Transplanting shock in white spruce; effect of cold‐storage and root pruning on water relations and stomatal conditioning

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Abstract
White spruce [Piceae glauca(Moench) Voss] seedlings were pre‐conditioned by cold storage and root pruning and a study was made of the effects of conditioning on root regeneration and stomatal adaptation following transplanting.Root pruning (0 to 75% of the initial root area) of dormant seedlings immediately prior to transplanting did not confer any detectable physiological advantage in either cold‐stored or freshly‐lifted seedlings. Transpiration rates and stomatal resistance were not greatly affected by root pruning in the 6 week period after planting and root pruning did not greatly alter the response to drought.Cold‐stored seedlings appear better able to avoid transplanting shock and an early drought despite delayed root growth as evidenced by a) a delay in flushing of new shoot growth and b) pre‐conditioning of the stomatal apparatus which reduced water loss after planting and when moisture was limiting. Seedlings freshly‐lifted in the spring did not show these adaptive responses and their stomata were poorly adapted to reduce water loss in the post‐planting period after a drought.