Parental environment aftereffects on germination, growth, and adaptive traits in selected white spruce families

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael U Stoehr ◽  
Sylvia J L'Hirondelle ◽  
Wolfgang D Binder ◽  
Joe E Webber

Seed orchards for the production of conifer seed in British Columbia are usually located in areas favorable (warm and dry) for flowering and seed development, often considerably south of the source location of the parent trees. Differences in environmental conditions between seed orchard location and location of origin can affect progeny performance. It is suspected that this is caused by environmental factors that affect reproductive processes of parent trees and lead to altered physiological traits (aftereffects). This study examined if aftereffects are present in white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). Control pollinations were made at two locations, Red Rock, near Prince George (53°N) in central British Columbia, and Kalamalka, near Vernon (50°N) in southern British Columbia, on five female trees using a four-male polymix. Identical genotypes through grafting were present at the two locations. Pollen maturing at each site was only used in the polymix at that particular location. Progeny were raised and germination traits, number of needle primordia, greenhouse and field heights, and frost hardiness were evaluated in a common environment. The location of seed development significantly affected all traits evaluated. Height growth aftereffects in the second field season were much less than those observed in the first field season. These results suggest that aftereffects are detectable in white spruce progeny performance in British Columbia.

Author(s):  
G. F. Laundon

Abstract A description is provided for Pucciniastrum americanum. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: Pycnia and aecia on Picea glauca (=P. canadensis), uredia and telia on Rubus idaeus (incl. R. strigosus) and R. leucodermis (raspberries). DISEASE: Needle rust of white spruce. Late leaf rust or late yellow rust of raspberry, infecting canes, leaves, petioles, calyces and fruits. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Canada and U.S.A. (widely distributed, recorded from British Columbia, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Mass., Md, Me, Montana, North Dakota, New Hamp., New Jersey, Nova Scotia, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Quebec, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia). TRANSMISSION: Although the basidiospores infect Picea glauca (white spruce) (Darker, 1929) in some areas they probably play little part in the life cycle on raspberry since this rust is found on the latter host year after year in regions remote from any spruce trees (Anderson, 1956).


1976 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 225-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Dobbs

Seed dispersal of white spruce (Picea glauca) (Moench) Voss) from stands bordering a large clearcut and a strip cut was studied. Seedfall fell sharply with distance from the clearcut edge to 100 m, but even at 300 m the average dispersed seed density exceeded 740 000 seeds/ha or 3% of that recorded within the stand. Dispersed seed density in the middle of the 200-metre-wide strip cut exceeded 1 300 000 seeds/ha or 20% of that recorded within the bordering stands. About one-third of the seeds was disseminated by the end of September.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 16705-16751 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Michaletz ◽  
E. A. Johnson ◽  
W. E. Mell ◽  
D. F. Greene

Abstract. The existence of non-serotinous, non-sprouting species in fire regimes where serotiny confers an adaptive advantage is puzzling, particularly when these species recruit poorly from soil seed banks or from burn edges. In this paper, white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) was used to show that the timing of fire relative to seed development can control aerial seed bank availability for non-serotinous species. To estimate seed survival in closed cones during crown fires, cone heating was simulated using a one-dimensional conduction model implemented in a computational fluid dynamics (Navier–Stokes) fire spread model. To quantify the area burned when germinable seed would be contained in closed cones, empirical fire occurrence and seed development (germinability and cone opening) data were compared for multiple locations across the white spruce range. Approximately 12% of cones contained viable seed following crown fire simulations (0.072 m s−1 mean spread rate; 9147 kW m−1 mean intensity), and roughly half of the historical area burned resulted from fires that occurred when closed cones would contain germinable seed. Post-fire recruitment from in situ aerial seed banks can occur for non-serotinous species, and may be an important cause of their existence in fire regimes to which they otherwise seem poorly suited.


2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 138-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodie Krakowski ◽  
Y. A. El-Kassaby

Abstract The effects of seed pre-treatment (stratification/prechilling) and simulated aging on germination parameters (germination capacity, speed and value and peak value) were evaluated for several seedlots originating from seed orchard clones of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia DOUGL. ex LOUD.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (MOENCH) VOSS). Region of origin and stratification had little effect on white spruce, while stratification enhanced germination speed and completeness of lodgepole pine. Broad-sense heritability for germination parameters ranged from 70 to 97% (unstratified) and from 81 to 96% (stratified) for pine, and from 95 to 97% (unstratified) and from 93 to 97% (stratified) for spruce. Simulated aging (short-term storage at high temperature and relative humidity, approximating the physiological effects of long-term storage) resulted in rapid deterioration of white spruce, with very little germination after six days of aging. Lodgepole pine germination increased during the first several aging treatments relative to the control, but germination capacity decreased following twelve days of aging, and was very low after 18 days. White spruce was nondormant and responded primarily to moisture conditions, whereas pine was strongly influenced by maternal effects. These results can be incorporated for more efficacious nursery production practices for commercial reforestation seedling production as well as ex-situ gene conservation strategies.


2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 943-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J.W Godt ◽  
J L Hamrick ◽  
M A Edwards-Burke ◽  
J H Williams

Genetic diversity within a white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) seed orchard (consisting of 40 clones) and a jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) seed orchard (31 clones) was assessed and compared with genetic diversity in natural populations within the source area for the orchards. Genetic diversity was determined at 18 allozyme loci for seven white spruce populations and 27 loci for five jack pine populations, and the two orchards. Gene diversity maintained within the seed orchards (He = 0.157 for white spruce and 0.114 for jack pine) was similar to that found within the source area for each species (He = 0.164 and 0.114 for white spruce and jack pine, respectively). However, nine white spruce alleles and 12 jack pine alleles identified in the source area were not present in the seed orchards. These alleles occurred at low frequencies in the natural populations (mean frequency = 0.023 and 0.014 for white spruce and jack pine, respectively). Mean genetic identities between the seed orchards and their natural populations were high (>0.99), indicating that common allele occurrences and frequencies were similar between the orchards and their source area. One allele in the white spruce orchard and two in the jack pine seed orchard did not occur within the natural population samples. Simulations indicated that randomly reducing the number of clones within the seed orchards would decrease allelic richness slightly but would have little effect on overall gene diversity.


2003 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 903-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.G. Nealis ◽  
R. Turnquist

AbstractThe 2-year-cycle spruce budworm, Choristoneura biennis Free. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), causes defoliation of spruce – subalpine fir forests in British Columbia, Canada. Historical and newly obtained data were used to develop a linear regression relating percent defoliation in the 2nd feeding year of the life cycle to the percentage of shoots damaged in the previous, 1st feeding year of the life cycle. The resulting regression was tested with independent data and correctly predicted (95% prediction intervals) defoliation in 14 of 15 stands. Patterns of defoliation were similar on white spruce, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss (Pinaceae), and subalpine fir, Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt. (Pinaceae), and hence the regression can be used for either mixed or pure stands of either species.


1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Summers ◽  
Jack R. Sutherland ◽  
T. A. D. Woods

Experiments were conducted over a 3-year period (1982–1984) at a white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) seed orchard near Salmon Arm, British Columbia, to relate the control of inland spruce cone rust (Chrysomyxapirolata Wint.) by ferbam to the number of fungicide applications, basidiospore production, rainfall, and cone phenology. Either multiple or single applications of ferbam during the period starting about 1 week before and through the pollination period reduced the incidence of the disease by 5- to 10-fold without any reduction in seed yield per cone, although seed germination was reduced slightly.


1986 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Craig Stewart ◽  
Daniel J. Schoen

Segregation patterns of six enzyme loci expressed in megagametophytes of white spruce (Picea glauca) were studied as part of an investigation of the mating pattern in a clonal seed orchard. More than 3000 megagametophytes from 79 trees representing 18 clones were assayed. The single locus patterns of segregation for each enzyme locus are consistent with simple Mendelian inheritance. The two locus patterns of segregation reveal that Idh and Gdh are tightly linked with an estimated recombination rate of 0.027 ± 0.004. No other pair of loci deviates significantly from the ratios expected for unlinked loci. Little heterogeneity in the pattern of gametic segregation was detected among ramets within clones or among clones for any of the loci. The results contribute to knowledge of genetic variation in this species and provide a basis for assumptions about segregation made in mating system estimation models.Key words: segregation, linkage, allozymes, Picea glauca, white spruce.


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