Abstract
In a changing climate, forest managers need to select productive and climate-change-resilient tree species and provenances. Therefore, assessing the growth response of provenances growing in field trials to climate provides useful information for identifying the more appropriate provenance or variety. To determine the genetic gain through selection of the most productive and resilient families and to decipher the role of crown forms of Norway spruces (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), we used 24 families with a classical crown (pyramidalis) and 24 with a narrow crown (pendula) from eight provenances, growing in a 25-year-old comparative trial. The annual wood characteristics (ring width and early- and latewood), the wood resistance (expressed by latewood proportion (LWP)), and the growth response to climate of the two spruce crown forms were investigated. No significant differences between the two spruce forms were found regarding the ring width characteristics. However, three pendula families of Stâna de Vale I provenance exhibited the highest LWP and could be included in a future selection strategy, the respective trait having also high heritability. Radial growth was positively and significantly correlated with previous September and current July precipitation and negatively with current June temperature. Both spruce forms showed good recovery capacity after a drought event.
Highlights
In the central, high-altitude, and especially northern European forests, in the last50 years, an increasing trend in trees growth was recorded [1,2,3,4], most likely because of improved forest management, the use of genetically improved forest reproductive materials in afforestation [5,6], and the better-quality environmental conditions due to increasing air temperature and precipitation [7,8]
In eastern and central Europe, especially at low altitude, drought has induced a decline in Norway spruce stands in the last 30 years, visually observed by needles yellowing and growth reduction [9,10,11,12]
For LW and latewood proportion (LWP) (Figure S2), which are the most important traits because they indicate wood strength, 6% and 4.5% higher average values, respectively, were registered once again in favor of pendula-crown trees, with outstanding performances being displayed by the 1–3 families of the Stâna de Vale I provenance, originating from the Apuseni Mountains (Figure 2)
Summary
High-altitude, and especially northern European forests, in the last50 years, an increasing trend in trees growth was recorded [1,2,3,4], most likely because of improved forest management, the use of genetically improved forest reproductive materials in afforestation [5,6], and the better-quality environmental conditions due to increasing air temperature and precipitation [7,8]. High-altitude, and especially northern European forests, in the last. In eastern and central Europe, especially at low altitude, drought has induced a decline in Norway spruce stands in the last 30 years, visually observed by needles yellowing and growth reduction [9,10,11,12]. At high altitudes in the Carpathian Mountains, increases in the radial growth of Norway spruce stands have been registered [13,14,15]. Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), one of the most important tree species in Europe, has been shown to be affected by windstorms [16]. Recent analyses performed by sequencing the genome of representative spruce populations showed the need for high genetic diversity in the populations, an essential condition in adapting to climate change [19]
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