Skógræktarritið - 15.05.2001, Page 88

Norway spruce undera Russian larch
shelterwood.
(Photo: T. Eysteinsson)
On good sites and given good
shelter (such as using larch as
shelterwood) however, Norway
spruce does quite well. Under
such conditions, it has reached a
height of 13 m at age 40. lt has
good form and is therefore of
interest as a timber species when
grown in a mixture with larch.
Norway spruce has been the
main Christmas tree species
grown in Iceland but is gradually
being replaced by Engelmann
spruce, lodgepole pine and sub-
alpine fir.
Norway spruce is in fifth place
among species in total number
of seedlings planted, with 4.2
million planted 1945-1998
Engelmann spruce
(Picea engelmannii Parry)
Engelmann spruce was first
planted in lceland in 1905 and
the tallest of these 5 trees is now
19m. These trees have produced
seed off and on and thousands of
their offspring are now growing
all over lceland. Most Engelmann
spruce planted in Iceland origi-
nated in Colorado at elevations
of 2,500-3,500 m.a.s.l.
Engelmann spruce can grow
quite well on good sites but no
true yield measurements have
been made. It is mostly of inter-
est as a Christmas tree and for
amenity.
The first large seed lot arrived
in 1950 and planting has been
steady since and increasing
recently, although never more
than around 100,000 seedlings
peryear. In 1999, Engelmann
spruce comprised about 2% of
planted seedlings.
Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta
Dougl. var. contorta and
var. latifolia Engelm.)
A few lodgepole pines were
planted in the late 1920’s and
1930's. They originated in the
eastern Rockies of Canada and
Washington or Oregon, have
grown slowly but are alive and
healthy. The oldest stand of
lodgepole pine in Iceland was
planted in 1940; provenance
Smithers, British Columbia, 700
m.a.s.l. The mean annual incre-
ment in this stand at age 60 is
5.5 m3/ha/yr and the maximum
height is 17 m. These pines have
straight boles and narrow crowns
(var. latifolia).
The first large seed lot came
from Skagway, Alaska in 1954
and planting commenced in
1958. Since then, lodgepole pine
has been among the most plant-
ed species in Iceland, especially
during the 1980’s and 90’s. Over
10 million seedlings were plant-
ed between 1954 and 1998, mak-
ing lodgepole pine the third
most planted species in Iceland.
It was fourth in 1999 with a 10%
share of seedlings planted.
The Skagway provenance is
well adapted throughout lceland
and seems to be intermediate in
form between var. contorta and
var. latifolia. Lodgepole pine starts
bearing cones at an early age and
natural regeneration has been
noted in several places.
Black cottonwood (Populus
trichocarpa Torr. & Gray)
The first black cottonwood cut-
tings came to Iceland in 1944
86
SKÓGRÆKTARRITIÐ .2001 l.tbl.