Results of a forest species trial in an arboretum of North Greece

This study deals with the survival, growth and silvicultural characteristics of some exotic, Mediterranean and native species planted in the Vassilika Arboretum, North Greece (South Europe) under Mediterranean climatic conditions. The results obtained 25 years after trial establishment showed that, from the ten species planted only the native species Pinus halepensis, Pinus brutia, Cupressus sempervirens and to a lesser extent Pinus pinea and one east Mediterranean but not native in Greece Cedrus libani, managed to show a good result. The fast growing exotic species (Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus globulus) showed good growth in the early years, but a low survival rate after 25 years. Species outside of the floristic zone Pinus nigra and Pinus sylvestris presented very low growth and finally died due to harsh climatic conditions.