Larix Sibirica Ledeb Research Articles

Genetic Variation in the Decay Resistance of Siberian Larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) Wood

Summary The aim of the study was to estimate the degree of genetic determination in the decay resistance of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) wood and its correlation to other wood traits. The wood samples were taken from 25-year-old grafted seed orchard clones with an increment core borer, dried, weighed, and subjected to a laboratory decay test using a modified method based on the standardised EN 113 method. One brown rot fungus, Coniophora puteana (Schum. ex Fr.) Karst., was used as the decaying organism. The advantages of the method were the savings in time, the possibility to study standing trees, and the potential for screening large numbers of samples at reasonable costs. The clonal repeatability was used to estimate the degree of genetic determination. The genetic determination appeared to be stronger for decay resistance than for growth characteristics or heartwood formation, but weaker than for wood density or latewood formation. Decay resistance and the growth characteristics did not correlate.

Growth and annual ring structure of Larix sibirica grown at different carbon dioxide concentrations and nutrient supply rates.

We compared effects of ambient (360 vpm) and elevated (720 vpm) carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) and high and low nutrient supply rates on stem growth, annual ring structure and tracheid anatomy of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) seedlings over two growing seasons. Elevated [CO2] had no significant effect on either stem height or diameter growth; however, both stem height and diameter growth were enhanced by the high nutrient supply rate, and these increases were stimulated by elevated [CO2]. Elevated [CO2] tended to increase the width of the annual xylem ring, the number of cells in a radial file spanning the ring, and tracheid lumen diameter, whereas it tended to reduce cell wall thickness, although there were no statistically significant CO2 effects on tracheid anatomy. Changes in tracheid cell morphology seemed to be dependent on changes in shoot elongation rates.

Accumulation of Phenolic Compounds in Conifer Callus Cultures in Response to Wood Blue-Stain Fungi

Callus cultures of Siberian larch (Larix sibiricaLedeb.) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovataLedeb.) were used to demonstrate the elicitor activity of two ophiostomatoid fungal species, Ceratocystis laricicolaand Ceratocystis polonica, as the pioneer settlers on larch and spruce, respectively. The extract from C. laricicolamycelium stimulated the accumulation of lignin in larch cells by 37% and that of bound proanthocyanidins by 25%. In spruce callus cultures, C. laricicolaand C. polonicaincreased the bound PA content by 25 and 46%, respectively. In the callus cultures of larch and spruce, the addition of extract of C. laricicolaincreased the concentration of p-hydroxybenzoic acid 13-fold and nearly 4-fold, respectively. The metabolic characteristics of accumulation of phenolic compounds in conifer cells are discussed.

Growth of Coniferous Seedlings on a Drained and Mounded Peatland in Central Alberta

Abstract Artificial reforestation experiments compared survival and growth of five species of coniferous containerized seedlings, and seedling browsing by ungulates on a clearcut, drained, and mounded peatland in the boreal forest. Six to seven growing seasons after planting, 91% of all seedlings had survived. Height and diameter growth in five species were ranked as follows: Siberian latch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) > lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm.) > tamarack (Larix laricina [Du Roi] K. Koch) > black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) = white spruce(Picea glauca [Moench] Voss). Overall, tamarack height and diameter growth was twice that of either spruce species. Height and diameter growth of tamarack, black spruce, and white spruce planted in the spring was 65% to 97% greater than that of the more robust seedlings for the same species planted in the fall of the same year. Repeated winter browsing by ungulates did not affect survival and growth of the five species. In an experiment where survival and growth of tamarack and black spruce seedlings planted on the mounds were compared with that of seedlings planted on the flat areas between mounds, there were no differences in survival, height, or root collar diameter growth between the two planting sites. In the event that suitable peatlands are used to augment existing timber supplies, lowering the water table through ditching, combined with mound-planting, is a feasible method of reforesting timber-harvested, boreal wet sites with Siberian latch, lodgepole pine, and white spruce. Tamarack and black spruce, however, survive and grow well on drained peatlands without mound-planting. North. J. Appl. For. 17(2):71-79.

Efficacy of climate transfer functions: introduction of Eurasian populations of Larix into Alberta

Growth and survival of eight populations of Larix sukaczewii Dylis and one of both Larix sibirica Ledeb. and Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr. were used to assess the effectiveness of climate transfer functions for predicting the 13-year performance of Eurasian provenances introduced to Alberta. Quadratic regression models showed that transfer distances for five climate variables (mean annual temperature, degree-days <0°C, mean temperature in the coldest month, ratio of the mean annual temperature to mean annual precipitation, and the summer-winter temperature range) were particularly effective in predicting height and survival. Optimal transfer distances did not differ significantly from zero, and as a result, the best growth and survival in Alberta should be obtained by matching the provenance climate to that of the planting site for the five variables. Verification of the climate transfer functions with independent data from Russian provenance tests were strongly supportive. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of climate transfer functions for describing the response of plant populations to the environment and thereby have practical implications in reforestation.

Variations in mineral nutrient and C distribution in the soil and vegetation compartments of five temperate tree species in NE Sweden

The influence of five tree species on soil acidity and the distribution of carbon and nutrients between biomass and soil were studied in an experiment with 27-year-old stands in three replicates on set-aside farmland in NE Sweden. The five tree species were: Picea abies L. Karst., Pinus sylvestris L., Pinus contorta Dougl., Betula pendula Roth, and Larix sibirica Ledeb. Total tree biomass was 11 kg dw m −2 in B. pendula and L. sibirica, 10 kg dw m −2 in P. abies, and 8 kg dw m −2 in the pines. The foliage of P. abies had a more than eight times higher quantity of Ca, and a more than twice as high quantity of dry weight, Mg, K, P and N, as the foliage of any of the other species. Concentrations of Ca in foliage, branches and stems generally decreased in the order P. abies> B. pendula> L. sibirica, P. sylvestris, P. contorta. The highest amounts of Mg, K, P and N in the stems were found in B. pendula and L. sibirica. The results suggest that the choice of tree species may have a pronounced influence on the rate of nutrient removal both in case of whole-tree harvest and stem-wood harvest, also at similar rates of stem-wood biomass production. However, compared to the large differences found between the species in Ca and K contents of the above-ground part of the trees, the corresponding differences in depletions that were detected in the `non-harvestable' pools of these elements were smaller. (Non-harvestable pool: total element amounts in coarse tree roots and field vegetation and litter/organic layer, plus exchangeable element amounts in the A horizon). No significant species-related differences in soil pools of C or acidity were found. In the combined litter and organic layer, a significant difference in pH was found; about half a unit higher for B. pendula and P. abies than for P. contorta and L. sibirica.

Palaeoecological, Biogeographical and Palaeoclimatological Implications of Early Holocene Immigration of Larix sibirica Ledeb. into the Scandes Mountains, Sweden

Palaeoecological, Biogeographical and Palaeoclimatological Implications of Early Holocene Immigration of Larix sibirica Ledeb. into the Scandes Mountains, Sweden

Genetic relationships among larch species based on analysis of restriction fragment variation for chBoropBast DNA

The genetic relationships among eight species and three varieties within the genus Larix were studied by analysing restriction fragment length polymorphism in chloroplast DNA (cpDNA). Six restriction enzymes and 11 predominantly nonoverlapping probes from Pinuscontorta Dougl. ex Loud, were employed. No variation in cpDNA was detected within taxa, and mean levels of nucleotide divergence (d) among species were low. Six taxa were not resolved by the analysis, and the maximum d value recorded was 0.0096. Genetic distance data and neighbor joining were used to construct a tree of genetic relatedness among taxa, which resolved three groups. Larixgriffithiana Carr. was genetically distinct from all other taxa. A second group comprised Larixsibirica Ledeb. from Eurasia and two North American species, Larixlaricina (Du Roi) K Koch, and Larixoccidentalis (Nutt.). The third group consisted of the Chinese and Japanese taxa Larixgmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr. ex Kuzen., Larixpotaninii Batal., and Larixkaempferi (Lamb.) Carr. together with European larch, Larixdecidua Mill. These groupings do not correspond to traditional patterns of classification within the genus, which are based primarily on features of the female cone. The results from the cpDNA analysis are interpreted in the context of other information about the evolutionary history of the genus.

Structure and biomass of larch stands regenerating naturally after clearcut logging

Variations in the succession following cutting of a herbaceous Larix sibirica Ledeb. phytocoenosis along the southern boundary of boreal forests in southern Siberia and in Eastern Hentey, Mongolia, were studied. Morphometric methods were used to determine the dimensional hierarchies of coenopopulation individuals. Structure and productivity of the aboveground components including standing wood, herbaceous cover and litter were studied. The maximum aboveground phytomass was measured as 212.3 Mg ha−1 (oven dry mass). The highest total aboveground biomass productivity rate of a Larix sibirica phytocoenosis located at its southern limit exceeds 7 Mg ha−1 per year. The maximum annual phytomass increment was found to be 4.4 Mg ha−1 for the overstorey trees, 2.1 Mg ha−1, for the herbaceous layer and 0.7 Mg ha−1 for forest litter.

Performance of Larix sibirica and L. gmelinii in north-central North Dakota

Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) is a potential alternative tall-tree species for use in shelterbelt plantings in the northern Great Plains. Information from a 26-year-old study containing six Larix seed sources indicates that L. sibirica generally outperformed L. gmelinii and putative L. sibirica × L. gmelinii hybrids in block plantings at a single site in north-central North Dakota. These results suggest that L. sibirica merits further study as a possible species for use in shelterbelt plantings.