Genetic Resources and Adaptive Management of Conifers in a Changing World

• Other Authors: Mátyás, Csaba (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2021
• Subjects: Research & information: general; Camptotheca acuminata; MaxEnt; climateAP; suitable habitat; climate change; soil; genetic variation; seed sourcing; forest management; genetic conservation; Pinus sylvestris; climate-change impacts; ecosystem responses to climate; species distributions; climatype distributions; adaptive management; provenance test; genecology; reforestation; restoration; conservation; assisted migration; climatic change; climate transfer distance; dryness index; Abies religiosa; survival; mortality; biomass; basal diameter; Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve; Picea abies; field trials; provenances; families; clones; height growth; phenotypic stability; phenotypic plasticity; mountain forest; tree species selection; Scots pine; adaptation; wood anatomy; tracheidogram; traits; common garden; silver fir; grand fir; Balkan firs; drought stress; resilience; scots pine seed mass and seed zones; a provenance trial; bioclimatic models; an ensemble of general circulation models; RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5 scenarios; Russia; n/a
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Climatic change causes a mismatch between tree populations on sites they currently occupy and the climate to which they have adapted in the past. The maintenance of productivity and of ecological and societal services requires resilient populations and ecosystems, particularly close to the vulnerable trailing (xeric) range limits. The studies confirm the selective effect of diverse habitat/climate conditions across the species ranges. Soil conditions may mask climate effects and should be considered separately. The unique potential of provenance tests is illustrated by growth response projections that may be less dramatic than provided by usual inventory data analyses. Assisted migration appears to be a feasible management action to compensate for climatic warming. However, the choice of populations needs special care under extreme conditions and outside the limits of current natural distribution ranges. The proper differentiation of measures according to the present and future adaptive challenges require the continuation of long-term analyses and the establishment of better focused field trials in disparate climates that contain populations from a representative range of habitats. The studies present results obtained from diverse regions of the temperate forest zone, from Central and Northwestern Europe, the Mediterranean, Russia, China, North and Central America.