Variability of seedlings of douglas-fir provenances introduced from Canada

Abstract

Introduction of Canadian provenances of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Mir / Franco) in Serbia started with the first phase of testing their genetic potential by studying the effects of geographic characteristics of the locations from which the provenances originated (latitude, longitude and altitude) on the variability of the measured seedling properties. In the laboratory of the Institute for Forestry in Belgrade, germinability of Douglas-fir seeds was tested on the germination table ("Copenhagen table" or "Jakobson table") by the standards of ISTA. The analysis of variance and the regression and correlation analysis were applied in the study of the effects of geographic parameters of Canadian provenance locations on the variability of seedlings. The results show that there is a statistically significant effect of the provenance latitude on the length of seedlings. The effect of altitude is slightly smaller, while the longitude of the provenance location has the smallest effect on the studied property. The study of the variability of Douglas-fir provenances in their juvenile development, as seedlings, is essential for reliable planning and implementation of further tests within pilot projects on allochthonous sites in Serbia.