Article Toward Sustainable Cultivation of Pinus occidentalis Swartz in Haiti: Effects of Alternative Growing Media and Containers on Seedling Growth and Foliar Chemistry Kyrstan L. Hubbel 1, Amy L. Ross-Davis 2, Jeremiah R. Pinto 3, Owen T. Burney 4 and Anthony S. Davis 2,* ID 1 Center for Forest Nursery and Seedling Research, University of Idaho, 1025 Plant Science Road, Moscow, ID 83843, USA;
[email protected] 2 College of Forestry, Oregon State University, 109 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;
[email protected] 3 USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 1221 South Main Street, Moscow, ID 83843, USA;
[email protected] 4 College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center, 3021 Highway 518, Mora, NM 87732, USA;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 8 June 2018; Accepted: 10 July 2018; Published: 13 July 2018 Abstract: Haiti has suffered great losses from deforestation, with little forest cover remaining today. Current reforestation efforts focus on seedling quantity rather than quality. This study examined limitations to the production of high-quality seedlings of the endemic Hispaniolan pine (Pinus occidentalis Swartz). Recognizing the importance of applying sustainable development principles to pine forest restoration, the effects of growing media and container types on seedling growth were evaluated with the goal of developing a propagation protocol to produce high-quality seedlings using economically feasible nursery practices. With regard to growing media, seedlings grew best in compost-based media amended with sand. Topsoil, widely used in nurseries throughout Haiti, produced the smallest seedlings overall.