PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #36: Seed Production, Recruitment, and Pollination.
Wednesday, August 7. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Temperature: The primary factor in longleaf pine pollen, strobili and cone production.

Kush, John^*,1, Pederson, Neil², ¹ Auburn University, Auburn University, Alabama² Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, New York

ABSTRACT- Adequate cone crops for natural regeneration of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) typically occur every 5-7 years, much to the frustration of forest managers. The three-year duration over which the seeds develop may be the cause of infrequent production. Cone and pollen monitoring on the Escambia Experimental Forest in Brewton, AL from 1958-1997 and strobili monitoring since 1970 provides a long time series to examine what impacts cone crop frequencies. This study is intended to explore the relationship between climate and the production of pollen, strobili and cones. Temperature appears to be the most strongly related to cone production, explaining nearly 40% of annual variation while regional monthly precipitation explained 32.5%. There is no relationship between precipitation and strobili production. However, temperature accounted for nearly 30% of annual variation and was driven by a warm December both two years prior and the year prior to strobili production and a cooler than average October the prior year. Precipitation and temperature played equivalent roles in pollen production, both explaining 16% of the annual variation. The strongest correlation for precipitation was lower than average rainfall two years prior during November and the prior May. A warmer than average the prior December had the strongest correlation, overall, to pollen production.

KEY WORDS: Pinus palustris, pollen, climate, strobili