Effect of conventional terbinthine exploitation on bark redress mechanism of wild pistachio (Pistacia atlantica subsp. mutica)

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of terbinthine exploitation on bark redress and longevity of wild pistachio (P. atlantica Desf subsp. mutica (F.&M. Rech.F.) under statistical design of split plots with four replicates and at three year period. The treatments consisted of stem diameter at four classes (20-30, 31-40, 41-50, > 50 cm) and bark slits at 10 different numbers (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50) . The trial was conducted in the pistachio ExperimentalForest at Fars province of Iran. The bark slits were made twice a year (the first two months of summer). After measuring terbinthine production at each treatment, mechanism of bark redress was also studied. The mechanism of bark redress was significanty different at various stem diameter classes, in which the highest and the lowest rate of bark redresses were found in young or middle-aged and old-aged trees, respectively. It might be concluded that terbinthine exploitation from wild pistachio trees of the studied forest will negativly affect the growth and longevity of the trees, due to inadequate scientific and technical method of bark wounding, ecologicaly hard environment condition and high percentage of old-aged trees at the studied site. For this reason, terbinthine exploitation is not recommended at such forests.

Keywords

• Bark redress
• diameter
• longevity
• Pistacia atlantica
• Terbinthine