Investigation on the effect of seed transfer distance effect on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Caucasian oak seedlings (Case study: Chalmardi Nursery of Nakachoob Company

Despite the significant contribution of Quercus castaneifolia C. A. Meyer in producing seedlings and reforestation in the northern provinces, there are still many problems such as establishment and survival, branching and forking, and the small and moderate growth of the seedlings. Therefore, it seems necessary to find methods to improve the quality of seedlings produced in the nursery and the growth of reforestation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the establishment and growth of Caucasian oak seedlings, obtained from 9 populations in the Hyrcanian forest in a nursery in the center of Mazandaran.

In each of the nine populations, seeds were collected from 10 individual oak trees. The collected seeds were planted in a completely random block design with three replication in the Calmardi nursery located at Nekachoob Company in Naka city. Collar diameter and height were measured, the number of branches of seedlings counted, and the percentage of branches and forks recorded in two consecutive years.

The analysis of variance resulted in the effect of population on the diameter, height, and, number of branches of biennial seedlings being significant (p<0.01). But in terms of the percentage of fork seedlings, the difference between seed origins was not significant. The highest amount of collar diameter was related to seedlings obtained from seeds of Neka lowland and Chamestan populations. The lowest amount of collar diameter is related to seedlings obtained from seeds of Daraksh and Gilan upland populations. The maximum and minimum height of biennial seedlings in the Chalmardi nursery was 53.57 cm and 37.95 cm and were related to seedlings of Neka lowland and Gilan upland origins, respectively.

In general, it was concluded that seed transfer from habitats that are less than 250 km away from the nursery would not have an adverse effect on seedlings' growth. But at a certain distance, the transfer of seedlings from the east to the west Hyrcanian forests will have a better result than the transfer of seeds from the west to the east.