Activity No 5 Questionnaire on efficiency on assessment of Adaptive Traits

1
Activity No 5Questionnaire on efficiency on
assessment of Adaptive Traits
Workshop on

• Fulvio Ducci (Partner 12), fulvio.ducci_at_entecra.i
  t
• Darius Danusevicius (Partner 15),
  darius.danusevicius_at_takas.lt
• Gerry Douglas (Partner 14), Gerry.Douglas_at_teagasc.
  ie
• Luc Paques (Partner 1), Luc.Paques_at_orleans.inra.fr

2
Many different definitions can be found about
adaptation and adaptive traits

• Adaptive Trait a genetic trait that helps an
  organism to maximize its reproductive success.
• The Oxford Dictionary of Science "Any change in
  the structure or functioning of an organism that
  makes it better suited to its environment".
• Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby
  an organism becomes better able to live in its
  habitat or habitats.
• Adaptedness is the state of being adapted the
  degree to which an organism is able to live and
  reproduce in a given set of habitats.
• An adaptive trait is an aspect of the
  developmental pattern of the organism which
  enables or enhances the probability of that
  organism surviving and reproducing.

3
Some definition more

• Adaptation Adjustment of a gene pool of a
  population to a given environment (i.e. ecotypes
  of spruce adapted to low altitude climate or to
  high altitude mountain climate) (Nanson 2004) .
• Phenology The study of the timing of periodic
  phenomena such as flowering, growth initiation,
  growth cessation, etc., especially as related to
  seasonal changes in temperature, photoperiod,
  etc. (Wright 1976, Nanson 2004).

Anyway, TBDX Lab. doesnt consider phenology
only
4
Regional sharing of Species Monitoring
5
TBDX species monitored and Partners involved
Pab, Fsy, Fex and Pme are the most investigated,
followed by Pav, Pop, Psy. Mainly nordic or
higher elevation species.
6
The pattern of Partners involved in TBDX
influences also the higner weight of nosrthern
species
Where the monitoring is carried out
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
3.9 Other traits or related characters mentioned
by Partners

• Related to .
• 1. Maintainance of Apical dominance
• 2.Occurence of spikeknots (autumn-winter frosts)
  or double tops
• 3 .Resistance to diseases,
• 4. Resistance or avoidance of stress/pests/disease
  s
• 5. August St. John shoots,
• 6 fructification,
• 7 Needle cast
• 8. Cell cycle
• 9. Fructification
• 10. Needle colour.

10
(No Transcript)
11
5. Also Commercial plantations and in greenhouses
12
Timing
13
Investigated for 10 species Aglu,Bpe,Fex,Jre,Pab,
Pav,Pop,Pra,Psy and Qro
14
6c. Chilling photoperiod requirements are the
amount of hours or days passed under a minimum
stage of temperature or a minimum/maximum day
duration used by trees as a reference for their
phenological traits

• Requirements depend on origin of the tested
  Species/variety.
• Minimum requirements can vary according to the
  altitude and the latitude of provenance and
  probably according to the single genotype.
• Flowering, Flower receptivity, Seed germination,
  Bud set, Bud break, Flushing, Growth cessation
  and related traits depend on or are influenced by
  photoperiod, termoperiod, moisture distribution
  and, in southern countries, on water supply in
  summer. Those factor can work alone but also
  combined.
• Most of forest species seem to be unknown by
  forest tree breeders from this point of view (is
  that true?). Only Norway spruce, Scots Pine,
  beech, wild cherry, walnut and chestnut are
  quite known.
• But it is possible having information for Silver
  fir, Douglas fir, Larch.

15
Monitoring in multisite networks is prevailing.
16
Provenances and progenies are the most
investigated
17
For phenologycal stages, crown sector, number of
trees monitored and skill of people are the focal
points togheter with clear scoring methods.
18
12. Advantages

• Organization aspects
• Quick e cheap.
• Good base for statistical evaluations.
• Repeatability and comparability.
• Photographs allow a relatively fast assessment.
• Easy measurements and a high number of data for
  statistical analysis.
• No needed a great experience and hard training
• Methodological and scientific advantages
• Indication of how well matched the source is to
  local conditions.
• Improvements possibility of analysing the within
  specie/population variability.
• Rather fast, good heritability and thus high
  precision of breeding value estimates.
• Relatively stable assessment
• Good heritability and thus high precision of
  breeding value estimates.
• The scoring makes it possible to apply
  quantitative genetic analysis.
• A help in the understanding of mating patterns
  and seed production.
• No needed a great experience
• J-M correlation is very high, thus no need for
  many repeated measuments.
• Correlated with stem quality aspects

19
13. Major Problems

• Organization Problems
• Calibration of the team members and Subjective
  assessment if changing monitoring teams/persons.
• Time consuming.
• Need to assess at the right time of the year per
  each site.
• Distances from the sites.
• Size of trees trees must not be too high so you
  can reach the upper part of the crowns without
  major problem.
• Using scoring at the right time especially with
  field tests far from the institute without
  anybody to observe the plantation.
• Problems connected with the traits or the biology
  of trees
• Time of phenology stages varies by year, needed
  to repeat several years.
• Different phenology stages on different parts of
  a crown,
• Some traits such as bud set and bud burst are
  very difficult to assess.
• In some years (hot springs) too short time to
  distinguish different stages,
• Deviation of phenology due to frost damages.
• The measurements will have to be repeteated in
  case of differences in days in bud burst.
• Some data can be lost because of late frost
  damage of flower.
• the disparition of some monitored trees.
• For some trait as top budburst problem is when it
  has internal damaged .
• Differences in survival and phenology maybe
  caused not only by differences in adaptation and
  adaptability but by chance or site difference
  too.

20
14. What are the benefits of using phenological
monitoring ?

• Better register of the adaptive capacity of the
  species.
• Climate change assessment at different scales.
• Responses of the population and of the
  off-springs in new environmental conditions.
• selections of genotypes of suitable growth rhythm
  for specific constant or variable
  environments/climates and thus improving growth,
  quality of stems and wood.
• Particularly bud break and bud set are important
  variables explaining the geographic
  differentiation of different species. Their
  meaning varies with the latitude and altitude.
• variation in responses of parental species and
  hybrids to climate
• Very stable traits in time with few observations
  needed, and strongly related to genetic
  structure.
• It may give the answer to the question, which
  populations you can move to the other (worse or
  more variable) conditions, which is very
  important in situation of possible climate
  changes.
• select material adapted to local conditions for
  drought or frost tolerant, high yield, low
  forking defect, etc.
• flowering synchrony for seed orchards for
  flowering,
• to integrate genetic data variation with
  adaptive traits variation.
• Linking these ground-based observations with the
  view from space could enhance our capacity to
  track the biotic response to climate changes.
  Trends to earlier spring arrivals include changes
  in plant species composition, changes in timing
  and distribution of pests and disease, and
  potentially disrupted ecological interactions.

21
Everybody agree with the importance of monitoring
for its correlation with quality traits and for
the new challenges related to the climate change
effects
22
Conclusion
Phenology is the main driver of tree adaptation.
It is linked to many adaptive, architectural and
perhaps wood traits. Moreover, heritability of
phenology is , by far, the highest among all
other traits.Additional experimental plots
(provenance/progeny/clonal trials) will be
established in the future with other species
refering to the climate change problem the
importance of other methods like MAS will
increase both methods should complete each
other. Assessment of plasticity/stability in
the scope of climate change. Possible climate
changes and needs for populations or species with
higher plasticity, more resistant to frosts or
other unfavourable factors.
23
Possible future actions

• Nearest future publishing these results
  somewhere (Who?....)
• Next steps
• Establishing a TBDX European Phenology Network
  based on the international trials?
• Needed to continue the maintainance and the
  estabòishment of international common trials on
  model species. It has been possible in the XIX
  century, why not nowadays?
• Monitoring should be carried out on ex situ, but
  also on in situ origin populations.

24

• Leuven
• Reporting methods of record, pictures d
  guidelines
• Having god meth. References
• Reccomendations late frost, early frosts, bud
  break, bud set, flush, flowering, color
• 2 page of description of pictures and protocol by
  traits and species
• Physiology studies related to phenolgical
  aspects?