Morphological characteristic of Pinus sylvestris L. in the Southernmost, isolated locality in the Sierra de Baza (S Spain) as expressed in the needle characters

Two year-old needles of Pinus sylvestris were collected from 32 individuals in the Sierra de Baza (Spain). The needles were analysed in respect to 15 morphological and anatomical characters. Data obtained were subject of multivariate statistical analyses. The most stable characters appear to be needle thickness/ width ratio, thickness and width of epidermal cells. The most variable characters include the distance between vascular bundles and Marcet's coefficient. Intrapopulational variation is low

Pinus mugo Turra geographic differentiation based on needle characters

The needles of 17 samples representing 15 populations of Pinus mugo Turra from the Alps, Apennines, Sudethians, Carpathians and Rhodopes were analysed in respect to 15 morphological and anatomical characters. The results of measurements were analysed statistically. The variation of the samples was generally not to large. Populations from the East Carpathians appeared different from all other examined. Two formed groups of analysed populations are separated mainly by thickness of epidermal cells, width/thickness of epidermal cell ratio, needle width and needle thickness. The differences between two groups of populations suggest their longer separation during Pleistocene

Variability of Pinus uliginosa cones from the peat-bog in Węgliniec

Cones of Pinus uliginosa from the "Torfowisko pod Węglińcem" reserve were tested biometrically, on the basis of 16 characters.The obtained data were statistically analysed.The cone scale width, the ratio of cone length/width and the maximal diameter of cone were the most stable, while the cone scale thickness and the ratio of cone scale length/thickness were the most variable of the cone characters.The intrapopulational differentiation was not big.The examined pine species has cones with characters which are intermediate between Pinus sylvestris, P. mugo and P. uncinata

Morphological variation of Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa [Cupressaceae] in three Italian localities

The intra- and interpopulational geographic variation of three distant populations of J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa was examined biometrically on the basis of morphological key-characters of needles, seeds and cones. The shortest Euclidean distances were used in the agglomerative grouping of closest neighbourhood and discrimination analysis with principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to verify the south-north differentiation of the taxon in Italy. Most of the cone and seed dimensional characters are correlated. No significant correlations were found between cone and needle characters. The sampled populations differ only insignificantly from one another, while the intrapopulational variation is slightly higher. Cone length as well as seed number, width and thickness were significantly correlated with geographic latitude, while the other four characters are not. Differences in cone shape were observed between individuals, so that several morphotypes can be distinguished

Could clonality contribute to the northern survival of grey alder [Alnus incana(L.) Moench] during the Last Glacial Maximum?

Reconstruction of the glacial and postglacial history of a species, including life-history traits, provides valuable insights into the relationships between ecological and genetic factors shaping phylogeographic patterns. Clonality appears as a trait of high importance for survival in northern refugia. In the present study, the phylogeographic structure of 24 Alnus incana (grey alder) populations and clonal structure in seven populations were analyzed utilizing four microsatellites markers. Palaeobotanical data were collected and combined with the genetic results in order to support the possibility that this species survived in northern refugia. Our study indicated that: (i) Balkan populations are the most divergent, which likely reflects their long-term in-situ existence, (ii) Western Alpine populations are genetically different from other European populations, which corresponds with palaeobotanical data, suggesting that this region served as a refugium for this species, (iii) the macrofossil data indicate that the Scandinavian and northeastern Polish populations are likely derived from the refugia located in northern latitudes, (iv) Western and Eastern Carpathian populations form separate groups, which indicate that both regions could serve as refugia. Clonality was an important factor in allowing grey alder to survive in northern regions during the last glaciation. However, this mode of reproduction has also influenced the population genetic structure, as we noted rather low level of gene diversity, HE = 0.386 and low allelic variability, A = 3.8, in this species

Geographic variation of Juniperus Thurifera (Cupressaceae) based on morphological characters

1 p. Resumen de la comunicación presentada al IVe Colloque international sur le Genévrier thurifère celebrado del 5 al 8 de octubre de 2011 en Mont Dauphin Saint CrépinPeer reviewe

Low level of inter-populational differentiation in Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb. (Cupressaceae)

The intra- and inter-population variation in three populations of Juniperus excelsa, two from Crimea and one from the Balkan Peninsula, were analyzed biometrically. Fourteen morphological characters of cones, seeds, shoots and leaves were used. The number of seeds per cone appears to be the most variable character. The others were more stable. Differences among particular individuals within the samples were slight, as well as between populations compared. The Crimean samples were very close to each other, while the more geographically distant sample from the Balkan Peninsula appears also to be morphologically more separate. This suggests that the Balkan populations originated from another Pleistocene refugium. The Crimean populations did not show the reduction of variability, which could have resulted from their geographical isolation and their considerably restricted numbers of individuals