Assessment of early survival and growth of planted Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) seedlings under extreme continental climate conditions of northern Mongolia

Abstract

Environmental factors play vital roles in successful plantation and cultivation of tree seedlings. This study focuses on problems associated with reforestation under extreme continental climatic conditions. The objectives were to assess relative seedling performance (survival and growth) with respect to plantation age, and to analyze the influence of specific climatic factors during the early stages of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantations. The study was carried out in reforested areas of the Tujyin Nars region of northern Mongolia on six Scots pine plantations ranging from 5 to 10 years. In each of the six plantations, five 900 m² permanent sample plots were established and survival rates and growth performance measured annually over 7 years. Results show high variation in survival among the plantations (p < 0.001, F = 29.7). Seedling survival in the first year corresponded directly to the number of dry days in May. However, survival rate appeared to stabilize after the second year. The insignificant variation of height categories throughout the observation period indicated low competition among individuals. Two linear mixed-effect models show that height and radial growth were best explained by relative air humidity, which we consider to be a reliable indicator of site-specific water availability. Insufficient amounts and uneven distribution of rainfall pose a major threat during the first year of plantation establishment. Humidity and water availability are decisive factors for a successful seedling plantation. This highlights the impact of drought on forest plantations in northern Mongolia and the importance of developing climate resilient reforestation strategies.

Keywords

Reforestation / Scots pine / Pinus sylvestris L. / Survival / Increment / Growth / Climate / Mongolia

References

[1] Alberton O, Kuyper TW, Summerbell RC. Dark septate root endophytic fungi increase growth of Scots pine seedlings under elevated CO₂ through enhanced nitrogen use efficiency. Plant Soil, 2010, 328(1–2): 459-470.

[2] Babushkina EA, Belokopytova LV. Climatic signal in radial increment of conifers in forest-steppe of southern Sibiria and its dependence on local growing conditions. Russ J Ecol, 2014, 45(5): 325-332.

[3] Battles JJ, Robards T, Das A, Waring K, Keith Gilles J, Biging G, Schurr F. Climate change impact on forest growth and tree mortality: a data-driven modeling study in the mixed conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada, California. Clim Change, 2008, 87(1): 193-213.

[4] Benavides R, Escudero A, Coll L, Ferrandis P, Gouriveau F, Hodar JA, Ogaya R, Rabasa SG, Granda E, Santamaria BP, Martinez-Vilalta J, Zamaro R, Espelta JM, Penueles J, Valladares F. Survival vs. growth trade-off in early recruitment challenges global warming impacts on Mediterranean mountain trees. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst, 2015, 17(5): 369-378.

[5] Bjornstad ON (2013) NCF: spatial nonparametric covariance functions. R Package Version 1.1-5. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=ncf. Accessed 29 May 2016

[6] Brunner I, Herzog C, Dawes MA, Arend M, Sperisen C. How tree roots respond to drought. Front Plant Sci, 2015, 6: 1-16.

[7] Buendia C, Bussi G, Tuset J, Vericat D, Sabater S, Palau A, Batalla RJ. Effects of afforestation on runoff and sediment load in an upland Mediterranean catchment. Sci Total Environ, 2015, 540(1): 144-157.

[8] Cao SX, Chen L, Shankman D, Wang CM, Wang XB, Zhang H. Excessive reliance on afforestation in China’s arid and semi-arid regions: lessons in ecological restoration. Earth Sci Rev, 2011, 104: 240-245.

[9] Chamshama SAO, Nwonwu FOC, Lundgren B, Kowero GS. Plantation forestry in Sub Saharan Africa: silvicultural, ecological and economic aspects. Discov Innov, 2009, 21: 42-49.

[10] Chen YQ, Liu ZF, Rao XQ, Wang XL, Liang CF, Lin YB, Zhou LX, Cai XA, Fu SL. Carbon storage and allocation pattern in plant biomass among different forest plantation stands in Guangdong, China. Forests, 2015, 6: 794-808.

[11] Cortina J, Vilagrosa A, Trubat R. The role of nutrients for improving seedling quality in drylands. New For, 2013, 44: 719-732.

[12] Crawley MJ. The R-book, 2007, New York: Wiley 942

[13] Cregg BM, Zhang JW. Physiology and morphology of Pinus sylvestris seedlings from diverse sources under cyclic drought stress. For Ecol Manag, 2001, 154(1/2): 131-139.

[14] Crisp N, Dick J, Mullins M (2004) Mongolia forestry sector review (English, Mongolian). World Bank, Washington, p 146. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/805041468773956869/Mongolia-forestry-sector-review. Accessed 20 Nov 2016

[15] Cui GS, Kwak H, Choi S, Kim M, Lim CH, Lee WK, Kim JS, Chae Y. Assessing vulnerability of forests to climate change in South Korea. J For Res, 2016, 27(3): 489-503.

[16] Demina A. V., Belokopytova L. V., Andreev S. G., Kostyakova T. V., Babushkina E. A.. Radial increment dynamics of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) as an indicator of hydrothermal regime of the Western Transbaikalia forest steppe. Contemporary Problems of Ecology, 2017, 10(5): 476-487.

[17] Dighton J, Skeffington RA. Effects of artificial acid precipitation on the mycorrhizas of Scots pine seedlings. New Phytol, 1987, 107(1): 191-202.

[18] Dulamsuren Ch, Hauk M, Leuschner C. Seedling emergence and establishment of Pinus sylvestris in the Mongolian forest-steppe ecotone. Plant Ecol, 2013, 214(1): 139-152.

[19] Edwards AL. The correlation coefficient. An introduction to Linear regression and Correlation, 1976, San Francisco: W. H. Freeman 33 46

[20] Eycott AE, Watkinson AR, Dolman PM. Ecological patterns of plant diversity in a plantation forest managed by clearfelling. J Appl Ecol, 2006, 43(6): 1160-1171.

[21] FAO (2010) Forests and climate change in the Asia–Pacific region. Forest and Climate Change Working Paper 7, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, p 126

[22] Fisher RA (1925) Statistical methods for research workers. Oliver and Boyd (Edinburgh), p 336. http://www.haghish.com/resources/materials/Statistical_Methods_for_Research_Workers.pdf. Accessed 20 Nov 2016

[23] Fox J, Weisberg S (2011) An R companion to applied regression, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks. http://socserv.socsci.mcmaster.ca/jfox/Books/Companion. Accessed 15 Sept 2017

[24] Gadow KV. Forsteinrichtung. Analyse und Entwurf der Waldentwicklung, 2005, Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen, Reihe Universitätsdrucke 342

[25] Gadow KV, Zhang CY, Wehenkel C, Pommerening A, Corral-Rivas J, Korol M, Myklush S, Hui GY, Kiviste A, Zhao XH. Pukkula T, Gadow KV. Forest structure and diversity. Continuous cover forestry. Managing forest ecosystems, 2012, Dordrecht: Springer 29 83

[26] Gerelbaatar S (2012) Specifics of the formation of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantations. Ph.D. Thesis, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, NUM Press, Ulaanbaatar, p 117 (in Mongolian)

[27] Gerelbaatar S, Batsaikhan G, Tsogtbaatar J, Battulga P, Batarbileg N, Gradel A (2018) Early survival and growth of planted Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings in northern Mongolia. In: Vossen P, Karthe D, Gunsmaa B, Enkhjargal S (eds) Book of abstracts-GMIT symposium on environmental science and engineering, Nalaikh, pp 8–9. http://gmit.edu.mn/site/files/downloads/gmit_sese-2018_book-of-abstracts.pdf. Accessed 06 Dec 2018

[28] Gradel A, Ochirragchaa N, Altaev AA, Voinkov AA, Enkhtuya B. Spatial distribution of trees on light taiga plots before selective thinning. Mong J Agric Sci, 2015, 15(2): 91-99.

[29] Gradel A, Ammer C, Batsaikhan G, Ochirragchaa N, Batdorj D, Wagner S. On the effect of thinning on tree growth and stand structure of white birch (Betula platyphylla Sukaczev) and Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) in Mongolia. Forests, 2017 8 4 105 in Mongolia)

[30] Gradel A, Haensch C, Ganbaatar B, Batdorj D, Ochirragchaa N, Günther B. Response of white birch (Betula platyphylla Sukaczev) to temperature and precipitation in the mountain forest steppe and taiga of northern Mongolia. Dendrochronologia, 2017, 4: 24-33.

[31] Grothendieck G (2013) nls2: Non-linear regression with brute force. R Package Version 0.2. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=nls2. Accessed 28 Nov 2017

[32] Gülcü S, Bilir N. Growth and survival variation among Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) provenances. Int J Genom, 2017, 2017: 1904623.

[33] Hattori D, Kenzo T, Kendawang JJ, Irino KO, Tanaka S, Ichie T, Ninomiya I, Sakurai K. Effect of light intensity and soil physic-chemical properties on seedling mortality and growth of six dipterocarp species planted for rehabilitation of degraded grassland, secondary forest and logged forests in Sarawak. Malaysia. Jpn J For Environ, 2009, 51(2): 105-115.

[34] Hattori D, Kenzo T, Kendawang JJ, Irino K, Tanaka S, Tomoaki I, Ninomiya I, Sakurai K. Effect of environmental factors on growth and mortality of Parashoreea macrophylla (Dipterocarpaceae) planted on slopes and valleys in a degraded tropical secondary forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. Soil Sci Plant Nutr, 2013, 59: 218-228.

[35] Hector A, Bagchi R. Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Nature, 2007, 448: 188-190.

[36] Heisler-White JL, Knapp AK, Kelly EF. Increasing precipitation event size increases aboveground net primary productivity in a semi-arid grassland. Oecologia, 2008, 158(1): 129-140.

[37] IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. Contribution of working group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. IPCC, Geneva. Switzerland. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 996

[38] Ivanov YV, Kartashov AV, Zlobin IE, Sarvin B, Stavrianidi AN, Kuznetsov VV. Water deficit-dependent changes in non-structural carbohydrate profiles, growth and mortality of pine and spruce seedlings in hydroculture. Environ Exp Bot, 2019, 157: 151-160.

[39] Jiang WY, Yang SL, Yang XX, Gu N. Negative impacts of afforestation and economic forestry on the Chinese Loess Plateau and proposed solutions. Quatern Int, 2016, 399: 165-173.

[40] JICA. The forest resources management study in Selenge province. Final report, 1998, Tokyo: Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd 116

[41] Kahle P, Baum C, Boelcke B. Effect of afforestation on soil properties and mycorrhizal formation. Pedosphere, 2005, 15(6): 754-760.

[42] Klädtke J, Kohnle U, Kublin E, Ehring A, Pretzsch H, Uhl E, Spellmann H, Weller A. Wachstum und wertleistung der douglasie in Abhängigkeit von der Standraumgestaltung. Schweiz Z Forstwes, 2012, 163: 96-104. (in German)

[43] Kongsager R, Napier J, Mertz O. The carbon sequestration potential of tree crop plantations. Mitig Adapt Strat Glob Change, 2013, 18: 1197-1213.

[44] Krstic M, Stavretovic N, Isajev V, Bjelanovic I. Crown structure of Picea omorika trees in the plantation. Arch Biol Sci, 2012, 64(2): 605-611.

[45] Kunstler G, Curt T, Bouchaud M, Lepart J. Growth, mortality and morphological response of European beech and downy oak along a light gradient in sub-Mediterranean forest. Can J For Res, 2005, 35(7): 1657-1668.

[46] Lawson SS, Michler CH. Afforestation, restoration and regeneration—not all trees are created equal. J For Res, 2014, 25(1): 3-20.

[47] Liu HY, Williams AP, Allen CD, Guo DL, Wu XC, Anenkhonov OA, Liang EY, Sandanov DV, Yin Y, Qi ZH, Badmaeva NK. Rapid warming accelerates tree growth decline in semi-arid forests of Inner Asia. Glob Change Biol, 2013, 19(8): 2500-2510.

[48] Löf M, Karlsson M, Sonesson K, Welander T. Growth and mortality in underplanted tree seedlings in response to variations in canopy closure of Norway spruce stands. Forestry, 2007, 80(4): 371-383.

[49] Ma XQ, Heal KV, Liu AQ, Jarvis PG. Nutrient cycling and distribution in different-aged plantations of Chinese fir in southern China. For Ecol Manag, 2007, 243: 61-74.

[50] Ma XL, Huete A, Moran S, Ponce-Campos G, Eamus D. Abrupt shifts in phenology and vegetation productivity under climate extremes. JGR Biogeosci, 2015, 120: 2036-2052.

[51] MPNFI. Mongolian multipurpose national forest inventory report (2014–2016), 2016, Ulaanbaatar: Ministry of Nature and Environment 126

[52] Mühlenberg M, Batkhishig T, Dashzeveg TS, Drößler L, Neusel B, Tsogtbaatar J (2006) Lessons from tree planting initatives in Mongolia. Mongolia Discussion papers, East Asia and Pacific Environment and Social Development Department. World Bank, Washington, p 38. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/143891468059947579/pdf/377950MOG0less1ing0P09260901PUBLIC1.pdf. Accessed 28 Nov 2017

[53] Mühlenberg M, Appelfelder H, Hoffman H, Ayush E, Wilson KJ. Structure of the montane taiga forests of West Khentii, Northern Mongolia. J For Sci, 2012, 58: 45-56.

[54] Niemi K, Vuorinen T, Ernstsen A. Ectomycorrhizal fungi and exogenous auxins influence root and mycorrhiza formation of Scots pine hypocotyl cuttings in vitro. Tree Physiol, 2002, 22(17): 1231-1239.

[55] O’Brien RG. A general ANOVA method for robust tests of additive models for variances. J Am Stat Assoc, 1979, 74(368): 877-880.

[56] Oscarsson H, Sigurgeirsson A, Raulund-Rasmussen K. Survival, growth, and nutrition of tree seedlings fertilized at planting on Andisol soils in Iceland: six-year results. For Ecol Manag, 2006, 229: 88-97.

[57] Osunkoya OO, Othman FE, Kahar RS. Growth and competition between seedlings of an invasive plantation tree, Acacia mangium, and those of a native Borneo heath-forest species, Melastoma beccarianum. Ecol Res, 2005, 20(2): 205-214.

[58] Oyuntuya S, Dorj B, Shurentsetseg B, Bayarjargal E (2015) Agrometeorological information for the adaptation to climate change. In: Badmaev NB, Khutakova CB (eds) Soils of steppe and forest steppe ecosystems of inner Asia and problems of their sustainable utilization: international scientific conference. Buryat State Academy of Agriculture named after V.R. Philipov, Ulan-Ude, pp 135–140

[59] Pawson SM, Brin A, Brockerhoff EG, Lamb D, Payn A, Paquette A, Parrotta JA. Plantation forests, climate change and biodiversity. Biodivers Conserv, 2013, 22(5): 1203-1227.

[60] Peel MC, Finlayson BL, McMahon TA. Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci Eur Geosci Union, 2007, 11(5): 1633-1644.

[61] Pinheiro J, Bates D, DebRoy S, Sarkar D, R Core Team (2018) nlme: linear and nonlinear mixed effects models. R Package version 3.1-137. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=nlme. Accessed 09 Nov 2017

[62] Pirard R, Secco LD, Russell R. Do timber plantations contribute to forest conservation?. Environ Sci Policy, 2016, 57: 122-130.

[63] R Development Core Team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing; Version 3.0.2. http://packages.renjin.org/package/org.renjin.cran/nlme/3.1-113. Accessed 28 Nov 2016

[64] Rammig A, Mahecha MD. Ecosystem responses to climate extremes. Nature, 2015, 527: 315-316.

[65] R-bloggers (2011) Linear mixed models. Post by Luis. https://www.r-bloggers.com/linear-mixed-models-in-r/. Accessed 24 Nov 2017

[66] Regzedmaa M. Climate resources and changes of meteorological data of Selenge Province, 2008, Sukhbaatar: Selenge Press 11 25 (in Mongolian)

[67] Reich PB, Oleksyn J. Climate warming will reduce growth and survival of Scots pine except in the far north. Ecol Lett, 2008, 11(6): 588-597.

[68] Robinson AP, Hamann JD. Forest analytics with R—an introduction, 2011, New York: Springer 354

[69] Saha S, Kühne C, Kohnle U, Bauhus J. Eignung von Nester- und Trupppflanzungen für die Begründung von Eichenbeständen. AFZ-Der Wald, 2013, 2(2013): 37-39. (in German)

[70] Sarkar D. Lattice: multivariate data visualization with R, 2008, New York: Springer 268

[71] Schär C, Vidale PL, Lüthi D, Frei C, Häberli C, Liniger MA, Appenzeller C. The role of increasing temperature variability in European summer heatwaves. Nature, 2004, 427: 332-336.

[72] Soehartono T, Newton A, Mardiastuti A. Factors influencing the survival and growth of Aquilaria Malaccensis seedling in Indonesia. J Trop For Sci, 2002, 14(3): 364-378.

[73] Tsogtbaatar J. Deforestation and reforestation needs in Mongolia. For Ecol Manag, 2004, 201(1): 57-63.

[74] Turtola S, Manninen AM, Rikala R, Kainulainen P. Drought stress alters the concentration on wood terpenoids in Scots pine and Norway Spruce seedlings. J Chem Ecol, 2003, 29(9): 1981-1995.

[75] Ubugunov VL, Gunin PD, Bazha SN, Drobyshev YuI, Ubugunova VI. Soil desiccation as indicator of desertification of forest-steppe ecosystems in the Barguzin depression. Arid Ecosyst, 2017, 7(3): 142-154.

[76] Wang YH, Bonell M, Feger KH, Yu PT, Xiong W, Xu LH (2012) Changing forestry policy by integrating water aspects into forest/vegetation restoration in dryland areas in China. Bull Chin Acad Sci 26:59–67. http://english.cas.cn/bcas/2012_1/201411/P020141121533282744018.pdf

[77] Williams AP, Allen CD, Macalady AK. Temperature as a potent driver of regional forest drought stress and tree mortality. Nat Clim Change, 2013, 3: 292-297.

[78] Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Walker NJ, Saveliev AA, Smith GM. Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R, 2009, New York: Springer 574