Analysis of survival factors of Castanopsis sieboldii planted in the coastal sand dune of Tottori Prefecture, Japan

Growth environment mitigation by Pinus thunbergii remaining from pine tree nematode damages

Abstract

Attempts have been made in various places to convert coastal forests damaged by the pine tree nematode to broad-leaved trees, but no remarkable results have been achieved. This research that focused on the environment of the surviving C. sieboldii planted on the coastal sand dunes of Tottori Prefecture revealed that the growth location and summer relative photosynthetic photon flux density were significantly different between the points of surviving C. sieboldii and the points of dead C. sieboldii. This result suggested that the presence of canopies of the remaining P. thunbergii alleviated the severe summer environmental condition and made it possible for the survival of seedlings C. sieboldii. In addition, this study also implied the possibility of improvement of the survival rate of C. sieboldii by underplanting.