Pretreatment of moist seeds at certain temperatures can reduce seed dormancy, but such observations represent the net effect of pretreatment. Seeds of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis [Bong.] Carr.) were raised to 30% moisture content and pretreated at five different temperatures between 5 and 30°C for up to 24 weeks (168 d). Subsequent ability to germinate at 10°C and viability were then determined in order to investigate the effects of pretreatment on seed dormancy and survival. There was a curvilinear, negative semi-logarithmic relationship between seed longevity and pretreatment temperature, such that Q10 for loss in viability increased from 2.6 between 10 and 20°C to 2.8 between 20 and 30°C. Simple multiplicative models combining cumulative normal frequency distributions for each of loss in viability and loss in dormancy were able to describe the changes in ability to germinate at 10°C, after pretreatment at 5, 10 and 30°C. However, in order to quantify the changes in ability to germinate observed at 10°C after pretreatment at 15°C, it was necessary also to invoke a model of dormancy reimposition, while for the results at 20°C it was necessary to postulate both dormancy reimposition and the further loss of this reimposed dormancy. It is concluded that moist seeds of Sitka spruce held at 15 and 20°C cycle between the dormant and non-dormant condition.

Prechilling seeds of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis [Bong.] Carr.) at 4°C with 30% moisture content for 12–14 weeks (84–98 d) removed conditional dormancy (i.e. they were then able to germinate at 10°C). The non-dormant status was preserved after redrying to 6% moisture content. However, conditional dormancy was gradually reimposed during subsequent air-dry storage at 4°C and 6% seed moisture content in all five seed lots tested. Further investigations with one seed lot showed that reimposition was reversed by a second prechill treatment, but was reimposed again during subsequent air-dry storage. The trend of dormancy reimposition within seed lots over time was quantified by negative exponential relations between ability to germinate at 10°C and duration of air-dry storage. The progress of dormancy reimposition was influenced by seed storage moisture content and was most rapid at 4–10%. At higher moisture contents (15 and 20%) the rate of the reimposition of conditional dormancy was much reduced, while at moisture contents of 25 and 30% further loss in dormancy occurred. Thus it is clear that dormancy reimposition occurred during storage at low water potential rather than solely during desiccation from high to low water potential.

Branch bags were used to expose branches on mature Sitka spruce trees to either ambient [CO2] (A) or elevated [CO2] (E) for 4 yr. This paper reports the effects of this treatment on the growth, development and phenology of the branches, including shoot expansion, shoot numbers, needle dimensions, needle numbers and stomatal density. The effect of elevated [CO2] on the relationship between leaf area and sapwood area was investigated. Exposure to elevated [CO2] doubled photosynthetic rates in current-year shoots and, despite some down-regulation, 1-yr-old E shoots also had higher rates of photosynthesis than their A counterparts. Thus, the amount of assimilate fixed by E branches was substantially more than that fixed by A branches; however, this increase in the local production of assimilate did not lead to an increase in non-structural carbohydrate or stimulate growth or meristematic activity within the E branches. There was a very consistent relationship between leaf area and stem cross-sectional area that was not influenced by [CO2]. However, unbagged branches had thicker stems than bagged branches, resulting in a slightly lower ratio of leaf area to cross-sectional area. The implications of the results for the modelling of growth and allocation and the potential utility of the branch bag technique are discussed.