Mating System in Isolated Stands of European Beech

Three relatively isolated stands and 9 allozyme loci (Got-B, Idh-A, Lap-A, Mdh-B, Mdh-C, Mnr-A, 6-Pgdh-A, Pgi-B and Pgm-A) were used to study the mating system in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Multilocus outcrossing rates for the three stands were high (t,, = 1.015-1.025), but did not differ significantly from 1. According to paternity analysis, the maximum selfing rates ranged from 5.6 % to 12.9 % while the most likely selfing rate ranged from 1.2 % to 3.7 %. No evidence of biparental inbreeding was found. Mating system parameters in two different years showed little difference. These results indicate that European beech within the isolated stands is predominantly outcrossed but shows part of self-fertilization. The proportion of selffertilization should be considered for natural regeneration and for effective and representative seed collections.