Pollock Alan, Grant Kyle R, Schoonmaker Amanda
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Edmonton Alberta Canada.
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Centre for Boreal Research Peace River Alberta Canada.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Jan 9;15(1):e70835. doi: 10.1002/ece3.70835. eCollection 2025 Jan.
Willows (genus ) are increasingly used in operational-scale ecosystem reclamation; however, different opinions exist regarding the optimal cutting size for planting under field conditions. We compared the survival of field-planted willow cuttings sourced from upland and lowland areas with varying diameters and lengths across two growing seasons. Cuttings were grouped into 15 size classes with different diameters (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 cm) and lengths (15, 30, 50, and 100 cm) and planted in groups according to their source (upland or lowland, each area potentially reflecting a different assemblage of species) within three reclaimed industrial borrow pits east of Peace River, Alberta. We considered cuttings that displayed leaf flushing as surviving individuals. Survival probability tended to be greater for larger diameter and length cuttings sourced from lowland habitats. Cutting survival was greatly reduced in year two, especially for upland-sourced cuttings. The greater survival in larger sizes we observed may be due to greater total carbohydrates available for leaf flushing and rooting. As we did not control for species composition, the higher survival of cuttings from low-lying areas may result from species-specific differences among cutting sources, reflected by compositional differences we detected among surviving individuals in year two. Our findings suggest that under field settings, cuttings with > 2.0 cm diameter by 50-100 cm length sourced from low-lying flood-prone areas may be optimal for willow establishment. Further studies should examine the role of species and population-level genetics in driving the upland versus lowland differences in observed willow-cutting survival.
柳树（柳属）越来越多地被用于大规模生态修复；然而，对于田间条件下种植的最佳扦插尺寸存在不同观点。我们比较了来自高地和低地、具有不同直径和长度的田间种植柳树插条在两个生长季节的存活率。插条被分为15个尺寸类别，具有不同的直径（0.5、1.0、2.0和3.0厘米）和长度（15、30、50和100厘米），并根据其来源（高地或低地，每个区域可能反映不同的物种组合）分组种植在艾伯塔省和平河以东三个修复后的工业取土坑中。我们将出现叶片萌发的插条视为存活个体。来自低地生境的较大直径和长度的插条存活率往往更高。在第二年，插条的存活率大幅下降，尤其是来自高地的插条。我们观察到较大尺寸插条存活率更高可能是由于有更多的总碳水化合物可用于叶片萌发和生根。由于我们没有控制物种组成，低地地区插条较高的存活率可能是由于扦插来源之间的物种特异性差异，这在第二年存活个体的组成差异中有所体现。我们的研究结果表明，在田间环境下，来自低洼易涝地区、直径>2.0厘米且长度为50 - 100厘米的插条可能是柳树定植的最佳选择。进一步的研究应考察物种和种群水平的遗传学在导致观察到的柳树插条存活率高地差异方面所起的作用。
