Genetics

Abstract

Provenance experiments are used to identify natural genetic variation. Provenance experiments consist of samples of various populations grown in a common environment. The oldest designed provenance experiment with Norway spruce dates from 1938. At that time the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) organized a series of trials in several countries, using seed collected from 36 sources in various parts of the species range. In 1939 another series was started with 14 seed sources; however, this series included only a small number of co-operators, owing to the onset of World War II. In 1964 IUFRO began the next series of experiments, collecting seed from 1100 origins, representing the entire geographic range of the species. In 1972 a series of trials was established in several countries with seeds originating from Polish seed stands and later obtained IUFRO status. All remaining trials with Norway spruce scattered throughout Europe were organized on a national basis, even though some of them also included several foreign provenances.