Environmental Preconditioning, with Special Reference to Forestry

In the morphogenesis of the plant, early ecological influences (and just how early is not known) can carry through to expression in later stages of development and behaviour; therefore, phenotypic expression is frequently to be understood most simply in the context of preconditioning. Examples from the literature emphasize that the immature seed is preconditioned by the milieu of the parent plant, that past climatic conditions influence phenology, and that flowering is frequently triggered by early—acting environmental signals. The possible role of Preconditioning in three aspects of forest science—provenance trials, tree seed orchards, and acclimatization–is examined, and the conclusion is drawn that ecological preconditioning is a fertile field for stury and experimentation.