| Order | Task denomination | Start date | End date | Duration | Person * months |
| 1 | T1. Coordination and dissemination | 01-01-2016 | 31-12-2018 | 36 | 23,1 |
Task description and Expected results
The PINEA+ Project aims to provide scientific information of Pinus pinea cone and pine nuts productivity in relation to its
determinants and by doing this to produce information to support the management of its stands. Thus, the involvement of Pinus
pinea stakeholders in the definition of goals, planning, monitoring, and evaluation of results is essential to guarantee that the
information to be produced is relevant for the improvement of Pinus pinea management in Portugal.
PINEA+ will benefit from the participation of individual land owners as well as Forest Land Owners Associations has been already
strengthened by the development of the PINEA Project. In addition, the direct involvement of UNAC – Union of the Mediterranean
Forest is strategic to maintain a good channel of communications with the land owner and Forest Associations throughout the
PINEA+ Project lifespan.
The PINEA+ Project intends to hold at least 2 team general meetings to which Pinus pinea stakeholders will be invited. More
meetings will be organized. If necessary while running the project. Chronologically, these general meetings will happen at the
beginning, (a ‘kickoff’ meeting) and at the end of the Project. The first meeting will discuss the planning and coordination of
PINEA+ Project Tasks. The final meeting will evaluate results and discuss what was accomplished.
Every 6 months there will be a milestone’s meeting which will be organized with the researchers who are in the tasks involved in
that milestone.
The results of the PINEA+ Project will be published both in national and international journals. In addition, PINEA+ Project results
will be published in the Project’s website pinuspinea.com. The website will be updated at least every 6 months and more
often if considered necessary. PINEA+ Project website will be inherited from the PINEA Project and has already been a major
platform to interact with forest researchers, landowners and managers interested in Pinus pinea research internationally. Since
its establishment the website had already over 8800 visits from over 135 countries.
PINEA+ project will have the help of UNAC to organize a dissemination congress in the end of the Project. This will be an
opportunity to present the results to the general public.
PINEA+ Project will also benefit from the participation of many of its members on many outreach activities such:
(i) COST Action FP1203: European nonwood forest products (NWFPs) network?
(ii) StarTree: A panEuropean project to support the sustainable exploitation of forest resources for rural development?
(iii) the FAO/CIHEAM Interregional Research Network on Nuts in particular the subnetwork meeting on stone pine (AgroPine)?
(iv) several of PINEA+ team are closely involved with the establishment of the IUFRO research group on 1.08.00 Silviculture for production of edible fruits (SILVIFRUIT).
Members of the research team in this task
Alexandra Cristina Pires Correia; Ana Cristina Oliveira Farinha; Ana Paula Soares Marques de Carvalho; João Pedro Abranches Freire; Juan Guerra Hernandez; Luis Mendes Godinho Milheiriço Fontes; Manuel Lameiras de Figueiredo Campagnolo; Maria da Encarnação Ferreira Marcelo; Maria Isabel Carrasquinho de Freitas; Maria Isabel Freire Ribeiro Ferreira; Maria Margarida Branco de Brito Tavares Tomé; Nélia Chantal Cordeiro Pinto Aires; Pedro Manuel Barbosa Vasconcelos Jordão; Raquel Macedo Soveral Dias Mano; (BI) Bolseiro de Investigação (Mestre) 1; (BPD) Bolseiro de Pós-Doutoramento 1.
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| Order | Task denomination | Start date | End date | Duration | Person * months |
| 2 | T2. Water and nutrients availability | 01-01-2016 | 31-12-2018 | 36 | 43,8 |
Task description and Expected results
This task will evaluate if water and nutrients availability are factors which decisively affects the cone and pine nuts production. The task will be based in three irrigation and fertilization trials which have been established in the PINEA Project.
Full task description
There is already a considerable amount of data gathered through the PINEA Project in relation to water and nutrients availability. Sources of these data are mainly three irrigation and fertilization (IF) trials with measurements during 2014 and 2015 with the following details:
- Abegoaria IF Trial
Planted in 2010;
3,5 x 7 ; 408 trees/ha;
Grafted half of trees in 2013;
Drip-irrigation with fertilization (IF) since plantation;
Trial: 3 treatments (control C and 2 levels of IF) x 2 repetitions x 48 trees (half grafted);
Trial installed end August 2014;
Measurements: biometric, flowers and pine cones, soil and leaf samples, soil moisture, climate.
- Esteveira IF Trial
Planted in 1992, thinning in 2013 (current spacing12 x 16);
Non grafted trees;
Underground drip irrigation (30-40 cm depth), 5m from row;
3 treatments (control C and 2 levels I/IF) x 2 repetitions;
Trial installed end August 2014;
Measurements: biometric, soil and leaf samples, climate data, pine production;
- Machoqueira IF Trial
Planted in 2007; 8 x 3; 416 trees/ha;
Grafted trees in 2010/2011/2012;
4 treatments (control C, fertilization F, irrigation I, and fertigation IF ) x 4 repetitions (5 trees/plot);
Fertilization in 2014 with N;
Trial installed in May 2014;
Measurements: biometric, phenology, flowers and cones, litterfall, soil and foliar, soil moisture, climate, needles and branches biomass, water potential, pine nuts yield, monitoring Leptglossus occidentalis
In addition to the three IF trials there is also one fertilization trial established at Vale Porquinho with the following characteristics:
Planted in 2009;
8 x 6; 208 trees/ha;
Trial: 8 treatments (control C and 7 levels of F) x 3 repetitions x 8 trees;
Trial installed 2014
Measurements: biometric, monitoring cones, soil and leaf samples.
Existing trials provide a unique support for the PINEA+ water and nutrients availability research. Research to be carried out by PINEA+ in this task is very important since: (i) existing data is only available for two years (2014 and 2015) and therefore the results already obtained are not yet solid as the length of time for Pinus pinea cone development to be completed is three years. Furthermore results obtained from only two years of measurements are very much marked by the natural dynamics of erratic hydrologic regimes from this Mediterranean climate region; (ii) It is expected in this task to move from the existing qualitative knowledge about the influence from water a nutrients availability on Pinus pinea cone production to a qualitative knowledge by understanding the differences in cone production obtained by applying different irrigation and fertilization levels.
Apart from the existing field equipment such as the one for: soil water monitoring (sampling tubes and PR2 Soil Moisture Profile Probes), evaluation of water potential (PMS 1000 Pressure Chamber) and photosynthesis (LI-6400 Portable Photosynthesis System) which have been used in the PINEA Project and will be used in the PINEA+ Project there will be at this time the opportunity to have other important scientific equipment for a closer monitoring in tree cone response to fertilization and irrigation such as tree and fruit digital dendrometers as wells as sap flow equipment.
Members of the research team in this task
Alexandra Cristina Pires Correia; Ana Paula Soares Marques de Carvalho; João Pedro Abranches Freire; Juan Guerra Hernandez; Luis Mendes Godinho Milheiriço Fontes; Maria da Encarnação Ferreira Marcelo; Maria Isabel Carrasquinho de Freitas; Maria Isabel Freire Ribeiro Ferreira; Maria Margarida Branco de Brito Tavares Tomé; Nuno Miguel Santos da Conceição; Pedro Manuel Barbosa Vasconcelos Jordão; Raquel Macedo Soveral Dias Mano; (BI) Bolseiro de Investigação (Mestre) 1; (BPD) Bolseiro de Pós-Doutoramento 1.
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| Order | Task denomination | Start date | End date | Duration | Person * months |
| 3 | T3. Climate, masting and cone yield loss | 01-01-2016 | 31-08-2017 | 20 | 17,9 |
Task description and Expected results
This task will evaluate climate as a factor which decisively affects masting and the cone and pine nuts production due to yield loss. The task will be based in climate data and long term pine nuts data series, data from irrigation and fertilization experiments as well as looking in detail to the climate that was responsible for the biggest masting year since there are records which was in 2010/2011.
Full task description
Pinus pinea large annual variation of cone/pine nuts crops is an important issue for forest management, which requires in-depth research in order to understand the mechanisms which explain such variations. In addition, this species is known by its masting, the synchronous intermittent production of large cone/pine nuts crops, behaviour. Fitness advantages of synchronous reproduction can be seen by masting to satiate seed predators: more seeds are produced during mast years than can be consumed by predators, and predator populations are kept on check during non-mast years (Crone et al, 2009). Moreover, pollination ef?ciency is high during high ?owering years (Kelly and Sork, 2002). Often masting climate triggers in perennial plants are related to rainfall/drought and/or temperature. In addition, a study based on data sets from ?ve plant families showed that temperature difference between the two previous summers better predicts seed crops (Kelly et al, 2013). There are indications that Pinus pinea masting is an adaptive reproductive trait directly influenced by weather (Mutke et al, 2005).
Data for the study is coming from the cone crops data that have been collected annually from 2005 until 2008 (Freire 2009) and 2013 and 2014 in the Permanents Sample Plots network (see details about the data in the PINEA Project website). Climate data will be based on the existing grid of meteorological stations. An in-depth analysis taking into account the cone production data and the meteorological data looking for:
- Identify climate variables and thresholds which favor conditions to maximize the physiological process in Pinus pinea by which the shoot apical meristem becomes competent to develop flowers known as flower induction.
- Identify climate variables and thresholds which induce cone mortality and cone/pine nuts yield loss.
A good cone crop production year results from a large flower induction followed by low mortality from flowers and cones until reaching the crop harvesting. It is easy to know what the final cone crop production is by carrying out the cone collection. However it is not so easy to account for the number of flowers that were induced as they are very difficult see in large/ adult trees as they are located in the top of the crowns. Therefore, PINEA+ will continue the efforts already started in the PINEA Project in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly known as a drones, for the assessment of the flowers resulted from the flower induction.
Since there are records from Pinus pinea cone crop production in Portugal, in the harvesting campaign 2010/2011 it was highest cone production since such records exist. Therefore special attention will be given to the climate in which such production peak occurred, in particular, during the four years which precede such production.
It is expected with this task a better understanding from the climate conditions that promote masting in Pinus pinea in Portugal as well the climate thresholds that are responsible for losses in the cone/pine nuts production in this species.
Members of the research team in this task
Alexandra Cristina Pires Correia? Luis Mendes Godinho Milheiriço Fontes? Maria Margarida Branco de Brito Tavares Tomé? (BI) Bolseiro de Investigação (Mestre) 1? (BPD) Bolseiro de PósDoutoramento 1.
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| Order | Task denomination | Start date | End date | Duration | Person * months |
| 4 | T4. Seed and cone insect pests | 01-01-2016 | 31-12-2018 | 36 | 26,4 |
Task description and Expected results
This task will assess Pinus pinea seed and cone insect pests as a factor which decisively affects cone and pine nuts yield loss. The task will be characterize and quantify the damage in cones and seeds of stone pine caused by the main three insects pest species present in Portugal: Dioryctria mendacella (Staudinger 1859), Pissodes validirostris (C.R. Sahlberg 1834) and Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910.
Full task description
State of the art
Invasive species are widely recognized as a major threat to biological biodiversity (Baillie et al. 2004) as well as the major responsible in causing serious economic or ecological hazards (Robinet & Roques 2010). Invasions should thus be treated as urgent problems and action should be taken quickly on the path to mitigate their ecological and economic impacts.
Stone pine nut production has suffered a decline in the past decades (Mutkle el al. 2005). Some researchers believe that insects play a key role in the annual fluctuation in abundance of sound cones of some conifers (Mattson 1978). In Portugal, there are three insects that can cause significant damage to cones and seeds of stone pine: Dioryctria mendacella (Staudinger 1859), Pissodes validirostris (C.R. Sahlberg 1834) and Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910. The economic and ecological impact of these insects on cone production is still to be determined particularly the impact of L. occidentalis, considered one of the most harmful pests to stone pine nut production (Bracalini et al. 2013).
Task description
In task 4 we intend to characterize and quantify the damage in cones and seeds of stone pine caused by the main three insects pest species present in Portugal: Dioryctria mendacella (Staudinger 1859), Pissodes validirostris (C.R. Sahlberg 1834) and Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910. Our aim will be to understand how much of the cone and seed production losses is due to this insects.
Taking into account that in our country cone production is done on essentially two primary management strategies – forest stands with natural regeneration sometimes mixed with other species like cork oak or holm oak and plantations of pure forest, two subtasks were designed.
In subtask 4.1, we will analyze the impact of insects on cone production of natural stands sites. Sampling will be performed in permanent plots. D. mendacella and P. validirostris will be studied separated from L. occidentalis because the method to assess the damage of the first two is different from the last. D. mendacella and P. validirostris leave on the cone visible marks of its presence. On the contrary L. occidentalis leaves no external mark and impact must be assessed after opening the seeds.
In subtask 4.2, we will test the hypothesis that the host plant quality influence insect fecundity (Awmack & Leather, 2002) and therefore so its impact. For that a trial with four different management treatments will be conducted. D. mendacella and P. validirostris will only be evaluated in terms of their impact on cones. For L. occidentalis, besides quantifying the impact on cones his fecundity and mortality will also be studied in the field resourcing to branches covered with polyester sleeves and with the bug inside.
Objectives
We aim to quantify the impact of three seed and cone insect pests, the coneworm Dioryctria mendacella, the weevil Pissodes validirostris and the western conifer-seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis on Pinus pinea resourcing to two scenarios: (1) permanent plots in natural stands and (2) controlled fertilization and irrigation stone pine trials in a seed-production area.
Main questions are:
• Are insects the main responsible for the decline of stone pine cone production and seed yield losses?
• Will host plant quality influence insect pest attack?
4.1 Impact of invasive insects on cone production of natural stands of Pinus pinea
Bracalini and collaborators (2013) argue that the decline in stone pine nut production in Italy is mainly due to cone and seed insects. Nevertheless, other researchers believe be due to climatic changes and physiological factors of the stone pine (Mutke et al. 2005). So, it is a priority to identify the major causes of stone pine cone production decrease. Is cone production governed basically by exogenous or endogenous variables? Are insects the major exogenous cause?
4.1.1 Dioryctria mendacella and Pissodes validirostris
These two species, cause very similar symptoms despite P. validirostris being a beetle and D. mendacella a moth. They are of particular importance mainly because their attacks completely destroy the cones, causing deformities and loss of pinion production. The attacks start even with cones in development and can be detected by the presence of small pits on the outside. Still not exist means of control available to limit the populations of these pests. We propose to assess the impact of this two insects in 3rd year cones in representative regions of pine nuts production in Portugal.
Methods
Sampling collection will be carried out on the existing 65 Pinus pinea permanent sample plots (PSPs). In each plot, a randomized sample of fifty 3rd year cones will be analyzed. Insect damage will be characterized and quantified based on external signs on the cones and the impact of recorded insect species on nut production will be evaluated.
The cones will then be dried and the seeds yield analyzed.
4.1.2 Leptoglossus occidentalis
Conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae), is a Nearctic leaf footed pine pest native from North America (Hedlin et al. 1981). It is a recent invasion in Portugal, having been only detected for the first time in 2010 (Grosso - Silva 2010). Although L. occidentalis has already been considered a significant pest in Italy and France there is still a substantial lack of knowledge on its impact on P. pinea mainly because seeds that have been fed on by this bug bear no external signs of damage. Thus, estimates of seed losses caused by L. occidentalis are imprecise.
Methods
Field sampling method will be the same as in subtask 4.1.1. However, due to lack of external signs of the presence of L. occidentalis, damage by this bug will be assessed by seed observation. The endosperm may appear partially or totally destroyed and the remaining contents are often shrunken and show an altered consistency assigned to L. occidentalis.
Data from this subtask will be added to the previous and the impact of all three insect species will be evaluated. A temporal data series of three years will be performed as mandatory to assess the risk of these species
4.2 Effects of host plant management on its susceptibility to insects attack
Site productivity, together with spatial heterogeneity and spatial scale, have all proven to be critical elements in understanding the invasibility of communities, i.e., the susceptibility of the site to the colonization and establishment of individuals from species not currently part of the resident community. Variables like soil nutrient concentrations are critical to community structure and invasibility (Davies 2011). On the other hand, host plant quality which is conditioned by the site productivity is a key determinant of the fecundity of herbivorous insects (Awmack & Leather, 2002).
This study with plots of stone pine stands under different management strategies would provide a basis for understanding preferences among cone and seed insects and also explain patterns of variation in attack in the field. As a result it would also allow for more targeted management to reduce the economic impacts of pest attack.
4.2.1 Dioryctria mendacella and Pissodes validirostris
Sampling will be done in the project trial of Machoqueira do Grou, Coruche, Portugal. Trial consists of 16 plots: 4 treatments (T0 – control; T1 – fertilization; T2 – irrigation; T4 – fertilization and irrigation) each with four repetitions. In each plot five trees will be randomly selected every year and all flowers and cones will be evaluated every month for external signs of insect feeding. All 3rd year cones of the trial will be harvested and analyzed for damage of D. mendacella and P. validirostris.
4.2.2 Leptoglossus occidentalis
Knowing that no positive signs of damage by L. occidentalis are visible on the cone surface, impact of this species in cone and pine nuts production must rely on internal analysis of the seeds. Therefore, one way to estimate this species impact is resorting to controlled field conditions by using branches covered with mesh insect-exclusion bags.
Our aim is to assess L. occidentalis impact on cone and nuts production but also to describe the effect that the host management model has on the fertility and fecundity of this bug. Results may lead to choose certain stone pine management strategies to reduce damage by insects.
Methods
Sampling will be done in the same trial as 4.2.1. In each plot of T0 and T4 three trees will be selected randomly every year and all cones counted. In each tree four treatments will be randomly assigned to four cone bearing branches (one from each cardinal direction) previously selected in each tree. This four treatments will be: A0 – wild control (branch only identified with a strip); A1 – blank control (branch enclosed in a mesh insect-exclusion bag but with no bugs inside); A2 – couple (branch with a couple of L. occidentalis enclosed in a mesh insect-exclusion bag); A3 – nymphs (branch with four nymphs of L. occidentalis enclosed in a mesh insect-exclusion bag).
Blank control branches must be enclosed in mesh insect-exclusion bags before the emergence of the overwintering adult bugs (late April). Bags inspection once a week. Any dead or missing individuals should be replaced. A colony in the laboratory must be maintained in order to provide a steady stream of insects to replace the dead or missing in the field bags.
Variables to be measured: fecundity, fertility and mortality of the insects. Cones will be harvest in the 3rd year and seed damage assessed.
Members of the research team in this task
Ana Cristina Oliveira Farinha? Luis Mendes Godinho Milheiriço Fontes? (BI) Bolseiro de Investigação (Mestre) 1? (BPD) Bolseiro de PósDoutoramento 1.
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| Order | Task denomination | Start date | End date | Duration | Person * months |
| 5 | T5. Competition and cone production | 01-01-2016 | 30-04-2018 | 28 | 25,8 |
Task description and Expected results
This task will look at Pinus pinea competition through basal area, LAI and stand composition as a factor which decisively affects cone and pine production. This task will be based on the Pinus pinea network of Permanent Sample Plots (PSP) as well as in remote sense data.
Full task description
Management of stone pine stand requires successive thinning and pruning during stand life cycle in order to allow crown development free from neighbourhood tress competition and without light limitations. A high stand leaf area usually reflects high tree competition resulting in low cone production, while very low stand leaf area results in an underutilization of environmental resources with economic losses. The goal is to achieve optimum growth and cone yield which is achieved usually within a low tree density boundary. Cone production is closely related with crown development, light exposure and the efficiency in using it.
A universal variable to surrogate stand photosynthetic capacity of forest ecosystem is Leaf area index (LAI), that is the ratio of total tree leaf area and stand area. It is an important ecophysiological parameter closely related with canopy photosynthesis and transpiration and therefore with vegetation gross primary productivity. It varies among years and seasons reflecting drought conditions and phenological events (Fernandez-Martinez et al. 2012). Adequate estimation of LAI is also essential as key input parameter in process-based ecosystem models such as 3PG and pipe-model based models. Linking ground base measurements (e.g. basal area) with remotely sensed tools can help improving the monitoring process and remotely sensed indexes like NDVI can be used as a supplementary tool for tracking stand productivity changes at a higher temporal scale over large regional areas. Vegetation greenness indexes respond to interanual climatic conditions and seasonality reflecting stand health status which ultimately determine seed production.
In stone pine, the relation between environmental factors and cone production is not straightforward and requires a combined analysis of environmental conditions during the 4 years of cone development in the tree. Climatic, like mild springs during flowering, and biotic factors, namely the desynchronization of population pests outbreaks, are commonly referred. Stone pine exhibit an extreme inter-annual variability in seed production often synchronized over large geographical areas (masting) (Camarero et al. 2010). Although some attempt have been made to disentangle the drivers of cone production (Mutke et al. 2005), the ecological factors behind this behaviour remains elusive despite the economic relevance of the mast seeding events for stone pine in Portugal.
A change in the traditional montado landscape towards fostering the mixture with stone-pine has been observed in the last decades. This is partially caused by serious difficulties in cork-oak recruitment, even in the montado clearings, with the subsequent costs of re-installation. Stone-pine regenerate much easier with survival rates between 80 and 90%. Quite appealing to landowners is also the possibility to achieve an early pine nut production through grafted stone-pine stands. The mixture of stone pine with cork oak seems to offer a less risky economical investment to landowners. Forest harvests occur every year and both products are highly prized in international markets. In conclusion, mixes stone-pine stands will presumably continue to increase in the future but little is known about the ecological implications of the mixture with cork-oak and how to manage these systems in a productivity sustainable way.
Taking into account the explained context he main objectives for this task are:
1) Investigate which LAI threshold leads to maximum cone production
2) Disentangle the climatic factors that drive stone pine cone production, particularly the masting events, by relating long term series of cone production is specific sites with monthly climatic variables during the 4 years before cone harvest.
3) Relate greenness vegetation indexes (NDVI) calculated from seasonal LANDSAT images with cone production during the 4 years before cone harvest.
It is expected as result from this task by investigate the abiotic drivers of cone productivity and provide a probability of masting events in stone pine based on climatic data together with remotely sensed tools (e.g. NDVI). This will help landowners in the management decision process, in the organization of the cone harvesting period and can be used in the modelling of future stone pine productivity under climate change.
Members of the research team in this task
Alexandra Cristina Pires Correia? João Pedro Abranches Freire? Luis Mendes Godinho Milheiriço Fontes? Manuel Lameiras de Figueiredo campagnolo? Maria Margarida Branco de Brito Tavares Tomé? (BI) Bolseiro de Investigação (Mestre) 1? (BPD) Bolseiro de PósDoutoramento 1.
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| Order | Task denomination | Start date | End date | Duration | Person * months |
| 6 | T6. Clone performance | 01-01-2016 | 30-06-2018 | 30 | 20,6 |
Task description and Expected results
This task will assess existing Pinus pinea clones used for grafting as a factor which decisively affects cone and pine nuts. The task will be characterize and quantify the cone and pine nuts productions from two existing Pinus pinea clonal orchards from where scions are selected for grafting.
Full task description
For decades grafting has been used in Pinus pinea in Portugal for reducing the time for the trees to start producing cones as well as a way to use genetic material from good cone producers. Since 1983 grafting courses have been being carried out in Portugal with this species to promote its use (Carneiro et al, 2007). Furthermore, a phenotypic selection of sixty four Pinus pinea L. plus trees for cone production has been also undertaken (Carrasquinho et al, 2010). Cone crop production, assessed through the number of cones produced, was the criterion for selecting plus trees. However the information which supports such selection, i. e. the number of years with cone collection of these trees as well as other trees from the Permanents Sample Plots network, has been substantially increased and a reassessment is proposed in order to confirm or not the selected plus trees. In addition there are two clonal orchards, at Coruche and Alcacer do Sal, which were established with the existing selected plus trees. These clonal orchards have been producing thousands of scions for grafting young plantations in the field for speeding and increasing cone crop production. An evaluation of the existing clones in these clonal orchards is proposed in order to evaluate the best clones to be used in future plantations.
Members of the research team in this task
Alexandra Cristina Pires Correia? Juan Guerra Hernandez? Luis Mendes Godinho Milheiriço Fontes? Maria Isabel Carrasquinho de Freitas? Nélia Chantal Cordeiro Pinto Aires? (BI) Bolseiro de Investigação (Mestre) 1? (BPD) Bolseiro de PósDoutoramento 1.
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| Order | Task denomination | Start date | End date | Duration | Person * months |
| 7 | T7. Interaction of determinants | 01-01-2016 | 31-12-2018 | 36 | 26 |
Task description and Expected results
This task will explore interactions from Pinus pinea determinants for cone and pine nuts production analyzed in the Tasks T2 to T6. This work will be carried out throughout the Project lifespan and might bring to amendments on what is proposed in Tasks T2 to T6.
Full task description
PINEA+ Tasks 2 to 5 deal with environmental determinants for cone and pine nuts crop production whereas Task 6, deal with the genotype determinant (see Figure 1 in Plan and methods). Provenance and environmental interactions have been already found in Pinus pinea for survival and growth traits in Portugal (Carrasquinho and Goncalves, 2013). Thus, interactions genotype x environment might be expected from Tasks 2 to 5 with Task 6. Moreover, interactions amongst some of the environmental determinants, Tasks 2 to 5, are possible to happen. The work of this Task will be carried out throughout the Project lifespan. If interactions are found they might bring to amendments on what is proposed in Tasks T2 to T6.
Members of the research team in this task
Alexandra Cristina Pires Correia? Ana Cristina Oliveira Farinha? Ana Paula Soares Marques de Carvalho? Luis Mendes Godinho Milheiriço Fontes? Manuel Lameiras de Figueiredo Campagnolo? Maria da Encarnação Ferreira Marcelo? Maria Isabel Carrasquinho de Freitas? Maria Isabel Freire Ribeiro Ferreira? Maria Margarida Branco de Brito Tavares Tomé? Nuno Miguel Santos da Conceição? Raquel Macedo Soveral Dias Mano? (BI) Bolseiro de Investigação (Mestre) 1? (BPD) Bolseiro de PósDoutoramento 1.