Canadian Forest Service Publications
Comparisons of different plant production methods for forest trees. 1992. Menzies, M.I.; Arnott, J.T. Pages 21-44 in K. Kurata and T. Kozai, Editors. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Transplant Production Systems, July 21-26, 1992, Yokohama, Japan. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Year: 1992
Issued by: Pacific Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 3274
Language: English
Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)
Abstract
While natural regeneration and seeding have been used extensively to reestablish forests, it is now more common to plant, using seedlings or vegetative propagules. The main plant production methods are bare-root, transplant, and containerized systems. There are advantages and disadvantages for all systems. Bare-root plants are cheap to raise, and mechanized systems have been developed for most operations. The planting season is restricted to the winter months when the trees are dormant, although some species may be cool-stored successfully for early spring planting. Transplants are raised initially either bare-rooted or in containers and then transplanted into nursery soil to be raised as bare-rooted transplants. Transplants have been an alternative in harsher climates, where tree growth is slow and a longer time is required in the nursery. Containerized systems have been developed extensively in the 1970s and 1980s and are now widely used in harsher climates where bare-root production is more risky, and in the tropics where seedlings often do not become dormant, or planting must be done in the summer during the rainy season. When selecting a plant production method, the plant specifications necessary for successful establishment on the particular site can be used as a guide. Any cost-benefit analysis should include the total cost of restocking the area and not just the cost of the plants in the nursery.
