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More articles from Issue 1, 2016

Opening Letter

Restoration Silviculture: An Ecophysiological Perspective - Lessons learned across 40 years

Meeting Forest Restoration Challenges: Using the Target Plant Concept

Restoration of Spanish pine plantations: A main challenge for the 21st century

Reforestation challenges in Scandinavia

Citations

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13

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Maxime Brousseau, Nelson Thiffault, Julien Beguin, Vincent Roy, Jean-Pierre Tremblay

(2017)

Deer browsing outweighs the effects of site preparation and mechanical release on balsam fir seedlings performance: Implications to forest management

Forest Ecology and Management, 405()

10.1016/j.foreco.2017.09.024

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Emile Caroline Silva Lopes, Ândrea Carla Dalmolin, Ivan Bezerra Allama, Karine Ferreira Pereira, William Martin Aitken II, Martielly Santana dos Santos, Aline Pinto dos Santos, Marcelo Schramm Mielke

(2020)

EFFECTS OF ROOT DEFORMATION AND LIGHT AVAILABILITY ON GROWTH AND BIOMASS ALLOCATION OF Senna multijuga SEEDLINGS (Rich) H. S. Irwin & Barneby

Revista Árvore, 44()

10.1590/1806-908820200000018

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V Ivetić, S Grossnickle, M Škorić

(2017)

Forecasting the field performance of Austrian pine seedlings using morphological attributes

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, 10(1)

10.3832/ifor1722-009

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Steven C. Grossnickle, Joanne E. MacDonald

(2018)

Seedling Quality: History, Application, and Plant Attributes

Forests, 9(5)

10.3390/f9050283

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Jason A. Shabaga, Dave M. Morris, Nelson Thiffault

(2026)

Can greenhouse inoculation with native mycorrhizae improve planted jack pine and black spruce survival and growth? A 25-year retrospective assessment

The Forestry Chronicle, ()

10.5558/tfc2026-015

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Klaus J. Puettmann, Anthony W. D’Amato, Michael Dockry, Marie-Josee Fortin, Austin Himes, Brian Palik, Kristen Waring, Marcella Windmuller

(2025)

Silviculture—More Complex Than Ever

Journal of Forestry, 123(2)

10.1007/s44392-025-00015-2

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Richardson Barbosa Gomes da Silva, Danilo Simões, Ivar Wendling, Débora Zanoni do Prado, Maria Márcia Pereira Sartori, Angelo Albano da Silva Bertholdi, Magali Ribeiro da Silva

(2023)

Leaf Angle as a Criterion for Optimizing Irrigation in Forest Nurseries: Impacts on Physiological Seedling Quality and Performance after Planting in Pots

Forests, 14(5)

10.3390/f14051042

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Luan Samarone Silva Rosado, Guilherme Silva Modolo, Zilza Thayane Matos Guimarães, Victor Alexandre Hardt Ferreira dos Santos, Sulianne Idalior Paião Rosado, Marciel José Ferreira

(2023)

Short-term responses of native tree species to site conditions after mining in the Central Amazon

Ecological Engineering, 192()

10.1016/j.ecoleng.2023.106992

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L.M. Ishbirdina, I.G. Sabirzyanov, S.I. Muftakhova, G. Uzakov, I. Chudov, A. Gibadullin, Z. Zalilova

(2023)

Intensification of cultivation of Pinus sylvestris L. seedlings with a closed root system in the Southern Urals

BIO Web of Conferences, 71()

10.1051/bioconf/20237101003

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Gebremariam Yaebiyo, Emiru Birhane, Tewodros Tadesse, Solomon Kiros, Kiros Meles Hadgu, Yemane G.Egziabher, Solomon Habtu

(2024)

Using biochar and deficit irrigation enhanced the growth of commercial agroforestry woody species seedlings in drylands (a case study in Saz, northern Ethiopia)

Agroforestry Systems, 98(1)

10.1007/s10457-023-00891-7

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Ivan Repáč, Zuzana Parobeková, Matúš Sendecký

(2017)

Reforestation in Slovakia: History, current practice and perspectives

REFORESTA, (3)

10.21750/REFOR.3.07.31

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Steven C. Grossnickle, Joanne E. MacDonald

(2026)

Seedling field performance on hot, dry forest restoration sites: influence of plant attributes

New Forests, 57(2)

10.1007/s11056-025-10140-7

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Takashi Masaki, Michio Oguro, Naoko Yamashita, Tatsuya Otani, Hajime Utsugi

(2017)

Reforestation following harvesting of conifer plantations in Japan: Current issues from silvicultural and ecological perspectives

REFORESTA, (3)

10.21750/REFOR.3.11.35

Restoration Silviculture: An Ecophysiological Perspective - Lessons learned across 40 years

Steven C Grossnickle
Steven C Grossnickle

Published: 01.12.2015.

Volume 0, Issue 1 (2016)

pp. 1-36;

https://doi.org/10.21750/refor.1.02.2

Abstract

Involvement in forest restoration programs across North America for the past 40 years, dealing with nursery cultural practices, operational seedling quality programs and defining seedling performance on restoration sites has given me a unique perspective, which I have used to examine programs from both a research and operational perspective. Certain biological patterns and themes continually appeared across these programs and this paper discusses five of the most common themes.Learning To Think Like a Tree – It is important for practitioners to develop an understanding of the ecophysiological performance of tree species in a nursery or forest restoration program in order to understand how seedlings grow. This understanding leads to sound biologically based cultural decisions to improve seedling performance.Stress and the Cyclical Nature of Stress Resistance – Seedlings are exposed to stress when environmental conditions limit their performance. Plants develop physiological resistance attributes to mitigate stress and these attributes change throughout the seasonal cycle. Practitioners have developed hardening cultural practices that enhance seedling stress resistance, thereby improving seedling quality and site restoration success.Seedling Quality: Product versus Process – Seedling quality is an important component of successful restoration. Typically seedling quality is examined from a product perspective, thus defining functional integrity, operational grading or sometimes performance potential. An alternative approach monitors the process, with product quality the final output.Planting Stress and Seedling Establishment – Planting stress is prevalent in forest restoration. The act of planting can result in a seedling that does not have proper connections for water movement through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC). Seedling water stress, reduced growth performance and potentially death can occur if this SPAC connection is not restored.Seedling Death: Sometimes Simple and Sometimes Complicated – Seedling death can occur in restoration programs as a result of environmental extremes or incorrect management practices. Some problems can be easy to diagnose and correct practices can be implemented to rectify the problem. Other times, issues are complicated and it can be a challenge to define the potential factors causing seedling death.

References

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Arnott, J. T., Grossnickle, S. C., Puttonen, P., Mitchell, A. K., & Folk, R. S. (1993). Influence of nursery culture on growth, cold hardiness, and drought resistance of yellow cypress. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 23(12), 2537–2547. https://doi.org/10.1139/x93-314
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