibberellin A 1 (GA 1 ), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) contents of germinating seed of Dalbergia dolichopetala have been investigated using extracts from plant material harvested at daily intervals over a six day period following imbibition. GA 1 was analysed by radioimmunoassay while gas chromatography-multiple ion monitoring was used to analyse IAA and ABA. The growth of the germinating seeds was also studied, in terms of changes in the fresh and dry weight of the embryo, epicotyl elongation and the rate of extension of the root and hypocotyl. There were no clear correlations between the growth data and the observed quantitative changes in endogenous GA 1 , IAA and ABA. The changes in IAA content were, however, similar to those which occur during the germination of Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris seeds.

Invigoration and IDS-sedimentation of Pinus sylvestris seeds from northern Finland.

Invigoration and IDS-sedimentation of Pinus sylvestris seeds from northern Finland.

Dynamics of indole‐3‐acetic acid and indole‐3‐ethanol during development and germination of Pinus sylvestris seeds

Indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) and indole‐3‐ethanol (IEt) were identified in immature seeds of Pinus sylvestris L. by combined gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Indole‐3‐methanol was tentatively identified using multiple ion monitoring. Anatomical investigations of seeds, as well as measurements of free and alkali‐hydrolysable IAA and IEt, were made during seed development and germination. Levels of free IAA and IEt decreased during seed development. In the later stages of seed maturation most IAA and IEt were present in alkali‐hydrolysable forms. Bound IAA and bound IEt rapidly decreased during germination, while levels of free IAA and IEt increased dramatically for a short period.

Identification of oxindole-3-acetic acid, and metabolic conversion of indole-3-acetic acid to oxindole-3-acetic acid in Pinus sylvestris seeds

Oxindole-3-acetic acid (OxIAA) has been identified in germinating seeds of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Seeds germinated for 5 d contained 2.7 ng OxIAA·g(-1) (dry weight) whereas ungerminated seeds contained 0.2 ng·g(-1). Isotopically labelled OxIAA was formed in seeds incubated with [1'-(14)C]-, [2'-(14)C]- or [(2)H5]indole-3-acetic acid.