Health Condition of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) According to Provenances in International Provenance Trial

The performance of European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) is severely threatened by abiotic and biotic stresses, but the resilience of its provenances from distinct geographic areas has not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, the performance of European beech was investigated in an international provenance trial consisting of twenty-one natural populations originating from Central Europe and Southeast Europe located on Medvednica Mountain (Croatia). The performance of European beech was investigated by characterizing I) damage types, II) crown damage intensity, III) damage frequency, and IV) clustering of provenances based on damage types. Anthracnose, galls, chewing damages, and aphids were recorded on leaves, and canker on the trunk and branches. The crown damage intensity was minute (less than 10%) for all types of disease. Anthracnose was the most common damage, followed in descending order by galls, canker, chewing damages and aphids. When the types of damage were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency analysis and clustering), significant differences were recorded between provenances (χ2=322.19, p<0.0001). European beech provenances were classified into four clusters. Aphids and galls caused the least and the highest damage, respectively, in each cluster, except for Cluster 4, where anthracnose caused the highest damage. The results of this study showed generally good health condition of European beech provenances originating from Central and Southeast Europe in the period of the investigation.

Teak genetic diversity in Ghana shows a narrow base for further breeding and a need for improved international collaboration for provenance exchange.

We evaluated the genetic diversity of teak provenances at a newly established provenance trial with 52 provenances collected from Africa, South America and Asia in Tain II Forest Reserve in Central Ghana. This provenance collection / trial was established to widen the genetic basis for Teak establishment in West Africa. Using Genotyping by Sequencing (GBS) we analysed the genetic diversity of these provenances. Results of the study revealed that, although acquired from a wide geographical range, most Teak provenances in the trial belong to only two distinct groups that are closely related. The implication of this finding is that, for breeding, a wider range of provenances are needed from the original Teak distribution areas and more specifically from Southern India. We conclude that urgent protection of older existing sources of genetic variation in Teak as well as an improvement of international collaboration under the Nagoya protocol with countries with native teak populations is necessary.

STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF PROVENANCE TRAIL PLANTATIONS OF PINE IN TERMS OF DIAMETER

The article analyzes the indicators characterizing modern structure in terms of diameter in provenance trial plantations of Scots pine, created in 1959 by manually planting 2-year-old seedlings using Kolesov's sword at the Stupinskoye Pole training ground in the Voronezh Region, with an area of 26.1 hectares on agricultural land. Based on the data of continuous tree counts on 32 temporary sample plots established in 2018-2020, and representing 18 forest-steppe and 14 steppe ecotypes from the forestries of the European part of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the diameters of the thinnest, middle and thickest pine trees were determined, as well as rows of their distribution were built for 2 and 4 cm steps of thickness. It was found that distribution of trees in the forest-steppe ecotypes of pine has a unimodal character, typical for a normal distribution, but with insignificant right-hand asymmetry. The distribution of trees of steppe ecotypes is also asymmetric, but bimodal one. In this case, the top of the first right-sided and smaller peak falls on a step of 20 cm thickness, and the top of the second, higher peak falls on the central step of thickness (28 cm), which is associated with the natural cyclic-wave decay of small-sized pine trees of steppe ecotypes growing in conditions of the forest-steppe, where the object of research is located. In pine plantations of forest-steppe ecotypes, 65.3% of the trees are concentrated in the five central steps of thickness, and in the steppe ecotype - only 52.0% of their total number

A compilation of North American tree provenance trials and relevant historical climate data for seven species

Tree provenance trials consist of a variety of seed sources (or provenances) planted at several test sites across the range of a species. The resulting plantations are typically measured periodically to investigate provenance performance in relation to abiotic conditions, particularly climate. These trials are expensive and time consuming to establish, but are an important resource for seed transfer systems, which aim to match planting sites with well-adapted (climatically suitable) seed sources. Provenance trial measurements may be underutilized because the data are scattered across publications, conference proceedings, and university theses. Here we document an effort to collect available provenance trial measurements and associated climate data for seven eastern North American tree species (Pinus strobus, Pinus banksiana, Picea glauca, Picea mariana, Quercus rubra, Larix laricina, Betula alleghaniensis). The resulting datasets included a total of 773 provenances and 62 test sites, with 65 historical climate variables appended to each location. We hope this data will support forest managers in making seed transfer decisions, particularly in an era of rapid climate change.

Study results of pine and larch provenance trial in Serebryanoborsky experimental forest district

The results of the cultivation of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the provenance trial in the Serebryanoborsky experimental forest district of the Institute of Forestry of the Russian Academy of Sciences are summarized. The silvicultural effect was assessed by a comprehensive indicator of the feasibility of introducing specific pine conventions. It was established that the use of pine seeds of exclusively local provenances cannot be considered justified. In the vast area of pine there are very remote populations of a local nature, the seed of which, when moved, can be successfully used to create highly productive artificial stands. The 68 year old geographical plantations of larch growth and production rates of 18 climotypes of 14 larch species were compared. These species are Polish larch (Larix polonica Racib.), European larch (Larix decidua Mill. f. Sudetica), Larix sukaczewii Dylis, Siberian larch (Larix sibirika Ledeb.), Larix cajanderi Mayr., Larix gmelinii Rupr., Larix Czekanovskii Szaf, Larix amurensis Kolesn., Olgan larch (Larix olgensis Henry), Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière), Larix kurilensis Maur., Larix principis Rupprechtii Maur., Larix potaninii Bat, American larch (Larix laricina (Duroi) K. Koch). Polish larch, Japanese larch, European larch and Olgan larch have the best growth rate results. Climotypes from Siberia and American larch showed worst results. Polish larch (812 m3/ha) and Japanese (804 m3/ha) larch from the Southern Sakhalin have the highest stem volume. The final estimations showed that the climotypes of Polish larch, European larch from Sudetes and Japanese larch from the Southern Sakhalin are suitable for introduction in the Moscow Region. The climotypes from the Far East, namely Larix amurensis Kolesn., Olgan larch and Larix kurilensis Maur., had positive silvicultural effect. The inland climotypes from Asia together with American larch showed negative results.

FEATURES OF GROWTH AND STATE OF FOREST-STEPPE AND STEPPE ECOTYPES OF SCOTS PINE IN PROVENANCE TRIAL PLANTATIONS OF THE VORONEZH REGION

The indicators characterizing growth, productivity and living conditions of forest-steppe and steppe ecotypes of Scots pine in provenance trial plantation of Stupinsky Pole training ground in the Voronezh Region, obtained in 2019 on temporary sample plots, have been analyzed. The object of comprehensive research are forest-steppe and steppe ecotypes of Scots pine in 60-year-old provenance trial plantations growing in the Ramonsky district forestry of the Voronezh forestry. The studied cultures were laid on the lands after agricultural use in 1959 under the guidance of Professor M. M. Veresin. The planting material was 2-year-old standard seedlings of Scots pine, planted manually under Kolesov's planting iron. The type of growing conditions is A2 and B2. No additional planting was made. Based on the materials of 13 test plots laid according to the standard method, some features of the growth of forest-steppe and steppe pine ecotypes has been revealed. Their productivity and living condition have been evaluated. The highest average height is a characteristic of the steppe ecotype from the seeds of the Valsky forestry of the Saratov region and the forest-steppe ecotype from the seeds of the Platonov forestry of the Tambov region. The lowest average height is in crops of the forest-steppe ecotype from the seeds of the Monastic forestry of the Penza region. Local ecotypes (seeds from the Khrenovsky forestry) have the largest average diameter. The steppe ecotypes from the Saratov Region have the smallest diameter. The variability of the diameters of the preserved 60-year-old trees at a height of 1.3 m and at the surface of the soil was estimated as average - 16.99-31.09% and 19.50-29.94%, respectively. It is also typical for ordinary forest plantations. All the trees are classified as industrial trees. The stock of raw wood depends on the stand density. The largest stock was recorded in cultures from the Bryansk region (Krasnoslobodskoye forestry) due to the greater number of preserved trees. The smallest is among forest-steppe ecotypes of the Belgorod region. The analysis of the vital state of the surviving plants has showed that the best indicators have forest-steppe ecotypes from adjacent areas with similar climatic conditions. At the same time, the amount of preserved pine trees of all ecotypes per 1 ha is not large. Their preservation is 3.8-10.2% of the trees planted in 1959. Preservation varies greatly in ecotypes. Edaphic conditions for the growth of maternal stands where seeds were harvested have a significant impact on the living conditions of pine provenance trial plantations

Analysis of linear growth of Korean pine undergrowth (Pinus koraiensis sieb.et zucc) (Primorsky territory)

Today, reforestation is becoming a priority task for Russia’s forest policy, but many issues are still poorly understood. When developing forest plantation, many factors, both biotic and abiotic, are not taken into account, which leads to the death of the developed forest stands. The results of studies of provenance trial plantations of Siberian cedar (Pinus sibirica Du Tour) and Korean cedar (Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc) in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Khabarovsk Krai are reflected in a number of works (Bratilova, 2004; Iroshnikov, 1983, 2001; Kuznetsova, 1998; Romanova et al., 1996; Koryakin et al., 1999, etc.). At the same time, the problems associated with the creation, growth and development of provenance trial plantation in the Primorsky Territory remain poorly understood. The aim of the work is to identify the nature of the interdependencies of linear growth of pine stands in various environmental conditions. The indicator studied in the paper is a series of deviations and linear growth from age states (i.e. growth indices), which characterize the degree of variability during tree growth. The object of measurements was a Korean pine on the territory of the forest area of the Primorskaya State Agricultural Academy.

Intra-annual stem size variations converge across marginal populations of European beech

Key message The intra-annual variability in stem size of marginal beech population from south-eastern distribution range of beech in Poland is higher within than between populations. Abstract One of the key issues of the distribution of tree species is their ability to track environmental changes. European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a species highly sensitive to extreme climatic events, because of its high phenotypic plasticity. In this study, we aim to determine the variability in stem size between and within marginal beech populations. Marginal populations of beech growing under uniform environmental conditions of provenance trial offer unique opportunity to detect adaptive differentiations driven by natural selection. In this work, we studied stem size variation recorded by automatic band dendrometers in four beech marginal populations growing in a common garden in the south-eastern distribution range of beech in Poland over the period 2016–2018. Strong climatic effects and weak provenance differences in seasonal stem size variation were observed. The provenances exhibited similar climate-related seasonal stem circumference variation. A high within-provenance variation was confirmed. Temperature of spring as well as temperature and precipitation of autumn were detected as key climatic parameters mostly for onset and end of stem size variation. Maximum stem size was mostly affected by the later end of its variation, which positively affected its duration. Climatic distance between beech provenances and provenance trial had a negligible effect on the variability in seasonal stem size variation between provenances. The evidence of weak inter-provenance and high intra-provenance variation in stem size changes observed in the south-eastern distribution range indicates that an individual-based approach could be a suitable strategy, when selecting for phenotypic plasticity.

Heterogeneous patterns of genetic variation at nuclear genes and quantitative traits in a Scots pine provenance trial

We studied the genetic variation in a set of nuclear genes analyzed from 16 populations of Scots pine derived from a 50-year-old provenance trial in Poland. At the same set of loci, the pattern of genetic variation was compared to several reference populations from a latitudinal gradient in Northern and Central Europe. Similar levels of nucleotide diversity were observed between the defined groups of Polish populations representing three climatic regions (π_total = 0.0040–0.0051) in comparison with the reference samples (π_total = 0.0054–0.0058). Polish populations showed minor but heterogeneous patterns of genetic variation between regional groups (<em>F</em>_ST up to 6%), which were caused by differentiation at specific loci. When outlier loci were excluded from between group comparisons, there were no differences between the Polish populations. Loci related to glycosyltransferase and laccase were identified as outliers, and were correlated with phenotypic differentiation using mixed-linear models. Moreover, these genes were also found as being potentially under selection across the Scots pine distribution range as the patterns of nucleotide variation correlated with latitude and altitude of the maternal stands. The provenance trial measurements have characterized a set of growth and developmental traits over 50 years and forms a suitable experimental system for detailed genetic studies.