Abstract
The performance of European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) is severely threatened by abiotic and biotic stresses, but the resilience of its provenances from distinct geographic areas has not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, the performance of European beech was investigated in an international provenance trial consisting of twenty-one natural populations originating from Central Europe and Southeast Europe located on Medvednica Mountain (Croatia). The performance of European beech was investigated by characterizing I) damage types, II) crown damage intensity, III) damage frequency, and IV) clustering of provenances based on damage types. Anthracnose, galls, chewing damages, and aphids were recorded on leaves, and canker on the trunk and branches. The crown damage intensity was minute (less than 10%) for all types of disease. Anthracnose was the most common damage, followed in descending order by galls, canker, chewing damages and aphids. When the types of damage were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency analysis and clustering), significant differences were recorded between provenances (χ2=322.19, p<0.0001). European beech provenances were classified into four clusters. Aphids and galls caused the least and the highest damage, respectively, in each cluster, except for Cluster 4, where anthracnose caused the highest damage. The results of this study showed generally good health condition of European beech provenances originating from Central and Southeast Europe in the period of the investigation.
Highlights
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a deciduous, monoecious, anemophilous tree species in the Fagaceae family
The surviving ranged from 60% (RO6) to 94.67% (HU42) and healthy trees ranged from 4.67% (RO63) to 68.00% (DE47) (S1)
Anthracnose disease symptoms on leaves were caused by the fungus Apiognomonia errabunda
Summary
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a deciduous, monoecious, anemophilous tree species in the Fagaceae family. As the dominant tree species in Europe, European beech has a large distribution range extending from Sicily in southern Italy In Croatia, European beech is a native tree species, accounting for 47 percent of the forest area. Its natural structure has been preserved in pure or mixed stands (Vukelić and Rau 1998). It has a wide ecological valence at altitudes in Croatia; ranging from the Mediterranean vegetation region at about 20 m above sea leavel to the sub-mountainous vegetation region at about 1570 m above sea level (Pilaš et al 2016). The wide geographical distribution of European beech indicates high adaptability to climatic, local edaphic,
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