Paraskevi Alizoti

Dynamic conservation of forest genetic resources in 33 European countries

Dynamic conservation of forest genetic resources (FGR) means maintaining the genetic diversity of trees within an evolutionary process and allowing generation turnover in the forest. We assessed the network of forests areas managed for the dynamic conservation of FGR (conservation units) across Europe (33 countries). On the basis of information available in the European Information System on FGR (EUFGIS Portal), species distribution maps, and environmental stratification of the continent, we developed ecogeographic indicators, a marginality index, and demographic indicators to assess and monitor forest conservation efforts. The pan-European network has 1967 conservation units, 2737 populations of target trees, and 86 species of target trees. We detected a poor coincidence between FGR conservation and other biodiversity conservation objectives within this network. We identified 2 complementary strategies: a species-oriented strategy in which national conservation networks are specifically designed for key target species and a site-oriented strategy in which multiple-target units include so-called secondary species conserved within a few sites. The network is highly unbalanced in terms of species representation, and 7 key target species are conserved in 60% of the conservation units. We performed specific gap analyses for 11 tree species, including assessment of ecogeographic, demographic, and genetic criteria. For each species, we identified gaps, particularly in the marginal parts of their distribution range, and found multiple redundant conservation units in other areas. The Mediterranean forests and to a lesser extent the boreal forests are underrepresented. Monitoring the conservation efficiency of each unit remains challenging; however, <2% of the conserved populations seem to be at risk of extinction. On the basis of our results, we recommend combining species-oriented and site-oriented strategies.

Forest genetic monitoring: an overview of concepts and definitions

Safeguarding sustainability of forest ecosystems with their habitat variability and all their functions is of highest priority. Therefore, the long-term adaptability of forest ecosystems to a changing environment must be secured, e.g., through sustainable forest management. High adaptability is based on biological variation starting at the genetic level. Thus, the ultimate goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to halt the ongoing erosion of biological variation is of utmost importance for forest ecosystem functioning and sustainability. Monitoring of biological diversity over time is needed to detect changes that threaten these biological resources. Genetic variation, as an integral part of biological diversity, needs special attention, and its monitoring can ensure its effective conservation. We compare forest genetic monitoring to other biodiversity monitoring concepts. Forest genetic monitoring (FGM) enables early detection of potentially harmful changes of forest adaptability before these appear at higher biodiversity levels (e.g., species or ecosystem diversity) and can improve the sustainability of applied forest management practices and direct further research. Theoretical genetic monitoring concepts developed up to now need to be evaluated before being implemented on a national and international scale. This article provides an overview of FGM concepts and definitions, discusses their advantages and disadvantages, and provides a flow chart of the steps needed for the optimization and implementation of FGM. FGM is an important module of biodiversity monitoring, and we define an effective FGM scheme as consisting of an assessment of a forest population’s capacity to survive, reproduce, and persist under rapid environmental changes on a long-term scale.

Identification of black pine (Pinus nigra Arn.) heartwood as a rich source of bioactive stilbenes by qNMR.

BACKGROUND Recently published studies have demonstrated the strong anti-inflammatory properties of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) heartwood extracts, related to its stilbene content. In order to find alternative sources of Pinus heartwood extracts rich in stilbenes, a large number of samples were investigated, using a new developed high-throughput screening method based on quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance. RESULTS The new method enabled us to measure the levels of pinosylvin, pinosylvin monomethyl ether and pinosylvin dimethyl ether in heartwood extracts in only 45 s per sample. The method was applied to 260 Pinus nigra trees originating from Peloponnese (southern Greece) from four different natural populations of the species. The results obtained showed that the total stilbenoids per dry heartwood weight varied greatly, ranging from 10.9 to 128.2 mg g-1drywood (average 59.92 ± 21.79 mg g-1drywood ). The major stilbene in all cases was pinosylvin monomethyl ether (40.32 ± 15.55 mg g-1drywood ), followed by pinosylvin (17.07±6.76 mg g-1drywood ) and pinosylvin dimethyl ether (2.54 ± 1.22 mg g-1drywood ). The highest stilbene content of P. nigra samples was found to be 6.3 times higher than the highest reported figure for P. sylvestris L. CONCLUSION Pinus nigra heartwood is the richest source of pinosylvin and pinosylvin monomethyl ether identified to date and can be considered the best natural resource for production of bioactive extracts.

Short reviews on the genetics and breeding of introduced to Europe forest tree species

Monograph represents short reviews on the genetics and breeding of introduced to Europe forest tree species. The management of tree species non-native to European geographical regions has a long tradition within forestry management practice. Their introduction to Europe (initially focused on growing tree species) dates back to the 18th century when enormous demands were being made on natural resources to sustain the on-going industrialization of Europe. Today issues of biomass production and C sequestration as well as the question of whether these species could increase the adaptive capacity of forests to long-term climate change patterns have fueled a growing interest in non-native tree species in Europe.