Scots pine seed dynamics on a waterlogged site

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) grows some 400 km south of its current native limit at Wybunbury Moss, Cheshire, UK, on a peatland around a small floating bog (Schwingmoor). Cone and seed production of trees, which have been growing on the site for just over 100 years, were investigated over 3 years. Cones matured between September and March and seed shedding began in early April. The number of cones produced per reproductive tree ranged between 31 and 2,418, with a total average of 685 cones tree−1 y−1. A strong relationship was found between tree diameter and seed production which allowed the prediction of annual seed production. Scots pine on this peatland produced between 766,874 and 950,000 seeds ha−1 annually with a germination percentage of 64%. The predicted number of seeds reaching the central bog (maximum of 120 m from the trees) every year was c. 16,000.