Factors influencing germination and establishment of Eucalyptus pauciflora near the alpine tree line

Factors affecting seed germination, seedling establishment and growth to reproductive maturity in Eucalyptus pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng. at the tree line in southeastern Australia were investigated. Timing of germination was determined principally by temperature but could be strongly modified by soil water. Mortality of germinants was heaviest during the first growing season (dependent on soil water) and the first winter (dependent on the depth and duration of snow cover). Neither plant nor soil treatments with insecticide or fungicide had an overriding or consistent effect on germination or seedling establishment. The probability of reaching the sapling stage was greater for planted seedlings than for plants germinated on site, indicating the dependence of survival on accumulated reserves. There was no clear indication of a general decrease in survival with increasing altitude, because of an interplay between elevation and site factors including competing vegetation, snow depth and period of snow cover. Five-year-old saplings planted up to 200 m above the tree line produced reproductive structures and viable seed between the ages of 13 and 18 years. The relevance of the results to an understanding of the location of the present tree line is discussed.