World Series Volume 6

Editor: Csaba Mátyás

The aim of this volume of the IUFRO World Series is to present an up-to-date overview of some selected areas of forest genetic and tree breeding research. The review of problems of tree breeding, provenance research and conservation of forest genetic resources is dedicated not only to forest geneticists and tree breeders but also to scientists in related fields as a source of information.

The authors are all well-known experts in their field and the papers offer a broad overview on the progress and approach of current research in selected fields.

The volume is focusing on questions of practical breeding which is getting presently less attention than deserved. It should not be overlooked that increasing the production of man-made forests remains an important goal on a global scale.

Rapid population growth and ongoing devastation of valuable natural forest resources underline not only the need for conservation measures, but also the urgency to meet the pressure on remaining natural forest areas. This cannot be accomplished without finding a sound compromise between conservation and the use of improved propagation material in man-made stands. For that, tree breeding has to regain and enhance its reputation.

The publication contains original papers in the following thematic areas:

I. Aspects of tree breeding
II. New Applications for Provenance Tests
III. Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources

Price: US$ 30

Published and available from:

IUFRO Secretariat
Hauptstrasse 7
A-1140 Vienna, Austria
tel: +43-1-877 01 51 – 0
fax: +43-1-877 01 51 – 50
e-mail: office(at)iufro.org
website: http://www.iufro.org

Contents 

Preface (Csaba Mátyás)

I. Aspects of tree breeding

• Gene Namkoong and Mathew P. Koshy: Managing the Genetic Variance
• Peter M.A. Tigerstedt, Y. Yao: Traditional Tree Improvement and the Question of Genetic Diversity
• David M. O'Malley, Steven E. McKeand: Marker Assisted Selection for Breeding Value in Forest Trees
• Raj M. Ahuja: Biotechnology in Forestry: Expectations and Challenges
• Hong Jusheng: Research Advances in Forest Tree Genetics and Breeding in China

II. New Applications for Provenance Tests

• Introduction (Maciej Giertych)
• Dag Lindgren, Anders Persson: Vitalization of Results from Provenance Tests
• Gene Namkoong, Peter K. Ades: Studies on Norms of Reaction
• Maciej Giertych: Effect of Thinnings on the Evaluation of Provenance Experiments as Exemplified by a Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) Trial.
• Egbert Beuker, Veikko Koski: Adaptation of Tree Populations to Climate as Reflected by Aged Provenance Tests
• Csaba Mátyás: Effects of Environmental Change on the Productivity of Tree Populations

III. Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources 

• Gösta Ericsson: Tasks of Gene Conservation in a Changing World
• Hans H. Hattemer and Martin Ziehe: Genetic Control of Phenotypic Traits with Relevance to Gene Conservation in Trees – A Survey of Methods
• Jozef Turok: International collaboration on the conservation of forest genetic resources in Europe

In developing countries with high population density, tree improvement must certainly play a role in relieving the ever-increasing pressure on natural forest resources. For this reason, the chapter on tree breeding issues includes a presentation on the progress and results of tree improvement in China: a country which will host the IUFRO Division 2 conference on "The contribution of genetics to the sustained management of global forest resources", planned for 1998.