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Variation in needle and cone traits in natural populations of Pinus yunnanensis

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Abstract

Pinus yunnanensis Franch. is a major component of coniferous forests in southwestern China. Little is known about its intraspecific variation. Morphological variations in needle and cone traits of P. yunnanensis were analyzed to quantify variability among and within natural populations. Seven traits were measured on 10 needles collected from 30 trees in each of the 18 sampled populations of P. yunnanensis. Four cone traits were measured in 221 individual trees from nine populations. The results showed that there were significant differences (p < 0.01) both among populations and within populations in each needle and cone trait. The proportion of phenotypic variation of nearly all needle and cone traits was over 50 % within populations, which showed trees within populations accounted for a majority of the total variation. The needle traits showed higher variability within population than cone traits. Variability in the needle traits was correlated with geo-climatic parameters (longitude, latitude, altitude, temperature, and precipitation). Needle length and the ratio of needle length to fascicle sheath length showed clinal variation in response to latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. A hierarchical classification of all populations based on needle traits led to the formation of four major groups. The findings provide important genetic information for the evaluation of variation. Moreover, it will assist in management of genetic diversity of P. yunnanensis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Jie ZENG and Cheng-Zhong HE for their technical suggestions. The use of trade names is for the information and convenience of the reader and does not imply official endorsement or approval by the USDA or the Forest Service of any product to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Use in the Southwest Mountains of China, College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China

    Yulan Xu, Nianhui Cai, Genqian Li, Shi Chen & Anan Duan

  2. The State Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yulan Xu & Xiangyang Kang

  3. USDA Forest Service Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA

    Keith Woeste

Authors
  1. Yulan Xu
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  2. Keith Woeste
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  3. Nianhui Cai
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  4. Xiangyang Kang
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  5. Genqian Li
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  6. Shi Chen
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  7. Anan Duan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Keith Woeste.

Additional information

Project funding: This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31260191), Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province, China (2010CD065).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Hu Yanbo

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Xu, Y., Woeste, K., Cai, N. et al. Variation in needle and cone traits in natural populations of Pinus yunnanensis . J. For. Res. 27, 41–49 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0153-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0153-6

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