Patterns of monoterpenes stored in the needles of Picea abies (L.) Karst. from several locations in mountainous regions of southern Germany

Abstract

As genetic diversity is an important cause of variation in needle monoterpenes of conifers, the tree-to-tree variation was studied for Picea abies (L.) Karst. at eight different locations in three mountainous regions of southern Germany (Bavaria). The tree-to-tree variation, expressed by the coefficients of variation, is high, ranging between 50% and 70%. The maximum concentrations per tree are up to 10 times higher than the minimum ones. The trees from all locations show similar patterns of variation, which is significant when investigating the influence of external parameters like air pollution or infestation by pathogens. By means of cluster analysis five types of terpene patterns were clearly revealed. Two main groups were distinguished by their proportion of myrcene, and they are further divided into subgroups. The patterns are stable throughout different needle ages and dates of sampling. Apart from one location, there is no obvious geographical arrangement of the five patterns. The fact that no relationship exists between the genotypical classification and the total concentrations agrees well with the hypothesis that most of the variability based on the relative amounts is due to genetic variation, whereas the variation based on the absolute amounts reflects environmental factors.