Effects of subalpine and alpine soil from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on the germination and growth of Pacific silver fir, mountain hemlock, and yellow cedar in a greenhouse
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Montane treelines worldwide often shift upwards in response to climate change, leading to a decrease in montane meadow extent. I performed a greenhouse study using soils from two treelines on Vancouver Island to grow seedlings of Pacific silver fir, mountain hemlock, and yellow cedar to determine the influence of soil origin on treeline dynamics. Mountain hemlock seedlings grown in Forest (subalpine forest) soils had longer roots than those grown in Alpine (alpine) soils; however, they had lower percent germination in soils from Mt. Washington, British Columbia. There were no intraspecies differences for seedling shoot length or biomass, or root biomass between Forest and Alpine soils. Mountain hemlock seedlings had greater shoot and root lengths and biomass than Pacific silver fir. Forest soils had marginally greater proportions of coarse sand or gravel, and more organic matter than Alpine soils. There were no differences for nutrients. Overall, results suggest that soils can influence seedling establishment and growth at the treeline.