Improvement of Pinus pinaster Ait elite trees selection by combining near infrared spectroscopy and genetic tools

International audienc

Genotype × Environment interactions in Pinus pinaster at age 10 in a multienvironment trial in Portugal: a maximum likelihood approach

International audienceTo study adaptive variation and genotype x environment interactions (GE) of 30 populations from Portugal, Spain, France and Australia, we evaluated total height, diameter, stem form and survival in a multi-environment provenance trial in Portugal, 10 y after plantation, using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) approach.* Significant differentiation was found among populations and also among seedlots from Portugal, populations from different altitude classes and from different provenance regions. Seed orchards showed significantly better growth and stem form. GE interaction was significant for all traits which indicates the existence of differences on phenotypic plasticity among populations, and displayed a pattern that could be related to general or specific adaptation of populations, and/or to human-mediated germplasm transfer.* Seed orchards, and the Monção and Leiria populations showed generally better growth and stem form, and some high altitude populations ranked higher in growth or survival (Bragança, S.Pedro do Sul, Manteigas-Pma30) at the high-altitude Montalegre site. There was a lack of genetic uniformity among populations of the same provenance region.* Tentative recommendations are made for afforestation, breeding and conservation

Pines

Pinus is the most important genus within the Family Pinaceae and also within the gymnosperms by the number of species (109 species recognized by Farjon 2001) and by its contribution to forest ecosystems. All pine species are evergreen trees or shrubs. They are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, from tropical areas to northern areas in America and Eurasia. Their natural range reaches the equator only in Southeast Asia. In Africa, natural occurrences are confined to the Mediterranean basin. Pines grow at various elevations from sea level (not usual in tropical areas) to highlands. Two main regions of diversity are recorded, the most important one in Central America (43 species found in Mexico) and a secondary one in China. Some species have a very wide natural range (e.g., P. ponderosa, P. sylvestris). Pines are adapted to a wide range of ecological conditions: from tropical (e.g., P. merkusii, P. kesiya, P. tropicalis), temperate (e.g., P. pungens, P. thunbergii), and subalpine (e.g., P. albicaulis, P. cembra) to boreal (e.g., P. pumila) climates (Richardson and Rundel 1998, Burdon 2002). They can grow in quite pure stands or in mixed forest with other conifers or broadleaved trees. Some species are especially adapted to forest fires, e.g., P. banksiana, in which fire is virtually essential for cone opening and seed dispersal. They can grow in arid conditions, on alluvial plain soils, on sandy soils, on rocky soils, or on marsh soils. Trees of some species can have a very long life as in P. longaeva (more than 3,000 years)