Morphometric, allometric, and developmentally adaptive traits in red spruce and black spruce. II. Seedling and mature tree assessment of controlled intra- and inter-specific hybrids

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 897-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E Major ◽  
Alex Mosseler ◽  
Debby C Barsi ◽  
Moira Campbell ◽  
Om P Rajora
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Male Parent ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Hybrid Index ◽  
Mature Tree ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Stem Wood ◽  
Species Effect

The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic nature of morphometric, allometric, and developmental traits in controlled intra- and inter-specific hybrid crosses of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP). We examined 1-year-old greenhouse-grown seedlings and 22-year-old mature trees that were part of the same set of controlled crosses performed in the early 1970s. Seed weight had a strong female species effect. Mean cotyledon number and germination time had a very strong hybrid index effect. F1 interspecific hybrids showed negative heterosis in mature tree height, whereas hybrid index 25, a black spruce backcross, produced positive heterosis for seedling and mature tree height growth. Correlations of mean height of seedlings with mean height of mature trees on two sites were remarkably high (r = 0.918 and r = 0.968) when tested by hybrid index. Any cross having black spruce as the female or male parent had significantly higher height growth than those with red spruce as either female or male parent. Of the five hybrid indices, hybrid index 0 (black spruce) had the highest biomass allocation to stem wood and hybrid index 100 (red spruce) had the highest allocation to roots.

Morphometric, allometric, and developmentally adaptive traits in red spruce and black spruce. I. Species and seed-source variation

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 885-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E Major ◽  
Alex Mosseler ◽  
Debby C Barsi ◽  
Moira Campbell ◽  
Om P Rajora
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Seed Source ◽  
Adaptive Traits ◽  
Stem Wood ◽  
Germination Time ◽  
Species Effects ◽  
Shoot To Root Ratio

The study objective was to compare intraspecific seed source and interspecifc variation of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) in a number of morphometric, allometric, and adaptive traits. Analyses of variance for cotyledon number, root dry weight, shoot to root ratio, and seedling water balance revealed significant species effects. Germination time, total height, diameter, needle and stem wood dry weight, and survival had significant species effects and species × region interactions. Potential inbreeding depression effects were reflected in a positive relationship between height growth and percent germination and a negative relationship between height growth and germination time; these effects may have partly contributed to the species × region interactions. On average, 66% of the height growth difference between the species may be attributable to earlier germination and the other 34% to faster growth. Covariate allometric analysis showed that black spruce had a 39% higher shoot to root ratio than red spruce. Red spruce allocated 25% more dry weight (per unit needle weight) towards roots than did black spruce. When the resource sinks (stem wood and roots) are summed, black spruce is 8.6% more efficient at converting resources into sink biomass than is red spruce.

Genetic variation of red spruce in the Maritimes

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 703-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Fowler ◽  
Y. S. Park ◽  
A. G. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Improvement ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Hybrid Origin ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Hybrid Index ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Variation Pattern ◽  
Breeding Zone

Red spruce, Picearubens Sarg., from 30 provenances was tested over a 23-year period at six locations in the Maritimes Region of Canada. Twenty-eight of the provenances were from the Maritimes Region and two were from West Virginia. Hybrid index was used to distinguish pure red spruce from red–black spruce derivatives. Trees from three of the Maritimes provenances were considered to be of hybrid origin. These three provenances produced the fastest-growing trees in the tests. The genetic variation pattern, at the provenance level, in pure red spruce of Maritimes origin is not well defined. Use of seed from provenances identified as superior for reforestation would result in about 10% greater height and diameter growth than would be obtained from average seed. The use of seed of poor provenances could result in a corresponding loss of growth. Height at ages 10, 15, and 23 years and diameter at age 23 years were all strongly correlated, suggesting that superior provenances of red spruce can be identified at age 10. The Maritimes Region can be considered as a single breeding zone for tree improvement efforts with red spruce.

The Occurrence of Hybrid Swarms of Red and Black Spruces in Central New Brunswick

1972 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. M. Manley
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Parental Species ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Hybrid Index ◽  
Site Preferences ◽  
Hybrid Swarms ◽  
Respective Characteristic ◽  
The Ideal

The data obtained by rating 50 plots in red × black spruce populations throughout central New Brunswick with a hybrid index indicate that red and black spruces have hybridized extensively. In the New Brunswick Lowland, gentle slopes and flat uplands form a continuum between characteristic habitats, permitting extensive contact between the two species. Where a considerable zone of contact was present, hybrid populations were established. Selection pressure is apparently strong, for despite the ideal opportunities for contact and the fertility of the hybrids, parental species remain phenotypically pure in their respective characteristic habitats (as far as these could be defined). The composition of hybrid populations was related to the extent of resemblance of 'intermediate' sites to parental site preferences. Introgressed black spruce predominated in hybrid populations, possibly due to the overriding influence of disturbances such as fire, logging, and damage to red spruce types by spruce budworm.

Causality in mortality patterns of spruce trees during a spruce budworm outbreak

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 632-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Osawa
Keyword(s):  
Species Complex ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Hybrid Index ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Spruce Mortality

Patterns of tree mortality in the species complex of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.), black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) and their possible hybrids that developed during a spruce budworm (Choristoneurafumiferana (Clem.)) outbreak in Maine, U.S.A., were analyzed in relation to five hypotheses of their causal mechanisms. The observed patterns of spruce mortality were primarily a result of the phenotypic variation among the spruces. Close relationships among the mean hybrid index of spruce trees in a plot and such stand variables as balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) basal area and drainage index are likely to have created coincidental correlations between tree mortality and those variables that do not necessarily reflect causality.

Influence of social status on crown geometry and volume increment in regular and irregular black spruce stands

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1742-1753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Raulier ◽  
Chhun-Huor Ung ◽  
Denis Ouellet
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Growth Function ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Equal Weight ◽  
Residual Variance ◽  
Potential Growth ◽  
Volume Increment

A model of bole volume increment based on crown dimensions and tree social status is analyzed for its ability to predict bole volume increment independently of stand structure. Data were collected in two boreal black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) BSP) stands in Quebec. One stand is even-aged and of seed origin, and the other stand is uneven-aged and of layer origin. A varying parameter approach is taken to show that the crown profile of black spruce depends on competition. Formal expressions for crown surface area and volume are developed from the crown profile and are used to derive a potential growth function for bole volume. Three social status indices are considered to characterize competition experienced by a subject tree: a distance-dependent competition index relating differences of height between the tree and its neighbors to the distance separating them, and two distance-independent indices, one based on tree height relative to dominant stand height and one based on height growth relative to potential height growth of a competition-free tree. These indices are combined with the potential growth function to successfully model bole volume increment. Both stands have an equal weight in the unexplained residual variance. Furthermore, all three social status indices perform equally well at predicting bole volume increment. The use of a potential growth function with crown parameters is further discussed.

Genetic parameter estimates for growth traits of black spruce in northwestern Ontario

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 2994-3001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengxin Lu ◽  
Paul Charrette
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Correlation ◽  
Growth Traits ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Type A ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Type B ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Tree Height Growth

Genetic parameters of growth traits were estimated for first-generation selections of black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) in northwestern Ontario from 720 open-pollinated families and more than 42 000 trees. Unbiased estimates of narrow-sense heritability for tree height growth averaged 0.19, 0.18, and 0.14 at ages 6, 11, and 19 years, respectively, from combined-site analyses compared with 0.25, 0.23, and 0.16 for the same ages from single-site analyses. Heritability estimates for diameter at breast height and stem volume were lower than that of height at age 19, suggesting that tree height is a more desirable trait for selection in black spruce. The moderately high estimates of type B genetic correlations implied limited operational importance of genotype × environment interactions. Estimates of age–age genetic correlation were high (>0.88) among cumulative tree height growth at 6, 11, and 19 years but lower between height increments from different age intervals. Estimates of type B age–age genetic correlation were more than 0.2 lower than their type A counterparts, suggesting strong effects of common environments on the estimates of type A genetic correlations. Based on the relative selection efficiencies, selection on cumulative tree height between ages 6 and 11 was more efficient than at age 19.

Negative heterosis not apparent in 22-year-old hybrids of Picea mariana and Picea rubens

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt H Johnsen ◽  
John E Major ◽  
Judy Loo ◽  
Donald McPhee
Keyword(s):  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Picea Rubens ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Hybrid Index ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Class 1 ◽  
Hybrid Class ◽  
Old Trees

Work from the 1970s indicated that, relative to either parent species, crosses between red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) were inferior with respect to both growth and photosynthesis. We re-examined the hypothesis that there is negative heterosis in hybrids of red and black spruce using 22-year-old trees in a common garden study planted on two sites. The trees were the product of controlled crossings and represent a continuum from hybrid class 0 (pure black spruce) to hybrid class 1 (pure red spruce). Progeny of all controlled crosses were measured for height and diameter. A subset of families were measured for gas exchange and were assessed using a hybrid index based on needle color, needle configuration, twig ridges, twig bark color, vegetative bud color, and cone scale morphology. Tree growth rate linearly declined with the increasing proportion of red spruce germplasm (increasing hybrid index). In 1994, intermediate hybrid index classes did not differ in gas exchange from either pure black spruce (hybrid index class 0) or pure red spruce (hybrid index class 1), and in 1996, hybrids displayed slightly higher rates of gas exchange. Thus, negative heterosis was not apparent in 22-year-old trees. Individual tree hybrid index generally agreed with expectation based on midparent means, although the relationship was stronger on the higher productivity site (r2 = 0.91) than the poorer productivity site (r2 = 0.54).Key words: black spruce, heterosis, hybrid, photosynthesis, red spruce.

Effects of winter injury on basal area and height growth of 30-year-old red spruce from 12 provenances growing in northern New Hampshire

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 1616-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Introgressive Hybridization ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Repeated Injury

Basal-area increment and height growth of 30-year-old red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) from 12 rangewide provenances growing in a plantation in northern New Hampshire were measured for a 3-year period (1986 through 1988) in which severe and (or) frequent winter damage to needles occurred. Growth of uninjured trees and injured trees were compared. Basal-area increments were successively smaller for groups of trees arranged in increasing order of average needle damage as a portion of the upper crown and number of years that the trees were injured. A similar pattern was observed for height growth, but the effect of winter damage was not as great on height growth as on basal-area increment. Growth losses following winter injury, especially height growth, were much greater for trees in provenances classed as pure red spruce than for trees in provenances where introgressive hybridization with black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) has been demonstrated. For pure red spruce populations, repeated injury in 3 successive years or a sustained average of 30% or more needle damage resulted in losses in basal-area increment and height growth of up to 59 and 30%, respectively. Basal-area growth of the most severely injured trees in New England - New York provenances was 63% less than that of uninjured trees. These results support the contention of others that winter injury could be an initiating or perpetuating factor in red spruce decline.

scholarly journals Growth and Physiological Response of Nursery-grown Landscape Trees to Fertigation

HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 892E-893
Author(s):  
Katrina L. Schneller* ◽  
Bert Cregg ◽  
Grant Jones
Keyword(s):  
Block Design ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Light Response ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Volume Index ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Average Height ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Photosynthetic Gas Exchange ◽  
Species Effect

Thirteen species of shade trees including four oak and three maple species were planted from bare root whips in Spring 2001 at the Michigan State Univ. horticulture station near Benton Harbor, Mich. Forty trees of each species were planted and placed under a randomized complete block design consisting of four fertigation treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial (with and without irrigation; with and without nitrogen fertilization). Fertilized trees received 168 kg per hectare of ammonium nitrate annually via the drip system. We measured tree height, stem diameter, and stem volume index (D2 H) at the end of each growing season. We also measured photosynthetic gas exchange with a portable photosynthesis system. After three growing seasons irrigation increased stem volume and height growth. Fertilization has not increased stem volume and height growth, yet there is an interaction between irrigation and fertilization meaning that among irrigated trees fertilizer produced significantly more growth. Species effect on growth was significant (P < 0.001); honey locust trees have grown the most with an average height increase of 1.28 meters in 2003. `Crimson King' Norway maple and goldenchain trees grew the least averaging less than.305 meters of height growth per year. There is no interaction between species and fertigation responses meaning that all species had similar responses to the treatments. From light response curves obtained with a portable photosynthesis system Amax (maximum rate of CO2 assimilation) varied significantly by species and treatment, but showed no interaction between species and treatment effects. Implications for the nursery industry along with further photosynthetic responses will be discussed.

Croissance juvénile comparée de deux générations successives de semis d'épinette noire issus de graines après feu en forêt boréale, Québec

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1478-1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Fantin ◽  
Hubert Morin
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Juvenile Growth ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Soil Enrichment ◽  
Terminal Bud ◽  
Cross Dating ◽  
The 19Th Century

The objective of this study was to compare juvenile (0–12 years) height growth pattern of dominant mature trees from two virgin black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests established during the 19th century (1870) to that of young dominant black spruce seedlings newly regenerated following a 1983 fire on the same sites. The pattern was reconstructed by measuring the distance between terminal bud scars on young seedlings, and by precise counting of growth rings by cross-dating from the collar, which was identified by anatomical features, for mature trees. New seedlings growth was significantly higher than that of mature trees. Seedlings were almost twice as high as mature trees after 12 years of juvenile growth. Assuming that mature trees were dominant during their juvenile growth phase, we put forward the hypothesis that juvenile height growth of mature trees would have been affected by the combined action of spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem)) and colder climatic conditions than those presently observed. Also, young seedlings juvenile height growth may have been favored by nitrogen soil enrichment along with more favourable climatic conditions.

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