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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 50, Number 1 (2003) → Effect of Peat-Based Container Media on Establishment of Scots Pine, Norway Spruce, and Silver Birch Seedlings

Effect of Peat-Based Container Media on Establishment of Scots Pine, Norway Spruce, and Silver Birch Seedlings

Growth of container seedlings grown in pure sphagnum peat and in peat mixtures containing coarse perlite and/or fine sand (25% by volume) was studied after out planting to forest sites. Relatively small differences in height growth and mortality were found among seedlings grown in the different media. Differences in postplanting success were greater among tree species and between sites than among media types. Cold soil, due to long-lasting soil frost in spring, could contribute to the increased mortality and lowered growth, especially that found in Norway spruce seedlings during the 1st growing season after planting. In practice, seedling establishment after planting cannot be expected to benefit from the addition of the constituents used here to a peat container medium in proportions less than 50%. Tree Planters' Notes 50(1): 28-33; 2003.


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Author(s): Juha Heiskanen, Risto Rikala

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 50, Number 1 (2003)

Volume: 50

Number: 1