Molecular Characterisation of Post-Fire Naturally Regenerated Populations of Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) in the North of Portugal

Abstract

Wildfires act as a selection force threatening the sustainability and diversity of forest genetic resources. Few studies have investigated the genetic effects of forest wildfires. Species with perennial canopy seed banks in serotinous cones and soil or with long-distance seed and pollen dispersion can preserve genetic diversity and population differentiation under normal fire regimes. To test this hypothesis, we characterised molecularly Pinus pinaster Aiton (maritime pine) seedlings produced from seeds sampled in post-fire, naturally regenerated populations that had been subject to different fire regimes in the North of Portugal using inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs). The sampled populations burned once (A), twice (B), or three (D) times or had no prior fire history (C, control). Given the globally low seed germination ability, only 104 plantlets regenerated and were described. These plantlets were grouped according to their origin population. Intra-group ISSR polymorphism ranged from 72.73% (B) to 89.41% (D), revealing genetic differentiation among groups originating from populations that had experienced different fire recurrence. Overall, the unaffected genetic diversity of the regenerated plantlets allowed us to accept the hypothesis. Our findings enhance our understanding of the species ability to withstand fire-induced challenges and their responses to wildfires, guiding conservation endeavours and forest management strategies to bolster ecosystem resilience.