Abstract
The Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF) is Europe’s last primeval forest and an irreplaceable area for biodiversity conservation due to its size, protection status, and substantially undisturbed nature. There is no other forest in Europe with such a large surface representing highly-advanced natural succession. This article reports on the first analysis of the genetic variability and demographic structure of a self-renewed Pinus sylvestris population located in BPF, using both chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA markers. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) for chloroplast simple sequence repeats (cpSSRs) revealed a significant genetic differentiation among age classes that accounted for about 2% of the total variance, comparable to those reported among different populations of Scots pine. None of the 117 detected chloroplast haplotypes were common to all age classes. Haplotype diversity ranged from 0.370 to 0.415 for cpSSRs and from 0.320 to 0.455 for mitochondrial markers. The genetic variation of the studied age classes—represented by mitochondrial markers—strongly depicts the maternal genetic structure, indicating limited seed dispersal. Temporal genetic substructuring is maintained within a self-renewed population of Scots pine from the BPF.
Highlights
The Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF; 1.470 km2, 52◦ 30/−53◦ N, 23◦ 30/−24◦ 15 E) is located on the border between Poland and Belarus, and is Europe’s last remaining lowland broad-leaved and mixed forest that has not been exploited by forestry or influenced by other human activities for nearly one hundred years [1]
The chloroplast simple sequence repeats (cpSSRs) loci were highly polymorphic among the Scots pine age classes: from 80% to
This article reports on the first analysis of the temporal genetic diversity across five age classes of a naturally renewing P. sylvestris population located in the BPF using both chloroplast and mitochondrial
Summary
The Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF; 1.470 km2 , 52◦ 30/−53◦ N, 23◦ 30/−24◦ 15 E) is located on the border between Poland and Belarus, and is Europe’s last remaining lowland broad-leaved and mixed forest that has not been exploited by forestry or influenced by other human activities for nearly one hundred years [1]. The forest was protected by successive Polish monarchs and Russian Tsars as a hunting reserve. The strictly protected part of the forest on the Polish side—the Białowieża National. 10,000 animal species have been preserved in the Białowieża Primeval Forest [2]. There is no other forest in Europe with such a large surface representing well-advanced natural succession [3]. The BPF is considered as a “flagship ecosystem in European nature conservation” [3]. The BFP is an invaluable reference area for scientists studying the natural characteristics of European forests
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