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Is there a morphological or physiological explanation for the dramatic increase in hybridization between loblolly and shortleaf pine?

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Hybrids between shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) and loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) have dramatically increased since the 1950s (Stewart and others 2012). Fire suppression, planting nonnative seed sources, and other anthropogenic activities have the potential to break down ecological barriers that previously kept these species from interbreeding (Tauer and others 2012). We compared artificial F1 shortleaf x loblolly pine hybrids to their parents in a 3-year study in Oklahoma.

Parent Publication

Citation

Will, Rodney E.; Lilly, Curtis J.; Stewart, John F.; Nelson, C. Dana; Tauer, Charles G. 2015. Is there a morphological or physiological explanation for the dramatic increase in hybridization between loblolly and shortleaf pine?. In Proceedings of the 17th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. e–Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–203. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 1 p.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/47541