Picea abies provenance test in the Czech Republic after 36 years - Central European provenances

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) provenances from Central Europe (Hercynian-Sudetes area) were evaluated in a long-term experimental project (Germany-Czech Republic) 36 years after the outplanting. The growth characteristics, mortality and qualitative morphological characteristics of 64 spruce provenances were evaluated on the experimental plot Ledeč-Zaháj, in the Czech-Moravian Highland region of the Czech Republic, in typical conditions for Norway spruce cultivation. Results show 15-20% differences in height and radial growth between provenances and insignificant differences in qualitative characteristics e.g. stem shape, branch density and shape and also health state. Environmental variables that significantly influenced production characteristics include longitude, latitude and altitude of the original locations of the provenances, while average annual temperature and average annual precipitation were not significant. Given conditions of the experimental plot, optimal production occurred with those provenances originally from 49-51 N latitude and 13-20 E longitude.

Growth and Survival Variation among Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestrisL.) Provenances

“…The result was well in accordance with the early results from provenance trials of the species [3, 19]. Ulbrichová et al [12] reported that environmental variables were significantly effective on growth characters in provenance test of Norway spruce. Significant site × provenance interaction was reported in a provenance test of Eucalyptus robusta [15].…”

“…These results indicated that there was a large variation among tested populations in growth at the examined test site and within species. However, while there were 15–20% differences for height and radial growth among provenances of Norway spruce, qualitative traits such as stem shape, branch density, and shape and health state were similar in the species [12] and had statistically significant difference (0.05 > p ) among populations of black pine reported by Gülcü et al [24] for growth characters. Scots pine provenances showed higher height and diameter performances than that of black pine and Taurus cedar which were natural forest tree species of the sites (Figures 3 and 4) opposite to primary results of the trial [25].…”

“…Most of those early experiments were limited to the scale of national tests [3]. While many national and international studies were conducted on provenance test for different purposes in the species in many countries (e.g., [4–11]) or different forest tree species (e.g., [12–15]), the present study is one of the first investigations in Southern Turkey which is exotic for the species.…”

Provenance experiment with spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Picea obovata (Ledeb.)) in the North of Russia (Arkhangelsk region)

“…The easternmost provenance tests of Norwаy spruce grow in Western Europe (Pacalaj M. et al 2002;Matras 2009;Giertych 2009;Krajmerová et al 2009;Ulbrichová et al 2013Ulbrichová et al , 2015, but only a few provenances from Russia have been tested.…”

Adaptation Capacity of Norway Spruce Provenances in Western Latvia

“…In particular, the IUFRO international experiment series has provided valuable information about population differentiation for growth and stem quality traits [18,19]. However, most of the studies have been conducted at young age [20], but the growth performance of provenances relative to each other can change over time [21][22][23], when affected by variable meteorological conditions and extreme events [24]. The evaluation of provenance experiments decades after establishment is rather rare.…”