© 1988 Heron Publishing—Victoria, Canada
Factors influencing germination and establishment of Eucalyptus pauciflora near the alpine tree line
Pamela J. Ferrar, P. M. Cochrane and R. O. Slatyer
Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, GPO Box 475, Canberra City, ACT 2601, Australia / Received November 24, 1987
Summary
Factors affecting seed germination, seedling establishment and growth to reproductive maturity in Eucalyptus pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng. at the tree line in southeastern Australia were investigated. Timing of germination was determined principally
by temperature but could be strongly modified by soil water. Mortality of germinants was heaviest during the first growing
season (dependent on soil water) and the first winter (dependent on the depth and duration of snow cover). Neither plant nor
soil treatments with insecticide or fungicide had an overriding or consistent effect on germination or seedling establishment.
The probability of reaching the sapling stage was greater for planted seedlings than for plants germinated on site, indicating
the dependence of survival on accumulated reserves. There was no clear indication of a general decrease in survival with increasing
altitude, because of an interplay between elevation and site factors including competing vegetation, snow depth and period
of snow cover. Five-year-old saplings planted up to 200 m above the tree line produced reproductive structures and viable
seed between the ages of 13 and 18 years. The relevance of the results to an understanding of the location of the present
tree line is discussed.
