ROLE OF STAND CHARACHTERISTICS, CLIMATE, SOIL PROPERTIES, AND TOPOGRAPHT FACTOERS IN CONES AND SEEDS PRODUCTION OF Pinus brutia Ten. IN SEMI-ARID ZONE (Dohuk region)

The natural regeneration process of forest stands begins with seed preparation, either from seeds that have fallen onto the soil or from the seed reserves present on trees. The latter is closely linked to the seed production phase, which represents the first stage in the natural regeneration process. The quantity, quality, viability, and preparation of seeds vary significantly over intermittent periods and across several years for most tree species. These variations are influenced by numerous factors, including the phenotypic characteristics of the parent trees and the environmental conditions in which they grow, thereby affecting the natural regeneration process. This study was conducted in Duhok Governorate, located in northern Iraq, a semi-arid region, to determine the effects of stand characteristics, climate, soil, and topography on the productivity of Pinus brutia Ten. trees in terms of cones and seeds. The results showed that several factors such as (Total number of trees for all species per unit area, number of parent trees and their average diameter, the crown surface area, the spacing between trees per unit area, light intensity, soil pH, litter thickness, average annual temperature and relative humidity, total annual precipitation, and soil nitrogen content) were correlated with the productivity of parent Pinus brutia trees in terms of cones.