SITES, NUTRITION AND GROWTH OF BLACK PINE (PINUS-NIGRA ARNOLD)

Black Pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) is naturally distributed on xerotherm limestone and silicate sites of the mediterranean and submediterranean regions and is used for artificial afforestations of xerotherm waste land, dry pastures and dunes in more northern regions. Waste land and dry pastures are frequently found on limestone sites. This would sugge st that Black Pine requires limestone sites. However, nutrition experi ments have shown that this is nor the case. Black Pine has a low need of nutrients; there was no lack of nutrients on any investigated site in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Georgia (Caucasu s). On the other hand, water supply was found to be the growth limitin g factor. The element concentrations in the needles of Black Pine are mostly lower than those of Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) under the same conditions, except for Potassium concentration, which is higher in Black Pine needles. In pot experiments with sufficient water supply nutrition and growth can be improved by fertilisation. On natural, of ten extremely dry sites typical of Black Pine stands fertilisation has no effect on growth rates, due to minimum water supply.