J. For. Sci., 2025, 71(11):555-564 | DOI: 10.17221/84/2025-JFS

Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) establishment success under climate change: Effect of site, stock type and planting timeOriginal Paper

Anna Plačková1, Zdeněk Vacek1, Stanislav Vacek1, Jan Cukor1,2, Josef Gallo1, Jakub Černý2,3
1 Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
2 Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, Jíloviště-Strnady, Czech Republic
3 Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is one of the most widespread and economically important coniferous species in the Northern Hemisphere. However, its regeneration success has recently been increasingly affected by global climate change (GCC), particularly through increasing mortality. This research aimed to evaluate the early establishment success of 30 400 bare-root and containerised Scots pine seedlings and saplings of different height classes, planted at various times on acidic and gleyed sites (479–610 m a.s.l.) across four locations in the Czech Republic. On acidic sites, seedlings exhibited 16% higher height growth and 11% lower mortality compared to gleyed sites. Containerised planting stock achieved significantly (P < 0.05) greater height growth (by 83%) and lower mortality (by 36%) than bare-root stock. For containerised material, spring plantings showed superior growth and vitality compared to autumn plantings. Planting stock height class had a stronger influence on height growth than on mortality. Based on the results, planting containerised saplings of 26–35 cm or 36–50 cm height in April is recommended for optimal establishment success of Scots pine under GCC.

Keywords: artificial regeneration; bare-rooted and containerised seedlings, saplings; climate stress; Czech Republic; growth potential; mortality

Received: November 11, 2025; Revised: November 19, 2025; Accepted: November 19, 2025; Published: November 28, 2025  Show citation

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Plačková A, Vacek Z, Vacek S, Cukor J, Gallo J, Černý J. Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) establishment success under climate change: Effect of site, stock type and planting time. J. For. Sci. 2025;71(11):555-564. doi: 10.17221/84/2025-JFS.
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