Introduced Forest Tree Species and Their Genetic Diversity

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics and Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2022) | Viewed by 3287

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Silviculture, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Str. 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Interests: forest genetics and genomics; forest tree breeding; oak (quercus) genetics; genetics of non-native forest trees

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Guest Editor
Bavarian Office for Forest Genetics (AWG), Forstamtsplatz 1, 83317 Teisendorf, Germany
Interests: genetics; plant breeding; molecular biology

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Guest Editor
Unit of Provenance Research and Breeding, Department of Forest Growth, Silviculture and Genetics, Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), A-1130 Vienna, Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8, Austria
Interests: forest and population genetics and genomics; evolutionary biology and ecology; particularly processes of adaptation; patterns in genetic diversity; cultivation and spread of non-native trees

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Introduced tree species have become a significant element of forests across the world. They have been planted for various purposes such as wood production, supply with non-wood products, erosion control and desertification mitigation. On the one hand, they may offer an opportunity to adapt forestry to the challenges of climate change. On the other hand, many introduced trees display an invasive behaviour threatening natural ecosystems. In spite of their impact in many ecosystems of the globe, their genetic variation and structure in their secondary range still remain largely unexplored. Understanding the genetics and genomics of these tree species is not only important in order to quantify their genetic diversity, to identify their origin or to assess the growth properties of different provenances. It may help elucidating the dynamics of invasion or processes of rapid post-introduction adaptation and may also assist future selection of resilient genotypes to increase their adaptive capacity in a changing climate.

We encourage submission of articles to this Special Issue from all relevant fields of Forest Genetics and Genomics. Submitted articles may include reviews or case studies based on experimental or modelling approaches, aiming to promote knowledge in the areas of genetics and genomics of introduced forest trees.

Dr. Charalambos Neophytou
Dr. Barbara Fussi
Dr. Marcela van Loo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest genetics
  • forest genomics
  • non-native forest trees
  • invasive forest trees
  • genetic variation
  • forest management

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 3598 KiB  
Article
Growth and Adaptive Capacity of Douglas Fir Genetic Resources from Western Romania under Climate Change
by Georgeta Mihai, Alexandru-Lucian Curtu, Alin-Madalin Alexandru, Ion-Andrei Nita, Elena Ciocîrlan and Marius-Victor Birsan
Forests 2022, 13(5), 805; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13050805 - 20 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1975
Abstract
The most recent climate change scenarios show that Southern and Eastern Europe will be affected by a significant increase in temperature and drought frequency by the end of the 21st century. Romania has already recorded very high temperatures and long periods of drought [...] Read more.
The most recent climate change scenarios show that Southern and Eastern Europe will be affected by a significant increase in temperature and drought frequency by the end of the 21st century. Romania has already recorded very high temperatures and long periods of drought over recent decades, the most affected regions being the south, west and east of the country. Considering that successful forest management requires suitable species and high-quality reproductive material for reforestation, the aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the growth and drought response of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziessi var. menziesii) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) in two stands installed at the end of the 19th century in western Romania. The growth traits, wood characteristics and drought parameters (resistance, recovery, resilience and relative resilience) of Douglas fir and Norway spruce trees have been analyzed and compared. The climate–growth relationship was determined using growth response functions over the period 1938–2017. Additionally, to simulate the potential impact of climate change on Douglas fir in this region, the RCP4.5 scenario was used over two periods: 2041–2070 and 2071–2100. The results reveal that Douglas fir has an exceptional growth capacity, overcoming the Norway spruce since the early ages in both site conditions. The highest growth performances were seen in the low-productivity site. From analyzing the responses to drought events, considerable differences were found between species. The results highlight the high resistance and relative resilience to extreme droughts of Douglas fir compared to Norway spruce. However, autumn–winter temperatures play an important role in the adaptation of Douglas fir to site conditions in Romania. The use of appropriate provenances of Douglas fir in mixed stands with native broadleaved species may be an option for climatically exposed sites, thus increasing the value of these stands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Introduced Forest Tree Species and Their Genetic Diversity)
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