Pine Cones: Species Diversity and Ecological Processes in Natural Forests and Plantations

Dear Colleagues,

Pine cones play a crucial role in forest ecosystems and plantations, functioning as persistent seed banks that regulate regeneration dynamics and serving as microhabitats and food resources for various organisms. They are also used in medicine and industrial manufacturing. For example, several compounds have been extracted from pine cones, including the polysaccharides cellulose and lignin, as well as essential oils.

A novel study—the only one of its kind worldwide—indicates that pine cones in Andean Pinus patula plantations support a high diversity of lichens and bryophytes, comparable in species richness to cryptogams growing epiphytically on bark. Their large surface area appears to provide a particularly suitable substrate and may indirectly contribute to the dispersal of lichens and bryophytes when cones are transported by birds and rodents. Pine cones may therefore function as meta-dispersal units, persisting for long periods, composed of numerous scales, and potentially playing a significant role in the recovery of natural environments. However, important questions remain regarding the diversity of other organisms (e.g., non-lichenized fungi and insects) inhabiting pine cones across different successional stages, as well as the relationship between cone size and tree age.

In this context, this Special Issue will focus on new interdisciplinary research and recent advances in the diversity, ecology, and chemical and physical processes associated with pine cones in natural forests and Pinus plantations. Studies addressing cones of Abies and Picea are also welcome. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts on the following topics:

1. Diversity in pine cones (Pinus, Abies, Picea);
2. Colonization processes of lichens, bryophytes, and fungi on pine cones;
3. Seed dispersion processes in pine cones;
4. Seed predation by insects in pine cones;
5. Chemical compounds in pine cones;
6. Physical functions of pine cone scales.

Dr. Ángel Benítez
Guest Editor

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