Does Longleaf Pine Cone Production Correlate with Seed Production, Size, and Germination Rate?

Abstract

Fire-dependent longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystems in the Southeastern United States require viable seed sources for successful natural regeneration. Most studies focus on cone production as a relatively easy-to-measure variable. However, there is little understanding of whether cone production is a reliable proxy for both seed production and seed viability, which may be decoupled at high cone production levels. Identifying relationships between cone production, seed production, seed size, and germination rate should provide managers and landowners better information to predict the success of natural regeneration efforts more accurately in their longleaf pine stands. The objectives of our study were to 1) determine the relationship between cone production and seed production across individual mature longleaf pine trees, 2) determine whether cone production and seed size characteristics are related across mature longleaf pine trees, and 3) determine whether seed germination rates vary as a function of cone production across mature longleaf pine trees.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 22nd Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference

Citation

Nation, Rachel E.; Alexander, Heather D.; Willis, John L.; Aspinwall, Michael; Cannon, Jeffery B. 2024. Does Longleaf Pine Cone Production Correlate with Seed Production, Size, and Germination Rate? In: Bragg, Don C.; Oswald, Brian P.; Koerth, Nancy E., eds. Proceedings of the 22nd biennial southern silvicultural research conference. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-274. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 292–293. https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-274-Pap44.