Rete sperimentale comparativa per le Risorse Genetiche Forestali - Forestry and Wood

Forest Genetic Resources Experimental Networks

 Maria Cristina Monteverdi, Giovanbattista de Dato e Fulvio Ducci

The Working Group on Forest Genetic Resources Management at CREA FL Arezzo manages a unique-in-Italy experimental network in terms of size, number of species and coverage of environments.

The Working Group on Forest Genetic Resources Management at CREA FL Arezzo manages a unique-in-Italy experimental network in terms of size, number of species and coverage of environments. Comparative tests and germplasm collections have national and international interest, include about 30 forest species, have a total extension of about 400 hectares and are distributed throughout the Peninsula. This made it possible to carry out selection and improvement activities of forest materials destined for different activities and therefore with different objectives. In fact, for the materials destined for reforestation and / or environmental reconstitution, for multiple use, the adaptive capacity was considered above all, trying to preserve the greatest possible level of genetic variability. For materials intended for wood arboriculture, on the other hand, together with genetic variability and adaptive capacity, other characteristics have been considered, such as the characteristics of the stem, the speed of growth, the quality of the wood. 

Since the first experimental plots date back to the 40s of the last century, in almost 70 years it has been possible to obtain a considerable amount of genetic data (analysis with genetic markers), dendrometric and adaptive data (phenological monitoring). This comparative network of parcels, where in some cases there is also germplasm collected in other countries and with homologous comparison tests carried out in other European states, has assumed considerable importance to know the behavior of the species and origins tested in different environments in relation to the ongoing climate change. 

 Some ex situ collections of forest germplasm and some multisite experiments were carried out thanks to the collaboration of the Arezzo Laboratory with international Organizations. These include: 

•  the IUFRO collection of Pseudotsuga menziesii provenances created in 1951; 
•  the IUFRO 1969/70 collection of Pseudotsuga menziesii provenances established in 1973; 
•  the EUDIREC collection from Pseudotsuga menziesii origins created in 1996; 
•  the IUFRO collection of Mediterranean firs provenances (Abies nordmanniana, A. cephalonica, A. equitrojani, A. bormuelleriana) created in 1978; 
•  the FAO/4bis project collection of Mediterranean pine species/provenances (Pinus halepensis, P. brutia, P. eldarica) created in 1973; 
•  the IUFRO collection of European Larix provenances created in 1970; 
•  the IUFRO collection of Pinus sylvestris provenaces created in 1980; 

As for the national collections, many are related to research activities related to arboriculture from wood, and in particular noble broad-leaved trees such as wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) and walnut (Juglans sp.), Made in starting from the early 1980s thanks to European and national projects and regional conventions. 

Thanks to regional agreements, experimental parcels of Quercus robur and Quercus petraea were built between the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s. Of particular relevance is the Carpaneta Forest (MN), created in 2003 with seedlings of 15 different origins of oak, with the aim of recomposing the genetic heritage of the species in the Po valley and which is also prefigured as a first experiment of assisted migration. 

More recent (2008) are the experimental parcels of origins of Quercus cerris, Acer campestre, Castanea sativa, Cupressus sempervirens and Alnus cordata planteed in agreement with the Campania region. 

Other experimental plots relating to broad-leaved trees are the two collections of grafts (209 clones) of Castanea sativa made in 1931 and 1975. In recent years, a collection of Sorbus sp. 

If, on the other hand, we consider the conifers, we must remember the collection of Abies alba provenances from 1990, that of Pinus nigra laricio from 1975, that of Pinus pinaster from 1970 and that of Picea abies from 1977. 

Finally, it should be remembered the intense research activity started in 1990 and which concerns Abies nebrodensis Lojac. Mattei, a species considered a relic by the IUNC, of which the Experimental Institute for Forestry before and CREA FL today carry out ex situ conservation. The experimental plots created in Arezzo represent a particular conservation model, unique in the Mediterranean environment, which has allowed not only to preserve the 29 remaining genotypes, but also to obtain new seedlings from the seeds they produce and to carry out a migration plan. The experimental seed orchard is nowadays a registered Seed Source in the Register of Forest Basic Materials of Tuscany (Dlgs 386/2003). 

Contacts: Maria Cristina Monteverdi, Giovanbattista de Dato and Fulvio Ducci