A working meeting was held on 06.12.2019 at Lokorsko nursery to discuss the methods to produce Juniperus excelsa seedlings. The meeting was attended by our colleagues from the team of LIFE16NATBG000856 project together with experts from the University of Forestry and Bulgarian Academy of Science.
During the meeting were discussed the achieved results under both projects for juniper seedling production through direct seeding and rooting of branch cuttings. Information and ideas were shared regarding the existing good practices related to juniper reproduction on national and international levels.
In general, the results of both projects so far confirm the fact that Juniperus excelsa is extremely difficult to reproduce due to the low germination % of seeds and the long period for rotting of cuttings (over 2 years with really low % of plant survival) as is also confirmed by collected data from similar international projects. Based on these results, in 2020 the activities related to collection of juniper seeds, cuttings and the efforts for production of seedlings will be increased under both projects in order to improve the results and ensure the plants necessary for restoration of priority habitat 9560*.
