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Forests
Special Issues
Tree Seedling Development: Technologies, Methods, Affecting Factors, and New Insights
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Tree Seedling Development: Technologies, Methods, Affecting Factors, and New Insights

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2024) | Viewed by 3207

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonio Montagnoli

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Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy
Interests: root development; plant morpho-physiology; afforestation; fire; biochar
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. R. Kasten Dumroese

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Guest Editor
US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, ID 83843, USA
Interests: reforestation; nursery; genetic resources; native plants; plant physiology
Anastazija Dimitrova

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Guest Editor Assistant
1. Department of Seed Science and Forest Stands, Hans Em Faculty of Forest Sciences, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia
2. Department of Bioscience and Territory, University of Molise, 86090 Pesche, Italy
Interests: reforestation; seed sciences; plant physiology; plant production; nursery; regenerative forestry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ecosystem restoration is a global priority and a powerful tool for reversing biodiversity loss and land degradation. In addition, initiatives such as afforestation, reforestation, and landscape restoration of degraded lands can potentially reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, thus mitigating climate change.

Within this framework, an enormous need exists for sustainably produced forest seedlings with an enhanced ability to survive and grow. This will require seedling resilience, particularly in harsh environments and under recurrent or prolonged biotic and/or abiotic stresses.

In the early stages of tree seedling development, numerous factors impact plant morpho-physiology, plasticity, and adaptive capacity, which is later reflected in the success of forest establishment. Also, the response of seedlings to environmental and anthropogenic constraints is a key factor in recruitment efficiency and biodiversity.

Methods, technologies, and practices to enhance seedling performance vary from seed priming to container and substrate selection, the modulation of growth conditions, the use of biotechnological applications, and fertility and water management. Analysis of seedling growth mechanisms may include an eco-morpho-physiological approach. There is a need for research that can remedy the lack of knowledge regarding species–specific modifications in order to contribute towards achieving better performance after outplanting, seedling recruitment, and biodiversity.

This Special Issue aims to broadly focus on the recent scientific findings on tree seedlings during developmental stages in nurseries, experimentally controlled conditions, the field and natural conditions. Thus, papers focused on nursery production and seedling morpho-physiology, whether in the nursery or after outplanting, are encouraged. These may include empirical and local studies, methodological works, and investigations at molecular, population and ecosystems. We welcome the submission of reviews, original research papers, and short communications focused on biotic, abiotic, and management factors that impact seedling development and output via the use of innovative methods and technologies during seedling production and in-field growth.

Dr. Antonio Montagnoli
Dr. R. Kasten Dumroese
Guest Editors

Anastazija Dimitrova
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • seed
  • seedlings
  • nursery
  • afforestation
  • reforestation
  • plant physiology
  • biotechnology
  • plant production
  • outplanting

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3716 KiB  
Article
Autumn Frost Hardiness in Six Tree Species Subjected to Different Winter Storage Methods and Planting Dates in Iceland
by Rakel J. Jonsdottir, Erla Sturludóttir, Inger Sundheim Fløistad and Brynjar Skulason
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1164; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071164 - 4 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1241
Abstract
Winter storage of seedlings in freezers reduces the amount of heat sum available for growth in the following growing season compared to seedlings stored outdoors. To test the effects of a reduced growing period on the autumn frost hardiness of the six species [...] Read more.
Winter storage of seedlings in freezers reduces the amount of heat sum available for growth in the following growing season compared to seedlings stored outdoors. To test the effects of a reduced growing period on the autumn frost hardiness of the six species most used in Icelandic afforestation, seedlings were stored outdoors or in a freezer during winter. In spring, the seedlings were planted on 24 May, 7 June, 21 June, and 5 July, and the frost hardiness of all treatments was tested on 12 and 26 September. In general, the probability of freezing damage increased with a later planting date, with outdoor-stored seedlings having the lowest probability of damage. The timing of frost events was of great importance; the later the freezing date, the less damage was observed. Growth cessation occurred at different times for each species, and they responded differently to the reduced heat sum. Lodgepole pine and birch accumulated the most frost hardiness in September. Sitka spruce had less autumn frost hardiness than Lutz spruce. Hybrid larch accumulated less frost hardiness than Russian larch and was most sensitive to the reduced heat sum. The results can be used to determine which species should be prioritised in frozen storage with regard to Iceland‘s short growing season. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Seedling Development: Technologies, Methods, Affecting Factors, and New Insights)
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19 pages, 7680 KiB  
Article
Bibliometric Analysis of Trends and Future Directions of Research and Development of Seed Orchards
by Fatma Yardibi, Kyu-Suk Kang, Alper Ahmet Özbey and Nebi Bilir
Forests 2024, 15(6), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15060953 - 30 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1258
Abstract
Seed orchards are important seed resources for producing improved tree crops for future plantations, forest restoration, and forestry practices (i.e., gene conservation) and for transmitting current gene diversity to future generations. Seed orchards are a major sub-division in forest science. The establishment and [...] Read more.
Seed orchards are important seed resources for producing improved tree crops for future plantations, forest restoration, and forestry practices (i.e., gene conservation) and for transmitting current gene diversity to future generations. Seed orchards are a major sub-division in forest science. The establishment and management of a seed orchard involves many steps, from the selection of superior trees to the harvesting of a seed crop. Studying the trends and future directions of seed orchards using different analysis methods is critically important, especially to establish resistant forests via the production of climate-smart, biotic/abiotic-stress-resistant seedling materials. Published papers related to seed orchards should be analyzed to determine the current trends in this field and to contribute to its future directions. Bibliometric analysis has been used for different purposes in various scientific fields. However, it has not been performed for publications in seed orchards. This study was carried out to analyze the current trends of research on seed orchards and to determine the future directions of these orchards based on published papers. For these purposes, 1018 published papers were obtained from the Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index Expanded, and citation index databases of “Web of Science” using the keyword “seed orchard”. The papers were published between 1980 and 2022 and were subjected to bibliometric analysis based on the most prolific contributors, references, countries, and keywords. CiteSpace software 6.1 R6 was applied to visualize information about seed orchard research. The average number of citations per publication was 13.05, and the 4 H-Index of the publication set was 48. The most prolific contributors with the strongest citation bursts, the highest centrality, and the greatest numbers of published papers were from Canada, Sweden, South Korea, Finland, and Czech Republic, while Canada (186 published articles), the USA (140), and Sweden (115), together with China, Brazil, and Germany, were active countries, especially based on citations from recent years. The “keywords” of the papers were the core of the research. “Mating pattern”, “Swedish forestry”, “fertility variation”, “Hymenoscyphus fraxineus”, “threatened Pacific sandalwood”, “outbreeding depression”, “climate change”, “management”, and “growth”, together with others such as “genetic improvement” and “effective size”, were active study areas and keywords, based on results of the analysis. They also guided the literature search and inventory and classification of early studies and served as predictors for future studies. The results of this study are discussed based on the trends and future directions of the research and development of seed orchards. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Seedling Development: Technologies, Methods, Affecting Factors, and New Insights)
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