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State of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) under nutrient and water deficit on coastal dunes of the Baltic Sea

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the ecophysiological state of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) growing at different heights on one of the typical coastal sand dunes in the dune field situated in southwestern Estonia. Dependence of the anatomical structure, morphological parameters, nutrients accumulation and biochemical characteristics of needles on the location of the site on the dune and on the concentration of nutrients in soil and in needle tissues was established. Correlation analysis revealed the dependence of chlorophyll a on the concentration of N and Mg in soil as well as in needles. The mesophyll area and chlorophyll concentration in needles were smallest on the top of the dune. The proportion of epidermis in the total needle cross-section area from the top was a little larger than in the needles from the bottom; the epicuticular wax layer on needles decreased towards the top. The length of needles and shoots was the lowest on the top of the dune, where the growth substrate contains notably less nutrients and water than needed for optimum growth of trees. The t test showed statistically significant larger average tree-ring width of the pines growing at the bottom. The pines on the top and at the bottom of the dune were not sensitive to temperature conditions. The radial growth of pines on the top of the dune was positively correlated with the total precipitation of the previous year.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank their colleagues Kersti Poom for technical assistance and Mari Tilk for help in fieldwork. Special thanks are due to the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (project No. SF0170021s08) for financial support of this project.

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  1. Department of Ecophysiology, Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Viljandi mnt 18B, 11216, Tallinn, Estonia

    Malle Mandre, Aljona Lukjanova, Henn Pärn & Kadri Kõresaar

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  1. Malle Mandre
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Mandre, M., Lukjanova, A., Pärn, H. et al. State of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) under nutrient and water deficit on coastal dunes of the Baltic Sea. Trees 24, 1073–1085 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0479-9

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