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Pinus sylvestris sapling growth and recovery from mammalian browsing
Citation
O'Reilly-Wapstra, JM and Moore, BD and Brewer, M and Beaton, J and Sim, D and Wiggins, NL and Iason, GR, Pinus sylvestris sapling growth and recovery from mammalian browsing, Forest Ecology and Management, 325 pp. 18-25. ISSN 0378-1127 (2014) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2014 Elsevier
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.03.038
Abstract
Plants employ a range of resistance and tolerance mechanisms to counteract the effects of herbivory and
research is still unravelling which strategies are most effective against which herbivores. In commercial
forestry, research has focused on understanding the genetic basis of resistance traits and using resistance
as a management strategy. However, there has been less focus on addressing the basis and utility of tolerance
traits. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is a well-studied forest tree due to its wide distribution, commercial
importance and use in forest restoration of degraded lands as an important foundation tree
species. Several herbivore species browse Scots pine and, here, we examine the genetic basis of recovery
of Scots pine saplings following browsing by red deer (Cervus elaphus) and attempt to describe which
plant traits are associated with sapling tolerance. Three hundred saplings from five different open pollinated
mothers (five families) were offered to deer in a feeding trial and saplings were left to recover from
browsing for one and a half years (two annual growth seasons) in a randomised, replicated common garden.
Seven sapling traits were assessed at this time: survival, stem diameter below the leading bud, stem
diameter at the base of the sapling, total sapling height, length of the leading bud, average length of three
lateral buds, and the total number of lateral buds. Results indicate that browsing of Scots pine by deer
influences sapling survival and recovery ability. There were significant family differences in morphological
growth traits and these differences were maintained in the presence and absence of browsing. For
one recovery trait, length of the leading bud, overcompensation in response to browsing was evident
in all families. These data, matched with our finding of no negative relationships between any recovery
traits, indicate that Scots pine is quite robust to once-off browsing events by deer. We suggest that at the
sapling stage, Scots pine do not employ resistance as a strategy against deer, but tolerate deer browsing to
counteract the negative impacts of herbivory. Hence, the use of recovery traits as a management tool to
mitigate the negative impacts of browsing is an option worthy of further investigation.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | genetic variation, red deer, browsing, plant recovery, plant secondary metabolites, Pinus sylvestris, re-growth, Scots pine, tolerance |
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Terrestrial ecology |
Objective Division: | Plant Production and Plant Primary Products |
Objective Group: | Forestry |
Objective Field: | Softwood plantations |
UTAS Author: | O'Reilly-Wapstra, JM (Associate Professor Julianne O'Reilly-Wapstra) |
ID Code: | 92340 |
Year Published: | 2014 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 6 |
Deposited By: | Plant Science |
Deposited On: | 2014-06-16 |
Last Modified: | 2017-11-03 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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