Valuation of the Economic Benefits from Using Genetically Improved Forest Reproductive Materials in Afforestation

Abstract

The research objective was to demonstrate the economic impact of using, in afforestation, forest reproductive materials (FRMs) obtained from seed trees selected in the most valuable Norway spruce populations of the FGRs’ (forest genetic resources’) category. The values obtained for the main growth traits (diameter at breast height (Dbh), tree height (Th), and tree volume (Tv)), both in the FGR and in the closest population (with the same age and growth in similar environmental conditions), were compared. Three comparative trials were analyzed, each belonging to different breeding levels: Open-pollinated (Breţcu, 40 years old), half-sib (Măneciu, 25 years), and full-sib (Comandău, 23 years). The difference in volume/hectare between the FGR and an unimproved neighbor population was economically quantified (€), based on the average price per cubic meter (m3) of spruce wood in Romania; the profit at the end of the rotation period (110 years) was projected taking into account the genetic gain that will result from the use of FRM collected from the FGRs. The average FGR growth results were superior to the unimproved neighbor populations, with 8%–13%, 14%–25%, and 26%–79% for Dbh, Th, and volume/ha, respectively, and the differences increased if the best 10% seed trees of the trials were used. For Th, a five times higher family mean heritability was registered for the pendula trees (compared to pyramidalis) in the half-sib trial, while in the full-sib experiment, the pendula trees (both full and half pendula) again registered higher heritability, but for Dbh, which recommends the pendula selection for different traits in the two trials. These results have led to a rate of profitability between 540 and 3366 €/ha, a value that is predicted to increase until the end of the rotation period, when the genetic gain could generate a profit of 7560 €/ha.

Phenotypic Variability and Differences in the Drought Response of Norway Spruce Pendula and Pyramidalis Half-Sib Families

“…The genetic gain, at 10% selection intensity, also indicates that a forward selection strategy may be directed in favor of the five best pendula families according to LW: three families from the Apuseni Mountains, one from the Curvature Carpathians (the same division as the Măneciu trial), and one from the eastern Carpathians may be included in a future breeding strategy. In the same trial, the family heritability of biometrical traits was generally smaller (0.13-0.21) for both crown forms of spruce, except for pendula Th heritability [6]. Higher inheritance rate for wood traits compared with biometrical traits were previously reported in Sweden in a half-sib experiment with the same-age trees [63], and in Romania [64].…”

“…A 1075 m difference in altitude corresponds to a thermal amplitude of 6.7 • C and a rainfall difference of 430 mm [32]. Six of the eight provenances originated from the western Romanian Carpathians (five from Apuseni Mountains: Stâna de Vale (1-2), Izbuc (3)(4), Cetăt , ile Ponorului (5), and one, Bozovici (6), from the Banat Mountains), one from the Curvature Carpathians (7-Horoaba, the local provenance of the Măneciu trial), and the last one (Cucureasa, 8) from the eastern Carpathians (Figure 1A).…”

“…In the central, high-altitude, and especially northern European forests, in the last 50 years, an increasing trend in trees growth was recorded [1][2][3][4], most likely because of improved forest management, the use of genetically improved forest reproductive materials in afforestation [5,6], and the better-quality environmental conditions due to increasing air temperature and precipitation [7,8]. In eastern and central Europe, especially at low altitude, drought has induced a decline in Norway spruce stands in the last 30 years, visually observed by needles yellowing and growth reduction [9][10][11][12].…”

Cost benefit analysis for Grevillea robusta in Ethiopia: linking establishment of a breeding seedling orchard to the economic returns of quality plantings

“…Our approach to estimate the benefits of using quality germplasm in tree planting provides some advances on previous methods (e.g. Kjaer & Foster, 1996;Marcu et al, 2020). It investigates the effects of improved germplasm on both profitability and environmental services, at both local and national scales, and can be applied when there is limited primary data.…”

Microenvironment Impact on Survival Rate, Growth and Stability Traits, in a Half-Sib Test of Pendula and Pyramidalis Varieties of Norway Spruce

“…Studies that show the superiority of the narrow-crowned Norway spruce ideotype (Picea abies f. pendula) compared to the normal-crowned (pyramidalis) variety regarding the growth traits, wood quality, and resistance to windstorms and breakage from snow have been carried out mostly in Finland [48][49][50] and Romania [26,36,40,51,52].…”