High seed dispersal ability of Pinus canariensis in stands of contrasting density inferred from genotypic data

Abstract

Aim of the study: Models that combine parentage analysis from molecular data with spatial information of seeds and seedlings provide a framework to describe and identify the factors involved in seed dispersal and recruitment of forest species. In the present study we used a spatially explicit method (the gene shadow model) in order to assess primary and effective dispersal in Pinus canariensis.Area of study: Pinus canariensis is endemic to the Canary Islands (Spain). Sampling sites were a high density forest in southern slopes of Tenerife and a low density stand in South Gran Canaria. Materials and methods: We fitted models based on parentage analysis from seeds and seedlings collected in two sites with contrasting stand density, and then compared the resulting dispersal distributions.Main results: The results showed that: 1) P. canariensis has a remarkable dispersal ability compared to other pine species; 2) there is no discordance between primary and effective dispersals, suggesting limited secondary dispersal by animals and lack of Janzen-Connell effect; and 3) low stand densities enhance the extent of seed dispersal, which was higher in the low density stand.Research highlights: The efficient dispersal mechanism of P. canariensis by wind inferred by the gene shadow model is congruent with indirect measures of gene flow, and has utility in reconstructing past demographic events and in predicting future distribution ranges for the species.Keywords: Bayesian inference; Canary Islands; gene shadow model; microsatellites; parentage analysis.

Optimal Selection of Seed-Trees Using the Multi-Objective NSGA-II Algorithm and a Seed Dispersal Model

“…A significant constraint lies in the uncertainty associated with seed dispersal estimation [16,55]. Notably, [38], conducting research in the same stand, proposed a different dispersal model utilizing genetic markers for mother tree identification, while, even in our study there were other alternative models, such as the Gamma, that could have been used for modeling. Furthermore, despite employing an extensive seed monitoring network with 103 seed traps over two study years, the inherent variability in seed set due to masting events [56] and climate conditions [57] introduces uncertainties into the optimal selection of seed-trees.…”

“…27 m. Within the stand, the dominant orientations are south and south-east and the slope varies locally from 0% to 110%, lying predominantly in the 40%-45% range. Understory vegetation is scarce but seedlings of P. canariensis have been recorded in varying densities (see [38] for details).…”

“…We utilized an existing dataset obtained from a mature, even-aged stand of Canary Islands pine located on the island of Tenerife (refer to [38,39] for details). The climate in this region is Mediterranean, characterized by an average annual temperature of 12.6 • C and annual precipitation levels ranging from 460 to 930 mm [40].…”

Effective Seed Dispersal and Fecundity Variation in a Small and Marginal Population of Pinus pinaster Ait. Growing in a Harsh Environment: Implications for Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources

“…Additionally, future studies using molecular markers to identify parentage relationships between parents and successfully established offspring may be used to confirm the patterns revealed by inverse modeling ( [37,38]). Previous studies have shown that results for sapling dispersal kernels estimated via classical inverse modeling were remarkably similar to the ones obtained by genetic methods [36,39].…”