Forest management or greed of gain?—An information experiment on peri-urban forest visitors’ attitudes regarding harvesting operations

Forestry operations in urban forests are often perceived negatively by forest visitors seeking recreation. This study investigates the range of attitudes present among such forest visitors and how their perceptions towards forestry operations can be influenced by targeted information measures. First, in order to identify the specific attributes and values associated with forestry operations, a hierarchical value map (HVM) was derived from a pre-study with 12 participants. Second, 51 forest visitors were surveyed in the Vienna Woods, Austria. For the latter, the laddering method was used to identify the focal points and shifts in HVM attributes and values. The results show that the public information boards used in the experiments reduce the visual impact of the harvesting as well as ecology-related factors and redirect attention towards timber-related or commercial items. We conclude that information provided at a site of emotional concern is easily picked up and leads to attitude changes. These attitude changes are directly linked to the information provided (e.g. concerning the environment, the eco-social market economy, or support of the regional economy).     

Measuring trail users’ perception of crowding in a peri-urban nature park: A best-worst scaling experiment

This paper evaluates the perception of crowding, its determinants and relationship with trail users’ experience in a peri-urban nature park. Existing crowding surveys rely heavily on a single-item 9-point crowding scale which was originally developed for backcountry areas. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to test the validity and reliability of this measure in detecting crowding issues and formulating visitor capacity limits. Low validity and reliability raised concerns about the applicability of this scale in similar frontcountry areas. Inability of this simple crowding measure to detect a visitor threshold brings to the fore its another important limitation – ignorance of the complexity of crowding phenomenon. The perception of crowding varies with various social, psychological and situational factors, and a best-worst scaling (BWS) experiment was designed to simultaneously evaluate different aspects of crowding in the Medvednica Nature Park, a peri-urban nature park near Zagreb, Croatia. The findings of BWS experiment revealed that occupancy of mountain huts, number of other hikers on the trail and amount of litter along the trail on average contributed most to the trail users’ sense of crowding. A latent class analysis identified a large heterogeneity in the perception of crowding; while one group of trail users (63%) was more disturbed by the direct social impacts, the others (37%) were more disturbed by the secondary impacts of other visitors, especially by the negative externalities from road traffic in the park. Older visitors had a greater tendency to primarily associate crowding with the environmental conditions. A higher impact of trail use level in the perception of crowding, younger age and more frequent use were associated with a more negative evaluation of crowding. The park management should closely monitor road traffic in the park and visitor activity on highly used trails, especially on those popular among younger trail users.     

Influence of rootstock on vegetative growth,fruit yield and quality in ‘Cuore di Bue’, an heirloom tomato

Summary

Heirloom tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) such as ‘Cuore di Bue’ are highly appreciated by consumers for their outstanding quality and flavour. Nowadays, they are often grafted onto vigorous rootstocks in order to overcome several soil-borne diseases. The present study was conducted in 2007 and 2008 in Southern Italy. Plants of ‘Cuore di Bue’, an heirloom ‘oxheart’ tomato, were grown in a greenhouse either as non-grafted plants, or grafted onto two inter-specific (S. lycopersicum S. habrochaites) rootstocks (‘Beaufort F₁’ and ‘Maxifort F₁’) in order to evaluate their effects on vegetative growth, marketable yield, fruit quality, and the sensory properties of ‘Cuore di Bue’ tomato fruit. Growth analysis revealed that ‘Maxifort F₁’ enhanced plant growth, particularly in terms of leaf area and leaf fresh weight. Grafted plants had higher leaf area ratios (by 13%) and higher leaf dry weight fractions (by 18%) compared to non-grafted ‘Cuore di Bue’ plants. Marketable yields increased by 20 – 25% in grafted plants in both years. However, total soluble solids (TSS) contents, titratable acidity (TA), and TSS/TA ratios were not significantly affected by grafting.Vitamin C contents decreased by 14 – 20% in both years in the fruit of plants grafted onto either rootstock. The sensory profiles of fruit were not modified by grafting, although taste panelists expressed a higher preference for purchasing fruit from plants grafted onto ‘Maxifort F₁’. These results confirm that, when using the appropriate rootstock/scion combination, grafting can improve plant growth and the marketable yield of heirloom tomato fruit without reducing the sensory quality of the fruit or its biochemical parameters. However, grafting can reduce vitamin C contents and, thus, nutritional quality.     

Towards social arboriculture: Arborists’ perspectives on urban forest labour in Southern Ontario,Canada

This paper explores how arborists negotiate their work environment, including the pressures of policies, the labour market, technologies, government regulations and lack thereof, and the non-human agencies with which they are confronted. The political climate surrounding urban forestry in Southern Ontario influences and governs operations and physical labour. There are many (f)actors and conditions (both external and internal) surrounding fieldwork in urban forestry and that these affect work and personal lives. The questions guiding this paper include: (a) How do various political and labour conditions impact arborists’ sense of pride, independence and skill?; (b) What are the social and labour divisions within the culture of arboriculture?; and (c) What is the lived experience of urban forest workers, their employment, and what is it like to be a frontline worker? This paper provides a closer look at licensing, work conditions, subcultures and social dynamics in urban arboriculture. Using accounts from semi-structured interviews with arborists across Southern Ontario and by examining field arborists’ activities, relationships with co-workers and working conditions through participant observation and ethnographic field notes, I explore and reveal how arborists feel about their working environment and the labour processes and people who oversee and surround them. Findings reveal that despite dehumanizing (f)actors within the field, there are elements of resistance and negotiation, and potential for an alternative future.     

Residents’ place attachment to urban green spaces in Greater Tokyo region: An empirical assessment of dimensionality and influencing socio-demographic factors

Although many researchers highlight the benefits of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) to city dwellers, understanding of residents’ emotional association with UGS remains an incomplete and exciting area of place research. In this study, we conducted an empirical assessment of residents’ Place Attachment (PA) towards UGS in the Greater Tokyo region. For this, we tested a widely used PA model consisting of four dimensions, namely, place identity, place dependence, social, and nature bonding. Data were collected from an online questionnaire survey (n = 2093) and subjected to an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to examine the underlying place dimensions. To examine the association of PA with socio-demographic variables, we performed a multiple regression analysis with the factor scores and key socio-economic variables (e.g. age, gender, income, marital and parental status, etc.). Additionally, we compared the PA constructs among three different groups, namely (1) men and women, (2) married and unmarried, and (3) people with and without children. Results indicated a three-dimensional PA model, consisting of ‘place identity’, ‘place and nature dependence’, and ‘social bonding’. In particular, variables originally used for nature bonding co-loaded with the variables for place dependence. The other tested dimensions, nonetheless, remained identical with conventional PA models. The finding indicates that personal connections to nature - as hypothesized in the nature-bonding dimension - may not be truly replicable for UGS. As such, the influence of demographic variables on the overall place-construct remains minimal, although a significant but relatively weak positive influence was observed for age and frequency of green space visits. In the comparative analysis, women reported a significantly higher-level place and nature dependence. Besides, a significant difference of mean was observed among married and unmarried respondents, as well as the persons with/without children for all three-place dimensions. Overall, the findings are imperative to better understand the human-green space relationship in large cities and call for further directed research on creating ‘green places’ and not just ‘green spaces’.     

Influence of habitat amount,arrangement, and use on population trend estimates of male Kirtland’s warblers

Kirtland’s warblers (Dendroica kirtlandii) persist in a naturally patchy environment of young, regenerating jack pine forests (i.e., 5–23 years old) created after wildfires and human logging activities. We examined how changing landscape structure from 26 years of forest management and wildfire disturbances influenced population size and spatial dispersion of male Kirtland’s warblers within their restricted breeding range in northern Lower Michigan, USA. The male Kirtland’s warbler population was six times larger in 2004 (1,322) compared to 1979 (205); the change was nonlinear with 1987 and 1994 identified as significant points of change. In 1987, the population trend began increasing after a slowly declining trend prior to 1987, and the rate of increase appeared to slow after 1994. Total amount of suitable habitat and the relative area of wildfire-regenerated habitat were the most important factors explaining population trend. Suitable habitat increased 149% primarily due to increasing plantations from forest management. The relative amount and location of wildfire-regenerated habitat modified the distribution of males among various habitat types, and the spatial variation in their abundance across the primary breeding range. These findings indicate that the Kirtland’s warbler male population shifted its use of habitat types temporally and spatially as the population increased and as the relative availability of habitats changed through time. We demonstrate that researchers and managers need to consider not only habitat quality, but the temporal and the spatial context of habitat availability and population levels when making habitat restoration decisions.     

Influence of rootstock on orchard productivity and fruit quality in peach cv. ‘Redhaven’

Summary

We have evaluated the influence of four different peach rootstocks (Prunus pumila,‘GF 655/2’ ,‘Missour’ and ‘GF 677’ as a standard) planted in medium-heavy to heavy soil on phenological events (flowering and harvest date), growth, yield, fruit quality and mortality of peach (P. persica L.) scions of cv. ‘Redhaven’. At the end of flowering, there were no significant differences between the different rootstocks in the years 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2004. In 2001, trees grafted on P. pumila reached the end of flowering 2 d before trees grafted on the other rootstocks. ‘Redhaven’ fruits ripened on the same day on trees grafted on the different rootstocks. The differences were only between years. The results showed that significantly less vigorous trees, according to their trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) and canopy volume, with the lowest yield, were observed on P. pumila rootstock. The rootstock P. pumila had a significant negative influence on fruit dimensions and mortality was 50%. Trees grafted on ‘GF 655/2’ rootstock produced significantly lower yields than those grafted on ‘GF 677’ or ‘Missour’ rootstocks. Only the ‘GF 655/2’ rootstock had root suckers. Trees grafted on ‘GF 677’ rootstock were significantly more vigorous than on the other rootstocks, and produced the highest yield with good fruit quality. The final canopy volumes of peach trees grafted on the different rootstocks were very different. The most vigorous trees were those grafted on ‘GF 677’ rootstock, where the final tree volume was 12.8 m³. Trees grafted on P. pumila and ‘GF 655/2’ had significantly lower TCSA values than on the other rootstocks.     

Effects of green roofs’ variations on the regional thermal environment using measurements and simulations in Chongqing,China

In the present work, field measurement and simulation method were employed to investigate the effects of several green roofs variables on regional thermal environment in Chongqing (29°N, 106°E), China. Field experiments were conducted in two typical places. The real influence of green roofs on ambient environment was analyzed and compared with the simulation results. The software ENVI-met was employed to simulate 29 cases with different factors, including green roofs types, vegetation coverage, building height, arrangement position and regional layouts. With the aim to investigate the effect of the green roofs thoroughly, different design factors of green roofs were taken in consideration. From the aspect of cooling effect, it can be found that enclosing layout has the maximum air temperature drop, which is up to 0.5 °C. From the perspective of the uniformity of regional environmental temperature distribution, the regional thermal environment of scattered layout is better than enclosing and array layout as a whole. In addition, with the same vegetation coverage, the effectiveness of air temperature dropping of the whole region differed according to the arrangement position. Centrally arranging the green roofs upwind can effectively reduce the air temperature of the whole region. These findings can be used to improve the regional thermal environment by designing the green roofs reasonably.     

Impact of urban park’s tree,grass and waterbody on microclimate in hot summer days: A case study of Olympic Park in Beijing,China

Urban heat island (UHI) often cause negative impact and has been linked to heart stroke rate, morality, human comfort, energy consumption and air pollution. Fortunately, urban green spaces have been considered as an effective element to mitigate UHI through their cooling effect. However, further empirical research is necessary in order to efficiently guide the design and planning of urban green space. We observed the impacts of urban park's tree, grass and waterbody on microclimate inside the Olympic park of Beijing during summer days. The results indicated that, on average, the park was 0.48–1.12 °C cooler during the day, as well as increased air humidity 2.39–3.74% and reduced human comfort index 1.02–2.43 to generate more comfortable thermal environment. Urban park's cluster trees with short ground vegetation generated higher cooling effect than single trees, grass and waterbodies; proper irrigation regime enhanced the cooling effect of grasses, even the irrigated grass have similar cooling effect with small waterbody on sunny, windless summer days. Therefore, we advise to increase undergrowth coverage and grass irrigation management in order to take advantage of cooling effect of urban parks.     

Ecological niche modeling,niche overlap,and good old Rabinowitz’s rarities applied to the conservation of gymnosperms in a global biodiversity hotspot

Landscape Ecology - Biodiversity hotspots harbor 77% of endemic plant species. Patagonian Temperate Forest (PTF) is a part of a biodiversity hotspot, but over the past centuries, has been...     

Effects of rosiglitazone,a PPARγ ligand,on chemoprevention of MNNG-induced gastric cancer in rats

AIM: To examine the chemo-preventive effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ(PPARγ) ligand rosiglitazone (RSG) on a rat model of gastric carcinogenesis induced by chemical carcinogen N-methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). We also attempted to identify novel anti-cancer mechanisms of rosiglitazone.METHODS: Ninety male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into six groups: group A (control group); group B (MNNG group); group C, D and E (RSG group, given different concentrations of rosiglitazone). The treatment procedures were terminated at 40th week. Stomach was harvested and gastric carcinoma was verified by histology. The gastric cancer incidence in different groups was calculated. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the chemo-preventive effects of PPARγ ligand, we examine the gene expression profiles of MNNG induced gastric cancer and the rosiglitazone treated gastric cancer with Uniset Rat I Bioarray microarray.RESULTS: Incidence of gastric cancer in group A-E was 0% (0/10), 70% (14/20), 15% (3/20), 30% (6/20) and 30% (6/20), respectively. Gastric cancer incidence in group C, D and E was significantly lower than that in group B (P<0.01). A gene that showed prominent responses in rosiglitazone treated group was identified. The hypertension-related, calcium-regulated gene (HCaRG) was significantly upregulated in rat gastric carcinoma in rosiglitazone treated group when compared to MNNG group. The expression of HCaRG was down-regulated in human gastric cancerous tissue. CONCLUSION: PPARγ ligand rosiglitazone has a potent chemo-preventive effect against gastric cancer development in rats. Upregulation of HCaRG may be one of the mechanisms underlying the chemo-preventive effect of rosiglitazone in gastric cancer.     

Integration of ecosystem services in spatial planning: a survey on regional planners’ views

Spatial plans shape land-use changes, which in turn are main drivers of anthropogenic ecosystem alterations, therefore influencing the ecosystem services (ES) delivered by a given territory. However, integration of the ES concept in policies and plans is reported as poor in literature. The main goal of this research is to gain insight on the views and perceptions of Portuguese regional spatial planners regarding the ES concept and its integration in spatial plans. For that we designed and administered a questionnaire survey aimed at practitioners and decision-makers from Portuguese regional spatial planning authorities. The survey focused on issues such as the level of awareness and knowledge of the ES concept among planners, the perceived level of current ES integration in regional spatial plans and corresponding strategic environmental assessments, the main factors that either facilitate or obstruct that integration, or the level of importance given to ES integration in the planning process. Findings show that planners know the ES concept, they consider it as important to be integrated in spatial planning and, interestingly, that it is already rather integrated in existing plans. They believe that planning teams and authorities have skilled human resources for ES integration. However, they revealed a low knowledge on the main initiatives intended to push ecosystem services into the political agenda, like for example the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The questionnaire used can be easily transferred into other spatial planning contexts to draw, e.g. a broader European picture on ES integration in spatial planning.     

Long-Term Influence of Irrigation Systems on Postharvest Fruit Quality Attributes in Mature ‘Autumn Rose Fuji’ Apple Trees

ABSTRACT

In a long-term study between 2008 and 2011, effects of various evapotranspiration-based (ETc) irrigation systems on yield and fruit quality attributes of fully matured ‘Autumn Rose Fuji’ apple trees (Malus × domestica Borkh) after 5 months of regular atmosphere storage were examined. Trees with a full sprinkler (FS) system received about 39% more water than those with a full drip (FD) system over the period of 2008–2011. Fruits from trees with FS and FD were larger, while those with 50%FS were smaller than those from all other irrigation treatments. Averaging values over 4 years revealed that applications of any form of deficit irrigation, either by microjet irrigation or by drip, increased fruit-soluble solid concentration and firmness but decreased water core after storage. Trees receiving FS and FD systems (full irrigation systems) had lower fruit firmness reduction after storage than the treatments receiving deficit irrigation systems. Considering yield, and quality attributes in this study, a well-calculated ETc-based FD irrigation system is recommended over any other irrigation regime.     

Accounting for spatial autocorrelation improves the estimation of climate,physical environment and vegetation’s effects on boreal forest’s burn rates

Context

Wildfires play a crucial role in maintaining ecological and societal functions of North American boreal forests. Because of their contagious way of spreading, using statistical methods dealing with spatial autocorrelation has become a major challenge in fire studies analyzing how environmental factors affect their spatial variability.

Objectives

We aimed to demonstrate the performance of a spatially explicit method accounting for spatial autocorrelation in burn rates modelling, and to use this method to determine the relative contribution of climate, physical environment and vegetation to the spatial variability of burn rates between 1972 and 2015.

Methods

Using a 482,000 km² territory located in the coniferous boreal forest of eastern Canada, we built and compared burn rates models with and without accounting for spatial autocorrelation. The relative contribution of climate, physical environment and vegetation to the burn rates variability was identified with variance partitioning.

Results

Accounting for spatial autocorrelation improved the models’ performance by a factor of 1.5. Our method allowed the unadulterated extraction of the contribution of climate, physical environment and vegetation to the spatial variability of burn rates. This contribution was similar for the three groups of factors. The spatial autocorrelation extent was linked to the fire size distribution.

Conclusions

Accounting for spatial autocorrelation can highly improve models and avoids biased results and misinterpretation. Considering climate, physical environment and vegetation altogether is essential, especially when attempting to predict future area burned. In addition to the direct effect of climate, changes in vegetation could have important impacts on future burn rates.

     

The use of a GIS in assessing the impacts of sea level rise on nature conservation along the Dutch coast: 1990–2090

The Dutch coastline is expected to change considerably during the next 100 years. Erosion will prevail, although accretion will occur locally.To establish a new policy for coastal defence management an integrated policy analysis study was performed. Major dune functions (nature conservation, recreation, public drinking water supply, housing and industry) have been inventarized by using a Geographic Information System.This study reports on the part of the analysis which takes nature conservation interests into account. Evaluation of nature interests has been based on the criteria: rarity and diversity of plant species c.q. vegetation types, succession stage, and completeness. This results in a classification of nature into five classes, based on abiotic as well as biotic characteristics of the landscape. Losses of nature interests were studied due to: loss of land because of shoreline retreat, to remodelling of the foredune ridge, and to changes of the dune groundwater level.An evaluation is given of the methods used to assess ecological impacts.Ideas are presented for further research on the prediction of ecological impacts and on coastline management which combines traditional coastal defence with nature conservation.     

How China’s linked urban–rural construction land policy impacts rural landscape patterns: a simulation study in Tianjin,China

Context

To prevent the area of arable land from crossing the limit of 120 million ha arable land red line, China’s government proposed a linked urban–rural construction land policy. This policy helps to protect the arable land but will impact the rural landscape.

Objective

The objective is to evaluate the effect of the linked urban–rural construction land policy on rural landscape in the future.

Methods

We performed a simulation method to predict the rural landscape pattern changes in Tianjin during 2005–2020 using a cellular automata and multi-agent system model under the scenarios with or without implementing this policy. The landscape metrics were calculated for both scenarios to find the effects caused by this policy.

Results

Following this policy, the Total Area and Large Patch Index of arable land decreased slowly. 65.50% of the occupied arable land can be compensated. For rural settlements, the Mean Patch Area increased to 2.87 times that in 2005. Number of Patches reduced greatly, and 1053 of the total rural settlements distributed along the periphery of Tianjin were reclaimed for arable land during 2005–2020. Aggregation Index increased greatly.

Conclusions

According to the simulation model, the policy is effective on slowing down the loss of total arable land and the process of large arable land fragmentation. The increasing degree of aggregation of rural settlements is beneficial to the optimal allocation of resources and rural centralized management. However, as the rural settlements gather to urban construction land, they are more vulnerable to urban issues.

     

Influence of 1-methylcyclopropene on pectic enzyme activities,gene expression,and cell wall modification in papaya (Carica papaya cv. ‘Sunrise’) fruit

SUMMARY

‘Sunrise’ papaya fruit harvested at two stages of maturity [colour break (< 10% yellow peel colour) and 25% yellow peel colour] were treated with 100 nl l^–1 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) to determine its effects on ripening, on the activities and levels of gene expression of polygalacturonase (PG), pectin methyl esterase (PME), and βgalactosidase ( βGal), and on the degradation of cell wall components. 1-MCP delayed ripening and the onset of the climacteric, although the peak in the respiration rate was almost the same as that in untreated control fruit. Colour-break fruit treated with 1-MCP exhibited a continuous increase in ethylene production, but at a lower rate than in control fruit. Consequently, 1-MCP-treated fruit ripened with a concomitant reduction in firmness, which was accompanied by an increase in PG and βGal enzyme activities and gene expression. On the other hand, fruit treated with 1-MCP at the 25% yellow stage exhibited lower levels of ethylene production and developed pulp with a rubbery texture at the ripe stage which was attributed to reduced PG, βGal, and PME enzyme activities and gene expression. This was consistent with the higher level of cell wall polysaccharides measured in 1-MCP-treated fruit. The above results indicated that ‘Sunrise’ papaya fruit can be treated with 1-MCP at the colour break stage since they have a greater capacity to recover from the effects of 1-MCP than fruit treated at the 25% yellow stage.     

Influence of soil hydrothermal environment,irrigation regime,and different mulches on the growth and fruit quality of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa L.) plants in a sub-temperate climate

Summary

The present study was undertaken over two consecutive years under sub-temperate climatic conditions in the mid-hill region of Himachal Pradesh (30°52'N, 77°11'E; 1,175 m asl) on loamy sand Inceptisols. The aim was to investigate the effects of irrigation and mulch material on the growth, flowering, fruiting behaviour, relative leaf water content (RLWC), yield, and quality of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa L. ‘Chandler’). The drip irrigation treatments included irrigation with 100, 80, or 60% (coded 1.0, 0.8, and 0.6 V) of the total water requirement. Both mulches increased the minimum soil temperature to a depth of 5 cm. The drip and surface irrigation treatments raised the minimum soil temperature by 3.0º – 5.4ºC, and lowered the maximum temperature by 2.2º – 5.8ºC compared to the rainfed control. Hay mulch was more effective in raising the minimum temperature and lowering the maximum soil temperature than black polyethylene mulch. Moisture conservation increased by 2.8 – 12.8% under the black polyethylene mulch compared to the no-mulch treatment. Drip and surface irrigation methods, as well as mulching, were found to be effective for enhancing the growth, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), fruit yield, and quality of strawberry plants. However, the number of crowns per plant, the percentage berry set, the RLWC, root length density (RLD), and fruit yield were highest under treatment M3I3 [i.e., black polyethylene mulch plus drip irrigation (1.0 V)] by 565.5%, 94.5%, 32.8%, 394.5%, and 549.6%,respectively, compared to the no mulch plus rainfed control. The maximum IWUE values for plant biomass [1.39 metric tonnes (MT) ha^–1 m^–1] and fruit yield (2.79 MT ha^–1 m^–1) were recorded under treatment M3I5 [i.e., black polyethylene mulch plus drip irrigation (0.6 V)]; whereas, the lowest values (0.39 and 0.68 MT ha^–1 m^–1, respectively) were observed using treatment M1I2 (i.e., without mulch, plus surface irrigation). Fruit size, weight, sugar content, and anthocyanin content increased significantly under treatment M2I3 [i.e., hay mulch, plus drip irrigation (1.0 V)] compared with all other treatments. Total soluble solids (TSS) contents and total acidity (TA) were highest under treatment M1I1 (i.e., no mulch, plus rainfed). A linear regression model could describe the variations in quality parameters of strawberry plants grown under sub-temperate climatic conditions. Root density was found to be the best indicator with which estimate fruit quality.     

Performance of ‘Coscia’ pear (Pyrus communis) on seven rootstocks in a warm climate

Summary

The vegetative and reproductive performance of ‘Coscia’ pear (Pyrus communis L.) growing on seven rootstocks [OHF 69, OHF 97, OHF 513 and BP 1 (P. communis), clonal seedling (Davis AxB) of P. betulifolia, and quince BA 29 and EMA (Cydonia oblonga)] were compared over an 8-year period. The trial was conducted at the Experimental Orchard Farm Station in northern Israel, on a well-drained soil with pH 7.5. Trees were planted in December 1998 at a distance of 4.0 m 2.0 m, and trained with a central axis. The most vigorous trees were on P. betulifolia seedling, followed by BP 1 and the three OHF rootstocks (69, 97, 513). All the above rootstocks demonstrated greater vigour than quince BA 29 or EMA. The reason for this effect, at least in part, appeared to be the excellent water status (high midday stem water potential values) of trees on P. betulifolia in comparison with the other rootstocks. The highest cumulative yields per tree were harvested from trees on P. betulifolia and BP 1, followed by the three OHF rootstocks (69, 97, 513). However, the highest cumulative yield of large fruit (> 60 mm) was obtained from trees on P. betulifolia, followed by the OHF series and BP 1. The two quince rootstocks had the lowest cumulative yield, and the lowest yield of large fruit. A positive correlation was found between the vigour of the tree, as affected by the rootstock, and both total yield and fruit size. We conclude that, in a warm climate, yield efficiency is not the only parameter that should be taken into account, and building a strong tree for the weak scion cultivar is the first requirement for establishing an orchard. Fruit quality at harvest and during cold storage were examined for fruit from three rootstocks only. The highest soluble solids content values at harvest were obtained in fruit grown on quince EMA, compared to values for BP 1 and P. betulifolia fruit.