Pinus greggii (N) Growth Areas and Yield Estimation

Populations of Pinus greggii are native to two geographical regions in Mexico, viz. a northern population (N) and a southern population (S). In their natural habitat, P. greggii stands from the southern population grow at high altitudes of 1 250 - 2 350 m, where they receive > 1 400 mm rainfall per annum (Dvorak, 2003).This species is, therefore, cold tolerant, but less hardy than P. greggii (N). It is also more drought tolerant than P. patula (Dvorak, 2003). P greggii (S) should, therefore, be established on sites which are too dry for P. patula. Following wide ranging provenance and progeny tests which were carried out in Brazil, Columbia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and South Africa since the 1980s, the wood of P. greggii (S) has been found to have properties very similar to those of P. patula in terms of density, and it is acceptable for mechanical pulp as well as having excellent structural quality for saw timber (Dvorak, 2003).