Abstract
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) is a non-native conifer from western North America that was introduced into European forests at the end of the 19th century. Plantations of Douglas-fir in Europe have shown good performance, quality, and resilience to exacerbating climatic conditions. However, all these qualities strongly depend on provenance. A total of 1061 surviving trees of fifteen different Douglas-fir provenances were measured in a Slovenian provenance trial that was established within the framework of the 1966/1967 IUFRO seed collection program. We found significant differences among provenances with respect to survival rate, growth performance, and log quality. The total recorded yield of the 46-year-old stand was 602.9 m3/ha, and the average survival rate was 43%. The correlation of juvenile tree heights in 1985 and their average breast height diameters in 2017 is positive and significant. Based on vitality and diameter, the best performing provenances were Yelm and Cathlamet. The provenance with the best log quality assessed through branchiness is Jefferson (Olympic Peninsula, western Washington). All the most promising provenances for western Slovenia (Central Europe) originate from the low-altitude western coast of Washington (WACO), with the Cathlamet provenance showing the best combination of good growth, survival rate, and log quality.
Highlights
IntroductionAlong with pests and diseases outbreaks, have a considerable impact on forest ecosystems [1,2,3]
Slovenia (Central Europe) originate from the low-altitude western coast of Washington (WACO), with the Cathlamet provenance showing the best combination of good growth, survival rate, and log quality
We found statistically significant differences among provenances with respect to all four measured parameters of branchiness (Table 3)
Summary
Along with pests and diseases outbreaks, have a considerable impact on forest ecosystems [1,2,3]. Increasing global demand for wood and rising interest in the green economy are likely to lead to changes in forest management [10]. Coping with these challenges will necessitate the new selection of tree species, including economically valuable non-native tree species [1,11,12], with the ability to maintain growth rate in a drier and warmer future climate with more extreme events such as freezing rain, hail, and windthrow [13]
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