Wild cherry (Prunus avium (L.) L.) leaf shape and size variations in natural populations at different elevations

Leaf shape variations and developmental instability were examined for the first time in natural populations of Prunus avium (L.) L. in the central Balkan region (Bosnia and Herzegovina) at different elevational points, from 230 to 1177 m. above sea level. Geometric morphometric tools were applied to assess the variability of leaf shapes and sizes, while a fluctuating asymmetry leaf index was used as a measure of leaf developmental instability. According to the results of canonical variate analysis for the symmetric component of shape variation and hierarchical analysis of variance for centroid size, the studied populations could be partially differentiated into three groups. The co-variation between leaf form (shape and size) and climate variables was significant, estimated by two-block partial least square analysis. Climate variables (the sum of precipitation in May and the De Martonne aridity index) mostly influenced leaf shape and size. A population situated at the highest elevation had the highest value for fluctuating asymmetry leaf index, which was an indication of developmental instability. High natural variability and interpopulation differences were observed for all studied leaf traits (leaf shape, centroid size, fluctuating asymmetry leaf index, leaf area, leaf length and width, petiole length). For well-known traditional morphometric measures (leaf area, leaf length, leaf width, and petiole length) in accordance with previous studies, intrapopulation variability was greater than interpopulation variability. For centroid size and the fluctuating asymmetry leaf index (measures used in geometric morphometrics) variability was higher among populations than within them. This indicates that geometric morphometrics could give new insights into infra-specific variability

The use of physiological, biochemical and morpho-anatomical traits in tree breeding for improved water-use efficiency of Quercus robur L.

Aim of study: In the present paper the nature and level of co-dependence between leaf functional traits and intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi) were studied in one-year-old Quercus robur L. seedlings, grown in a common garden experiment under moderate drought conditions. The study was established to identify those traits that might potentially be utilized to improve leaf-level WUEi, and therefore be used in breeding programmes to enhance drought adaptation of Q. robur.Area of study: The study was carried out at the common garden site within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube.Material and methods: The study involved one-year-old seedlings of eight half-sib lines of Q. robur. Eighteen leaf parameters were analyzed; i.e. physiological, biochemical, morphological and anatomical. The data were processed using multivariate statistical methods: a) principal component analysis, b) stepwise regression analysis, and c) path coefficient analysis.Main results: The results showed that leaf stomata traits, particularly stomatal density (SD), and leaf dry mass per unit leaf area (LMA) were the most important traits, closely associated with WUEi. Stomatal density achieved the highest score on PC1 (0.825), in which WUEi had the highest loading (0.920), as well. SD was also included first in stepwise regression model

ConservePlants : an integrated approach to conservation of threatened plants for the 21st century

Even though plants represent an essential part of our lives offering exploitational, supporting and cultural services, we know very little about the biology of the rarest and most threatened plant species, and even less about their conservation status. Rapid changes in the environment and climate, today more pronounced than ever, affect their fitness and distribution causing rapid species declines, sometimes even before they had been discovered. Despite the high goals set by conservationists to protect native plants from further degradation and extinction, the initiatives for the conservation of threatened species in Europe are scattered and have not yielded the desired results. The main aim of this Action is to improve plant conservation in Europe through the establishment of a network of scientists and other stakeholders who deal with different aspects of plant conservation, from plant taxonomy, ecology, conservation genetics, conservation physiology and reproductive biology to protected area's managers, not forgetting social scientists, who are crucial when dealing with the general public.peer-reviewe