Variation in leaf morphology of Quercus pontica natural populations in Turkey

Abstract

Quercus pontica K.Koch is a relict plant species which is classified as vulnerable (VU) in Turkey. Within the scope of this study it needed to be investigated are there variations in leaf morphological characteristics within and among Q. pontica populations. Variation in leaf traits in relation to seven different natural provinces was identified. In total, 99 individuals were selected, and 30 leaves were collected from each shrub to determine leaf variations in Q. pontica populations. Mean values for petiole length (1.07 cm), leaf length (17.13 cm), lamina length (16.13 cm), leaf width (8.10 cm), leaf area (93.76 cm2), leaf vein angle (54.22 degree), total number of primary veins (38.72), total number of teeth (40.73), petiole ratio (6.34%), relative length of lamina at largest width (50.50%), and percentage of venation (98.65%) were determined in all populations. The results of the analysis of variance showed significant differences (p< 0.01) among individuals within populations for all leaf characteristics. Variations among populations were detected by cluster analysis and principal components analysis. According to the analysis results, the 11 populations were grouped in three categories. Using correlation analysis, statistically significant relationships between leaf traits were determined. In this study, we detected no significant relationship between environmental factors (altitude, aspect, annual temperature and annual precipitation) and leaf traits. Key words: leaf morphology, Quercus pontica, relict, variation

Leaf morphological variation in Betula medwediewii Regel populations from Türkiye

“…4. As a result of the present study and many studies (Joel et al 1994;Bruschi et al 2003;Calagari et al 2006;Aspelmeier and Leuschner 2006;Uribe-Salas et al 2008;Pyakurel and Wang 2013;Yildirim and Turna 2021), it has been seen that elevation and climate types (especially microclimatic characteristics) affect the morphological characteristics of the leaves, so this should be taken into account especially when the using activities of leaf morphology as a bioindicator against environmental factors are carried out.…”

“…The population from Artvin-Borcka, in the Camili region, provided the best results in terms of many morphological features. The small habitat range of this endemic and rare species often leads to a high risk of extinction (Rodrigues et al 2006;Mhamdi et al 2013;Yildirim and Turna 2021). For that reason, biodiversity conservation and the preservation of variation are important for the conservation of genetic resources.…”

Leaf-based characterization of intermediate forms between Cuban and Honduran mahogany

“…Hierarchical clustering analysis was performed to obtain how the populations are graphically grouped according to the foliar parameters selected for analysis (Yildirim and Turna, 2021). On another hand, Navarro-Cerrillo et al (2018) in the hierarchical grouping of the mean data of Quercus ilex populations, the eastern ecotypes selected for the study were clearly delimited from the four westernmost ecotypes.…”