Pinus pinaster

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Maritime pine
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Pinus pinaster

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus:
P. subg. Pinus
Section:
P. sect. Pinus
Subsection:
Pinus subsect. Pinaster
Species:
P. pinaster
Binomial name
Pinus pinaster
Distribution map
Synonyms

Maritime pine, cluster pine

Pinus pinaster, the maritime pine

Mediterranean
. It is a hard, fast growing pine bearing small seeds with large wings.

Description

cone
of P. pinaster

Pinus pinaster is a medium-size tree, reaching 20–35 metres (66–115 feet) tall with a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 m (4 ft), exceptionally 1.8 m (6 ft).

Pinus pinaster Cones

The bark is orange-red, thick, and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, somewhat thinner in the upper crown.

The

leaves ('needles') are in pairs, very stout (2 millimetres or 116 inch broad), up to 25 cm (10 in) long,[4] and bluish-green to distinctly yellowish-green. The maritime pine features the longest and most robust needles of all European pine species.[4]

The cones are conic, 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long[4] and 4–6 cm (1+122+12 in) broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old. They open slowly over the next few years, or after being heated by a forest fire, to release the seeds, opening to 8–12 cm (3–4+12 in) broad.

The seeds are 8–10 mm (51638 in) long, with a 20–25 mm (1316–1 in) wing, and are wind-dispersed.

Similar species

Maritime pine is closely related to

Aleppo pine, which all share many features with it. It is a relatively non-variable species, with constant morphology
over the entire range.

Distribution and habitat

Its range is in the western

Northern Spain (especially in Galicia) to southern and Western France, east to western Italy, Croatia and south to northern Tunisia, Algeria and northern Morocco.[5] It favours a Mediterranean climate, which is one that has cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.[6]

It generally occurs at low to moderate altitudes, mostly from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft), but up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the south of its range in Morocco. The high degree of fragmentation in the current natural distribution is caused by two factors: the discontinuity and altitude of the mountain ranges causing isolation of even close populations, and human activity.[7]

Ecology

Pinus pinaster is a popular topic in

acidic soils with medium to high-density vegetation,[6] but it can also grow in basic soils and even in sandy and poor soils, where only few commercial species can grow.[7]

Pinus pinaster is a diagnostic species of the vegetation class Pinetea halepensis.[8]

Larvae of the moth Dioryctria sylvestrella feed on this pine. Their boring activity causes large quantities of resin to flow from the wounds which weakens the tree and allows fungi and other pathogens to gain entry.[9]

Invasiveness

Results of invasion

Pinus pinaster is a successful

herbs, and creepers have a larger effect on decline of species richness (Z=–3.78; p<0.001).[11] Lastly, compared to other countries, South Africa had the largest species richness decline when faced with invasive species.[11] South Africa is not home to many insects and diseases that limit the population of P. pinaster back in its native habitat.[5]
Not only is there evidence that alien plant invasions decrease biodiversity, but there is also evidence that the location of P. pinaster increases its negative effect on the species richness.

In addition, depending on the regions P. pinaster invades, P. pinaster has the potential to dramatically alter the quantity of water in the environment. If P. pinaster invades an area covered with grasses and shrubs, the water level of the streams in this area would lower significantly because P. pinaster are

grasslands were replaced with pines. To reinforce that, there is a negative effect from the invasive species P. pinaster, these areas of dense P. pinaster were thinned and the number of trees in the area decreased. As a result, the streamflow in the fynbos catchments of the Western Cape increased by 44%. The streamflow in the Mpumalanga Province increased by 120%.[5] As a result of P. pinaster growth, there is often less understory vegetation for livestock grazing. Once again there was a positive effect when some of the pines were removed and agreeable range grasses were planted. The grazing conditions for the sheep of the area were greatly improved when the P. pinaster plantation was thinned to 300 trees per hectare. The invasion of P. pinaster leads to the decrease of understory vegetation and therefore a decrease in livestock.[13]

It is sporadically naturalizing in Oakland and San Leandro in northern California.

Ecological interactions

Bark of P. pinaster.

Pinus pinaster is particularly successful in regions with fynbos vegetation because it is adapted to high-intensity fires, thus allowing it to outcompete other species that are not as well adapted to high-intensity fires. In areas of fire-prone shrubland, the cones of P. pinaster will release seeds when in a relatively high-temperature environment for

seedlings, results showed a decrease in P. pinaster seedlings (r=–0.41, p<0.05).[14]

Several other characteristics contribute to their success in the regions they have invaded, including their ability to grow rapidly and to produce small seeds with large wings. Their ability to grow quickly with short juvenile periods allows them to outcompete many native species while their small seeds aids in their dispersal. The small seeds with large wings are beneficial for wind dispersal, which is the key to reaching new areas in regions with fynbos vegetation.[6] Vertebrate seed dispersers are not commonly found in mountain fynbos vegetation; therefore those species that require the aid of vertebrate dispersal would be at a disadvantage in such an environment. For this reason, the small seed, low seed wing loading, and high winds found in mountainous regions all combine to provide a favorable situation for the dispersal of P. pinaster seeds.[6] Without this efficient dispersal strategy, P. pinaster would not have been able to reach and invade areas, such as South Africa, that are suitable for its growth. Its dispersal ability is one of the key factors that have allowed P. pinaster to become such a successful invasive species.[6]

In addition to being an efficient disperser, P. pinaster is known to produce

pine weevil. According to an experiment done in Spain, the resin canal density was twice as high in the P. pinaster seedlings attacked by the weevils compared to the unattacked seedlings. Since P. pinaster has the ability to regulate their production of defense mechanisms, it can protect itself from predatory in an energy-efficient manner. The resins make the P. pinaster less vulnerable to damage from insects, but they are only produced in high concentrations when P. pinaster is under attack. In other words, P. pinaster does not waste energy producing resins in safe conditions, so the conserved energy can be used for growth or reproduction. These characteristics enhance the ability of P. pinaster survive and flourish in the areas it invades.[16]
Both the traits of P. pinaster and the habitat in South Africa are conducive to the success of P. pinaster in this region of the world.

Options for biological control

pyralid moth species Dioryctria mendasella and D. mitatella, but these species attack the vegetative tissue instead of just the seeds of P. pinaster, harming the plant itself.[5]
As of now, the eriophyid mite and cone-feeding weevil seem to hold the most potential to controlling the spread of P. pinaster in the regions it has invaded because they destroy the reproductive structures of the target invasive species.

Uses

Maritime pine forest in the Coastal Park in Esposende, Northern Portugal as seen from the foredunes.

Pinus pinaster is widely planted for timber in its native area, being one of the most important trees in forestry in France, Spain and Portugal. Landes forest in southwest France is the largest man-made maritime pine forest in Europe. It has also been cultivated in Australia as plantation tree, to provide softwood timber.[18] P. pinaster resin is a useful source of turpentine and rosin.[19]

In addition to industrial uses, maritime pine is also a popular ornamental tree, often planted in parks and gardens in areas with warm

naturalised in parts of southern England, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa and Australia.[20]

It is also used as a source of

Pycnogenol is marketed with claims it can treat many conditions; however, according to a 2012 Cochrane review, the evidence is insufficient to support its use for the treatment of any chronic disorder.[21]

Pests

Pinus pinea L. (Stone pine) and also on Pinus pinaster in Portugal. Evidence of shoot blight and stem necrosis were found in 2020. The fungus was found on needles, shoots and trunks of the pines.[22]

References

  1. . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Pinus pinaster Aiton". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Maritime Pine | the Wood Database - Lumber Identification (Softwood)".
  4. ^ .
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Moran et al. (2000).
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Richardson, M (1990). Assessing the risk of invasive success in Pinus and Banksia in South African mountain fynbos [Journal of Vegetation Science] (1st ed.). pp. 629–642.
  7. ^ a b Alía, R. & Martín, S. (2003), Maritime pine – Pinus pinaster: Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use (PDF), European Forest Genetic Resources Programme, p. 6 pp, archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-19, retrieved 2017-01-18
  8. S2CID 228839165
    .
  9. .
  10. ^ Higgins, S (1999). Predicting the Landscape-Scale Distribution of Alien Plants and Their Threat to Plant Diversity [Conservation Biology]. pp. 303–313.
  11. ^ a b c Gaertner, M (2009). Impacts of alien plant invasions on species richness in Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a meta-analysis [Progress in Physical Geography] (33rd ed.). pp. 319–338.
  12. ^ .
  13. ^ Papanastasis, V. (1995). Effects of thinning, fertilisation and sheep grazing on the understory vegetarion of Pinus pinaster plantations [School of Forestry and Natural Environment]. pp. 181–189.
  14. ^ a b c Calvo, L (2008). Post-fire natural regeneration of a Pinus pinaster forest in NW Spain [Plant Ecology]. Vol. 197. pp. 81–90.
  15. ^ Calvo, L (2003). Regeneration after wildfire in communities dominated by Pinus pinaster, an obligate seeder, and in others dominated by Quercus pyrenaica, typical resprouter [Forest Ecology and Management]. Vol. 184. pp. 209–223.
  16. ^ a b Krebs, C (2009). Ecology [Pearson].
  17. ^ Hoffmann, J (2011). Prospects for the biological control of invasive Pinus species (Pinaceae) in South Africa [African Entomology]. pp. 393–401.
  18. ^ "Anglesea Plantation". The Geelong Advertiser. 1926-05-01. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  19. ^ "Interview: Pinus pinaster resin industry in Portugal (portuguese)". AGROTEC. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Pinus pinaster". Royal Horticultural Society. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  21. PMID 22513958
    .
  22. .

Sources

Further reading