A comparison of radial increment and wood density from beech provenance trials in Slovenia and Hungary

Abstract

Provenance trials are a valuable source of information, especially in species such as European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), which will likely increase its distribution due to global warming. The current study compares radial increment and wood density of beech provenances in the juvenile development stage from contrasting environments in Europe (Belgium, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Italy) planted at a mesic to wet site in Slovenia and a xeric site in Hungary. Existing data (past measurements of diameters and height) were combined with new measurements of tree height, diameter, dendrochronological and resistance drilling density measurements to assess differences in provenance radial growth. The wood density data were evaluated using a Bayesian general linear model. In order to study the differences in radial increment in more detail, two weather-wise contrasting years (2014 and 2017) were selected from the last decade, based on calculations of the 12-month Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index. The differences in average tree-ring width among provenances at each sampled site appeared to be relatively small when averaged over a whole decade of data. However, according to year-to-year data, some provenances grew faster than others, especially in favorable weather conditions. In unfavorable conditions, the differences in tree-ring widths among provenances were smaller. For most provenances, variation in tree-ring widths within the same provenance increased in unfavorable conditions. The difference between the provenances with the highest and lowest wood densities at both locations did not exceed 5%. The model results indicate that the Idrija (Slovenia) provenance probably has a higher median wood density than other studied provenances at both sites. Although the current study confirmed some differences in wood density between provenances and trial locations, the differences are negligible in practice due to their low magnitude and the fact that the analyzed trees were still juvenile. As beech has a diffuse-porous wood, negligible differences in wood density would also be expected in adult trees. Beech provenances for planting in relation to changing weather should probably be chosen for their ability to survive more extreme weather events rather than to improve radial increment or wood density, especially as the differences in wood density of juvenile trees are relatively small.

Using Adapted and Productive European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Provenances as Future Solutions for Sustainable Forest Management in Romania

“…After analyzing the two series of international beech provenance trials, Wuehlisch et al [75] confirmed the existence of a high genotype by site interaction and an adaptive potential of some provenances to different environments. This aspect was validated by other studies [44,80,82] and by the results obtained in the present survey, because of the distinct reactions of provenances to the contrasting conditions of the two test sites.…”

“…Many studies reported high variation between sites and provenances for growth traits in the international beech trials [50,75,76,78,79]. The same trend was observed in the Romanian test sites, especially for Th, as was pointed out also by Krajnc et al [80]. A comparison study between German and Bulgarian beech provenances [81] highlighted the superiority of Bulgarian provenances in terms of height growth.…”

Temporal and spatial variability of phloem structure in Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica and its link to climate

“…Not only climatic conditions (especially precipitation), soil properties, especially water holding capacity, may also have a major influence on radial growth patterns and tree anatomy (Gričar et al, 2018), so these data should be included in future studies whenever possible. Furthermore, potential genetic differences of P. abies and F. sylvatica between the three sites may also be a reason for a different phloem anatomical response to weather conditions, since numerous wood anatomical studies in international provenance F. sylvatica trials have clearly shown that different provenances can respond differently to identical climatic conditions (e.g., Eilmann et al, 2014; Krajnc et al, 2022). These studies confirmed that the plastic response of radial growth in F. sylvatica adjusts the vascular structure to given environmental conditions (Stojnic et al, 2013) and we can only assume that this also applies to phloem.…”

Relationships Between Wood-Anatomical Features and Resistance Drilling Density in Norway Spruce and European Beech

“…Resistance drilling densities showed weak correlations with anatomical features in spruce and no correlations in beech. Resistance drilling density measurements have been shown to be a rapid and reliable means of assessing differences in wood density between species or even within species (Krajnc et al, 2022). We propose to improve resistance drilling density measurements to increase resolution and accuracy so that we can assess variation at the intra-annual level.…”