Reproductive effort assessment for woody plants using Siberian spruce and Siberian fir

Laboratory of Forestry, Ufa Institute of Biology, Ufa Federal Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa, 450054, Russia

^* Corresponding author: forestry@mail.ru

Abstract

The correlation between the yield of Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) and Siberian fir (Abies sibirica Ledeb.) cones and radial wood increments was examined using long-term data (47 years) from direct observations. Broad-leaved coniferous woods of the Ufa Plateau (PreUral), which are located inside the Ufa River's water protection zone, make up the special polygon where the research was conducted. According to the experiments, there was no correlation with the yield of cones and the radial increment of wood, either positive or negative. Simultaneously, it was discovered that there is a rise in the radial increment of timber wood with an increase in the number of spruce and fir cones in the climatic circumstances of a particular year. The maximum growth of the plant's vegetative mass, in this case, the radial growth of the timber wood, is shown in the year with the highest cone output. Consequently, fir and spruce in this area have the effect of reversing reproductive effort.