In many pine species (Family Pinaceae), ovulate cones structurally resemble a turbine, which has been widely interpreted as an adaptation for improving pollination by producing complex aerodynamic effects. We tested the turbine interpretation by quantifying patterns of pollen accumulation on ovulate cones in a wind tunnel and by using simulation models based on computational fluid dynamics. We ...

Climatic effects on annual net carbon gain, stem biomass and annual transpiration were simulated for Pinus radiata D. Don at Canberra and Mt. Gambier. Simulations were conducted with an existing process-based forest growth model (BIOMASS, Model 1) and with a modified version of the BIOMASS model (Model 2) in which response functions for carbon assimilation and leaf conductance were replaced wit...

Two experiments, designed to give more information about the suppression of litter decomposition by radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) roots and their associated microflora, were carried out. In the first, root activity was reduced by cutting the boundaries of small areas of the forest floor in an unthinned stand. Samples collected after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months showed that less litter accumulat...

Elastic constants of Pinus radiata were determined using ultrasound technique. In parallel, typical compression mechanical testing was carried out to compare the effectiveness nondestructive test The longitudinal elastic constant values similar (ultrasound technique 12,8 % higher than testing), showing that is a reliable and valid tool. for radial tangential moduli obtained by versus showed mor...

Plantations of radiata pine (Pinus radiata) cover more than 4,000,000 ha worldwide [P.B. Lavery, D.J. Mead, Pinus radiata: a narrow endemic from North America takes on the world, in: D.M. Richardson (Ed.), Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998, pp. 432–449]. In many areas, including the Ecuadorian Andes, these plantations have been established on former ...