Seedling Production and Field Performance of Seedlings

• Main Authors: Luoranen, Jaana, Riikonen, Johanna
• Format: eBook
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2019; MDPI
• Subjects: antioxidant enzymes; Appalachia; artificial regeneration; black locust; Book Industry Communication; browse; bulk density; climate change; container parameters; contractor; cryopreservation; cultural practice; Douglas fir; elk; embling production; Fennoscandia; field performance; forest biotechnology; forest regeneration material; forestry; germination; growing media; growth; herbicide; historical perspective; hybridization; leaf senescence; loblolly pine; maturation; mechanization; mine reclamation; morphological attributes; northern red oak; Norway spruce; nursery culture; nursery production; nutrients; pedunculate oak; physiological attributes; physiological quality; Picea abies L. Karst; porosity; Q1-390; Quercus; Quercus robur L; Quercus rubra; rabbit; Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects; reforestation; Research & information: general; restoration ecology; scarification index; seed size; seedling quality; seeds; sessile oak; shortleaf pine; silviculture; small mammal; somatic embryogenesis; survival; tree planting machine; tree seedling; western larch; white oak; white-tailed deer
• ISBN: 3039212559; 9783039212552; 9783039212569; 3039212567
• DOI: 10.3390/books978-3-03921-256-9

Rapid establishment of seedlings in forest regeneration or afforestation sites after planting is a prerequisite for a successful reforestation. Seedling survival after outplanting can be improved by using high-quality seedling material. Seedling quality consists of several features, such as genetic source, morphological properties, nutritional status, stress resistance, and vitality of the seedlings. Field performance of the seedlings is a complex process which can be affected by many nursery and silvicultural practices. Nursery cultural practices strongly affect seedling quality, which is generally at its highest level during the growth period at the nursery. Afterwards, when the seedlings are transported from the nursery to the planting site (including seedling storage, handling, shipping, and planting practices), the quality of seedlings can only remain the same or decline. To ensure successful regeneration, it is important to produce seedlings that retain their high quality until planting, and to establish them quickly in the forest regeneration site.