WHITE PINES OF ASIA: PINUS KORAIENSIS AND PINUS ARMANDII 



Sin Kyu Hyun 

 Institute of Forest Genetics s Suwon 

 KyunggidOj South Korea 



ABSTRACT 



Pinus koraiensis is a straight-boled tree with a pyramidal 

 crown. It can attain 300-500 years of age, around 40 m in 

 height and 1.50 m in DBH. It ranges through Korea and eastern 

 Manchuria into southeastern Siberia, with outliers on the 

 Japanese islands on Honshu and Shikoku. It occurs on the 

 transitional zone from the northern temperate to subarctic 

 forest zone. On the north it withstands severe winter cold, 

 as low as -35°C. But it also thrives in the rainy-summer 

 region of the south, on deep humus -rich sandy loam of weak 

 acidity. Some forms are also adapted to rocky slopes, as 

 well as to relatively shallow and dry soils of south-to-west- 

 facing slopes. 



The seed needs stratification and the seedlings behave as shade 

 tolerant, gradually turning to intolerant as they become older. 

 Artificial plantations are successful anywhere in the temperate 

 forest zone, even at elevations as low as 100 m above sea level. 

 No serious pest damage has been recorded either in nurseries or 

 plantations. However, some young plantations in limited areas 

 have been damaged by blister rust. 



The average tree in natural stand acquires a DBH of 17 cm and a 

 height of 13 m in 50 years. A plantation on a good site, however , 

 acquires, on an average, a DBH of 28 cm and a height of 23 m at 

 the same age, producing an average stand volume of 350 m 3 per 

 hectare. The wood is characterized by light yellowish brown 

 sapwood and yellowish brown heartwood. It is straight-grained, 

 soft, moderately light, and moderately weak in bending and 

 compression. With relatively low shrinkage, it is easy to kiln 

 dry and easy to work. 



Pinus armandii is a tree reaching 20 m in height, with wide- 

 spreading horizontal branches. It ranges through western and 

 southwestern China extending to northern Burma, extreme north- 

 eastern India and southeastern Tibet. It also appears in 

 Taiwan and Hainan. All of its habitats fall within the rainy- 

 summer climatic type. It requires a much milder climate than 

 does Pinus koraiensis. It is adapted to a wide range of soil 

 moisture and acidity conditions, through semi-arid and alkaline 

 to moist and acid soils. The ease in obtaining natural 

 regeneration indicates a similar ease of artificial planting, 

 although planting is uncommon. 



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