Abstract
In Europe, numerous Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) provenance trials have been established and evaluated at a juvenile age. Still, information about the adaptation potential and long-term fitness of transferred seedlots in the Baltic Sea region is lacking. The aim of the study was to evaluate the adaptation capacity of provenances and assess the patterns of their long-term reaction to environmental transfer. We examined a 32-year-old provenance trial in the mild Baltic Sea coastal climate of Western Latvia. Significant differences in height and stem volume were observed among provenances. Growth superiority for certain local and Carpathian provenances was maintained over more than one-third of the rotation period. The best predictor of climate transfer functions was minimum temperature of the coldest month at the place of origin, explaining 28% variation in tree height. Populations from sites with more frost days and a colder mean annual temperature, minimum temperature, and lower annual heat-moisture index than the planting site were generally taller.
Highlights
High and increasing productivity of Norway spruce (Picea abies) has been observed in Europe, partly determined by climate change [1]
Good adaptation of transferred provenances might depend on sufficient genetic diversity, which, for the Norway spruce populations in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine and Romania, were reported to be moderate to high, with no significant differences regarding altitude [51,52]
We stress that our results describe tendencies when seedlots are transferred to sites with similar mild Baltic Sea coastal climate as in the studied trial, and further studies should address provenances response in harsher conditions
Summary
High and increasing productivity of Norway spruce (Picea abies) has been observed in Europe, partly determined by climate change [1]. Norway spruce is a plastic coniferous species, differentiated in different environments [3]. It is important to test adaptation capacity of transferred seedlots, which can be a tool to supplement local seed sources in the future [5]. Identification of both productive and robust provenances for utilisation in different climatic environments is in the focus of genetic adaptation to climate change [6]. A gain of ca. 10% in volume production by selecting a non-local seed source can be obtained [9]
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