Genetic Analyses of a Mixed Oak Stand at the Xeric Limit of Forest Climate and Its General Consequences for In Situ Conservation Management

Pintér, Beáta and Cseke, Klára and Ladányi, Márta and Lados, Botond Boldizsár and Bordács, Sándor (2025) Genetic Analyses of a Mixed Oak Stand at the Xeric Limit of Forest Climate and Its General Consequences for In Situ Conservation Management. FORESTS, 16 (6). ISSN 1999-4907

Text forests-16-00939-v2.pdf Download (7MB)

Abstract

Forests in the Tolna region (Hungary) are distributed at the xeric limit of broadleaved forest zones and adapted to the arid ecological conditions of the wood-steppe climate. An 85-year-old in situ gene conservation stand of Quercus virgiliana mixed with other taxa of section Quercus was studied, which was regenerated naturally by both seedlings and coppicing. To analyze the phenotypes growing within the stand and the genetic structure of the population, a total of 138 trees were sampled. For taxonomic classification, a complex of morphological traits of oak taxa growing naturally in the region was used. Out of the 12 morphotype groups, only a few trees were classified as Q. virgiliana (eight individuals) or Q. robur (nine individuals), and the majority of the trees (121 individuals) were hybrid or introgressed phenotypes of Q. virgiliana adapted to xeric conditions by its xeromorphic traits. Despite the high number of coppiced trees (89 pcs vegetatively regenerated), the genetic variation was relatively high based on 16 nSSR markers used for analyses. Some of the trees were classified as non-autochthonous with Slavonian oak origin, both by morphological traits and SSR structure. Despite some alleles being lost, the allelic diversity of the seedling trees’ group was similar to that of the group of parent generation (coppiced trees). The spatial structure of trees supported the results of morphologic classification, and Q. virgiliana and hybrid phenotypes were growing on xeric microhabitats of the stand, mostly on southeast-facing slopes or ridges of hills. Consequently, the stand might fulfill all the in situ gene conservation requirements based on the high genetic diversity measured and the high number of xeromorphic phenotypes in the context of climate change as well.

Tudományterület / tudományág

agricultural sciences > forestry and wildlife management
natural sciences > environmental science

Faculty

Not relevant

Institution

Soproni Egyetem

Item Type:	Article
SWORD Depositor:	Teszt Sword
Depositing User:	Csaba Horváth
Identification Number:	MTMT:36178375
Date Deposited:	08 Jul 2025 08:06
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2025 08:06
URI:	http://publicatio.uni-sopron.hu/id/eprint/3694

Actions (login required)

View Item