Exploring the Genetic Landscape of Tilia Spp. with Molecular and Statistical Tools

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Reviewer's report for "Exploring the genetic landscape of Tilia spp. with molecular
 and statistical tolls" by Alina-Maria Tenche-Constantinescu and co-workers

In this study, Alina-Maria Tenche-Constantinescu and co-workers explore the genetic diversity of Tilia cordata, Tilia
platyphyllos, and Tilia argentea, Tree species with high ecological plasticity recommended for use in urban green infrastructures. They highlight their contribution to urban landscapes.
They analyzed the genetic variability of individuals from four populations of the Tilia genus using ISSR molecular markers, and naked-eyed observed or determined etermined by
dendrometric measurements some of their phenotypic characters. 
They found significant variability between the populations studied. Cluster analysis identified two main groups: Tilia cordata I and Tilia cordata II populations formed the first cluster, and Tilia platyphyllos and Tilia argentea populations formed the second cluster. The results of the phenotypic analysis confirmed the genetic results separating
the two populations of Tilia cordata from the populations of Tilia platyphyllos and Tilia argentea in relation to their visible orphological characters. They propospose that the results obtained from dendrometric measurements analysis be used as a springboard for further investigations on urban ecology. An essential potential practical use of the results: the establishment of more efficient ISSR primers to identify the Tilia species analyzed: UBC864, A12, UBC840, and A7 for Tilia cordata, A13 for Tilia platypyllos and A7 for Tilia argentea has been demonstrated.

 

GENERAL APPRAISAL

The topic is important given the necessity to design new green infrastructures using trees with high ecological plasticity to mitigate the negative impact of climate change in general and particularly
in Timisoara, a city from Western Romania known as the "city of gardens and parks.

The writing of the manuscript is fine, but I suggest that the authors provide more details on statistical analyses carried out in the study.

Following are my comments and suggestions for the authors.

 

DETAILED COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

[1] Title: "molecular and statistical tolls" or "molecular  and statistical tools"?

[2] Line 21: Inter Simple Sequence should not appear as ISSR since it is the first instance in the manuscript.

[3] Line 57:  "many studies have proved" should be  "many studies have proven"

[4] Line 76: Replace "In this research" by "In this study"

[5] Line 158-160: Please inicate at this point what data were subject to what statistical analysis  (Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests, Pearson's linear correlation coefficients and simple linear regressions,   PCA, and cluster analysis).

[6] Line 163: Is ANOVA appropriate for presence-absence data? Anova is used for comparing mean values of multiple populations. In an ANOVA, the response variable is continuous and assumed to be approximately Gaussian.

[7] Please format the text to keep all parts of Table 3. 1.3 on the same page for better readability.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The quality of English language is fine, and only requires moderate editing. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer, 

Thank you for your comments. Please find the reply in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Based on measurement data and observation data, this study analyzed the genetic diversity of Tilia cordata, Tilia platyphyllos, and Tilia argentea. The research results may contribute to further understand the relationship between tree growth and climate change. However, there are some concerns that the authors should address before it can be considered for publication.

1. In the introduction, I suggest the authors cite more data to demonstrate the severity of the warming trend.

2. In the introduction, the authors should cite more references (e.g., Shen et al., 2022; Vacek et al., 2023) to demonstrate the impact of climate change on vegetation growth.

3. In the last paragraph of the introduction, the authors should highlight the significance of this study.

4. I suggest the authors add more descriptions of the climate in the study area, such as multi-year average annual temperature and precipitation.

5. In the Materials and Methods, I suggest the authors add a description of the method of correlation calculation.

6. To make the results of this study clearer, I suggest the authors improve the clarity of Figure 3.1.1.

7. A paragraph of limitation discussion should be added to clarify the limitation or uncertainty of data and methods in this current study.

8. In order to further highlight the innovation of this article, it is better to compare the results of this study with some related studies.

9. More mechanistic explanations should be added to further explain the relationship between tree growth and climate change.

References:

Vegetation greening, extended growing seasons, and temperature feedbacks in warming temperate grasslands of China. Journal of Climate, 2022, 35: 5103-5117.

European forests under global climate change: Review of tree growth processes, crises and management strategies. Journal of Environmental Management, 2023, 332: 117353.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer, 

Thank you for your comments. Please find the reply in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have satisfactorily addressed my concerns with the previous version of the MS. I am particularly satisfied with their account of the methodological points I raised in my previous report. When a study involves statistical methods, It is always a good practice to discuss their appropriateness with regard to the data at hands

I think that the current version of the MS is suitable for publication pending minor English language editing.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The quality of English is fine overall (minor editing required).