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Variation in seed and seedling traits and their relations to geo-climatic factors among populations in Yunnan Pine (Pinus yunnanensis)

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Abstract

Differences in seed germination and seedling growth among populations of Pinus yunnanensis Franch. were quantified to provide information for use in the regeneration, reforestation, and improvement of this species. Seed germination and seedling growth traits at the nursery stage were investigated at the population level. We evaluated relationships between pairs of measured traits as well as the association between measured traits and geo-climatic variables including longitude, latitude, elevation, temperature and precipitation. Seedling growth showed significant differences although a low magnitude of variation was found in the seed germination traits among the populations. Some populations with strong and stable growth (e.g., the Baoshan population) may be selected as superior seed sources for regeneration and reforestation. Germination percentage was negatively correlated with elevation, and positively with precipitation. In addition, germination index, vigor index and seedling height were positively correlated with precipitation. Seed germination index, cotyledon number and length, and seedling diameter were significantly and positively correlated with seed weight. Strong correlations between pairs of traits will be helpful in early evaluations for the selection of certain prominent traits.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Keith Woeste for analysis suggestions and manuscript revision. We would like to thank nursery staffs for the help of fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Use in the Southwest Mountains of China, College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, People’s Republic of China

    Nianhui Cai, Yulan Xu, Shi Chen, Bin He, Genqian Li & Anan Duan

  2. The State Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Yue Li

Authors
  1. Nianhui Cai
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  2. Yulan Xu
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  3. Shi Chen
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  4. Bin He
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  5. Genqian Li
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  6. Yue Li
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  7. Anan Duan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nianhui Cai.

Additional information

Project funding: This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31360189 and NSFC 31070591).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Zhu Hong

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Cai, N., Xu, Y., Chen, S. et al. Variation in seed and seedling traits and their relations to geo-climatic factors among populations in Yunnan Pine (Pinus yunnanensis). J. For. Res. 27, 1009–1017 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-016-0228-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-016-0228-z

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