THE BREEDING OF FOREST TREES

Genomics-based breeding in forest trees: are we there yet?

Efforts to develop genetic marker based approaches to breeding forest trees began in the late 1980s. Approaches based on first generation of markers, allozymes, were not feasible due to the very limited number of markers (<50). The first DNA-based markers, RFLPs, brought more hope as moderately dense genetic maps could be constructed to scan the genome and map quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Th...

Species Diversity of Trees and Forest Floor Plants in Oriental beech Forest Types of Shastkalate Educational and Research Forest, Gorgan)

Trees are the most important biological elements of forest ecosystems. The variability of the tree species composition inhabiting in the Oriental beech forest, not only forms different forest types but also has a remarkable impact on the species diversity of forest floor plants, due to the existence of trees in the overstory layer. In this research, forest types of an an Oriental beech were ide...

Population and conservation genomics of forest trees: seeing the forest for the trees

Background Forest trees exhibit striking adaptations to the environments in which they grow. A long history of quantitative genetic experimentation has established the genetic basis for many traits, which are likely adaptive since many of them are also correlated with environmental heterogeneity. The genes underlying these traits, however, have largely remained elusive. Recent applications of h...

Effects of forest–clearcut edges on a forest- breeding songbird

To understand local and regional changes in Neotropical migrant songbird populations it is important to determine whether forest-breeders can use and persist in the dynamic, variegated landscapes created by modern forestry practices. We made detailed observations of a species classified as a mature-forest specialist, the black-throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens), adjacent to clearcut...

The Mineral Nutrient Requirements of Forest Trees