Provenance of Pinus pinaster Ait. - a Five-year Progress Report on a Trial at Woodhill, New Zealand

Authors: G.B. Sweet, I.J. Thulin
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 1959, Issue N.Z.J.For. 8(4) 1962, pp 570-586, Jan 1962
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: A replicated provenance trial of Pinus pinaster Ait. established on stabilised sand dune at Woodhill (latitude 36°44'S, altitude 50 ft), was assessed five years after planting. The trial included 44 seed origins, of which five were from Portugal, seventeen from Spain, eight from Italy, five from, Corsica, four from France, three from Morocco and two from New Zealand. Striking differences between origins were found in all features assessed: survival, height, stem and crown form, number of cones developed, and needle length. Based on the assessment results, the seedlots in the trial were arranged in groups with genotypic similarity, as follows:
(1)   An Atlantic group containing origins from Portugal, the N.W. coast of Spain and the Landes of France.
(2)   A Mediterranean group comprising:
(a)   a Genova-La Spezia sub-group from Italy,
(b)   a Lucca-Esterel sub-group from France and Italy,
(c)   a Corsican sub-group,
(d)   origins from Morocco, and
(e)   variable origins from inland Spain.
The New Zealand origins in the trial proved inferior in height growth and markedly inferior in stem form to many of the overseas provenances.
The Atlantic coast group, with its superior growth rate and acceptable stem form, provided the best seed source for sites similar to that at Woodhill.

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