South-Eastern Baltic Provenances of Scots Pine Show Heritable Weather-Growth Relationships

Abstract

The productivity of forests has been linked to the sensitivity of tree growth to meteorological conditions and their fluctuations, hence moderation of tree sensitivity is one of the goals for climate-smart forest management. For this, tree breeding is among the most effective means, particularly if breeding populations are supplemented with genotypes (provenances) adapted to the expected climates. Nonetheless, heritability of traits is essential for their improvement by breeding. In this study, heritability of growth sensitivity of south-eastern Baltic provenances of Scots pine differing by field performance to meteorological conditions was assessed combining methods of quantitative genetics and dendrochronology. Five parallel provenance trials within the south-eastern Baltic region were investigated. The effects of regional weather drivers of growth (moisture regime in summer, temperature regime in preceding summer and in the dormancy period) were estimated, yet their strengths differed among the provenances, indicating local specialization of metapopulations of Scots pine. The heritability of growth sensitivity to these factors ranged from low to moderate, similarly as observed for the morphometric traits within the region; however, the provenance (genetic) variation appeared to be higher. The differences in heritability of responses, however, indicated uneven adaptive significance of weather conditions. Although the estimates were based on a limited set of genotypes implying caution in the extrapolation of results, the weather-growth relationships and their heritability indicate that sensitivity of growth is a complementary trait aiding breeding of forest reproductive material best suited for future climates. Heritable weather-growth relationships also imply a high potential for forest breeding to moderate the sensitivity of the trees.

The genetic and environmental variance of radial increment in Scots pine of south-eastern Baltic provenances in response to weather extremes

“…The low heritability estimated at the PYs (Figure 3) implied uniform resistance of increment of the local populations to growth changes, supporting the regional synchronization of sensitivity (Cavin and Jump 2017). Nevertheless, the sensitivity to non-extreme fluctuations in moisture availability on an annual basis has been shown to be subjected to local adaptation (Matisons et al 2021b), supporting the current estimates.…”

“…The selection was based on the consolidated rankings of the field performance (Matisons et al 2019). Considering the anticipated northward shift of vegetation zones (Buras and Menzel 2019), the selection was done from the perspective of the trials in Latvia; still, the rankings of the provenances were comparable across the trials (Matisons et al 2021b). The low-per- (Temp.…”

“…Considering that the climate in the region is temperate, meteorological and climatic control over the radial increment (TRW) is complex with winter thermal regime and summer moisture availability identified as the principal drivers of growth (Matisons et al 2019, 2021a, Harvey et al 2020. Considering the regional climatic gradient, local populations appear quite flexible in terms of inter-annual variation of increment under non-extreme conditions (Henttonen et al 2014, Matisons et al 2021a, 2021b. Nevertheless, the local populations also show genetic adaptation, and their sensitivity can relate to productivity, particularly regarding summer moisture availability (Martin et al 2010, Taeger et al 2013, Harvey et al 2020.…”

“…Nevertheless, the local populations also show genetic adaptation, and their sensitivity can relate to productivity, particularly regarding summer moisture availability (Martin et al 2010, Taeger et al 2013, Harvey et al 2020. Considering weather anomalies, provenance-related differences have been demonstrated (Matisons et al 2019(Matisons et al , 2021b, while the estimates of genetic and phenotypic var-iance necessary for decision making concerning breeding have not been reported yet.…”

Differences in Growth–Climate Relationships among Scots Pines Growing on Various Dune Generations on the Southern Baltic Coast

“…Pine-based chronologies spanning multiple centuries are the basis for dating archeological objects, works of art, various types of wooden constructions, and utensils [9,14,[16][17][18][19]. In the Southern and Eastern Baltic coast regions, Scots pine is also the main focus of dendrochronological studies, e.g., [12,13,[20][21][22][23], apart from the native oak species (Quercus robur and Q. petrea). Numerous studies point to late winter and early spring air temperatures (February and March) as the dominant factor shaping tree-ring width in Scots pine [4,8,9,11,[24][25][26].…”