Timing of seed dispersal in Pinus sylvestris stands in central Sweden

The objective of the study presented here was to describe the variation in timing of seed dispersal from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seed trees in central Sweden. Seeds were collected in traps at two sites, for three years at one, and four years at the other. The traps were emptied from March to August each year at 1-2 week intervals during the main period of seed dispersal. The annual seed fall varied between 200000 and 1.6 million seeds per hectare. The seed fall started in mid to late April, shortly after the heat sum had started to accumulate. The most intensive seed fall took place in early to mid May. The peak period, when 50% of the total seed dispersal occurred, lasted for 18-28 days at the different sites and years. The variation in timing among years seemed to be mainly due to climatic factors - high temperatures promoted seed dispersal, for instance. The results may be useful for planning the time of scarification to optimise the natural regeneration of Scots pine. The data suggest that scarification in the spring, no later than mid-May, would generally create a good seed-bed for most of the current year's seeds, whereas scarification in late May or June would bury a large proportion of this cohort.