Janusz Sabor

Goals and outcomes of the Conference

Dendrobiology 2009, vol. 61 supplement: 05-06 Full text (pdf)

Abstract: The International Conference Norway Spruce in the Conservation of Forest Ecosystems in Europe, organised by the IUFRO W.P. S 2.02.11 "Norway spruce provenances and breeding", was held from 3 to 5 September 2007 in Warszawa, Malinowka, and the area of the Warszawa and Białystok Regional Directorates of State Forests (Wyszkow, Knyszyn, and Gołdap Forest Districts) in Poland. The other organisers were the General Directorate of State Forests represented by Eng. Wojciech Fonder, Msc, and Dr. Eng. Ryszard Kapuściński; the Department of Genetics and Tree Physiology of the Forest Research Institute (IBL); and the Department of Forest Trees Breeding, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow. This was a satellite meeting of the IUFRO 2007 European Congress Forests and Forestry in the Context of Rural Development, organised in collaboration with the European Forestry Institute (EFI) and the Warsaw Agricultural University, held on 6-7 September in Warszawa. The main goals of the Conference were fourfold:
(i) to share information about the achievements of the Polish geneticists in the selection and conservation of forest gene resources;

(ii) to formulate the rules for the conservation of forest ecosystems with spruce in Europe;

(iii) to assess the feasibility of restituting endangered tree stands, conserving the most valuable mountain and lowland forest ecosystems, and improving their stability; (iv) to intensify the international exchange within the IUFRO W.P. S.02.11 "Norway spruce provenances and breeding". The Conference brought together 95 participants from 10 European countries: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, and Ukraine.Altogether, 20 papers were presented in three topic areas:
1. Variability and genetic breeding value of spruce provenances in provenance trials.
2. Role of spruce in forest ecosystems. Current state of species protection. Programmes for selection and gene pool conservation.
3. Genetic polymorphism of spruce. Genetic markers. Apart from oral sessions, a poster session was held with 8 posters displayed.
During a field session, the participants visited the area of the provenance experiments with Polish provenances of Norway spruce in the Wyszkow Forest District and of the IUFRO 1972 series trial in the Knyszyn Forest District, and saw the seed stands and reserves of spruce from its northeastern range in the Romincka Primeval Forest in the Gołdap Forest District. In the end of the meeting, the committee chaired by Prof. Wiesław Prus-Głowacki and including Prof. Dag Lindgren, Prof. Władysław Chałupka, Eng. Jan Matras, MSc, Dr. Stanisław Małek, Dr. Dalibor Ballian, Eng. Czesław Kozioł, MSc, and Dr. Michael Mengl, formulated the following proposals:
1. Norway spruce, one of the most important European forest tree species, faces threats from climatic and other environmental changes. The danger, which is especially noticeable in Central Europe, calls for effective action to protect the valuable populations of Norway spruce. It will be helpful to create multidisciplinary teams that will be involved in the problem-solving of spruce decline and will actively work on preventing this negative trend in Europe; to explore different scenarios of spruce adaptation to the newly created ecological conditions; and to develop new breeding programmes aimed to increase the productivity of Norway spruce and its hardiness to these new climatic conditions. The IUFRO Working Party S 2.02.11 in collaboration with EUFORGEN will set up an action programme for the coming years, which will involve the conservation of forest genetic resources.

2. In the light of the ongoing climate changes, it is essential to analyse the results of the IUFRO 1964/68 and IUFRO 1972 test series that can provide valuable data regarding the sensitivity of Norway spruce to such a change. Both series of the
Norway spruce provenance experiment should be in the special care of the IUFRO W.P. "Norway spruce provenances and breeding". All the measurement data from different sites and countries should be collected, and jointly evaluated and published. It is necessary to collect current data from the IUFRO 1964/68 and IUFRO 1972 experimental plots to determine the breeding value of the provenances, and to examine the possibility of using or restituting them in the changing environmental (climatic) conditions. Since the provenance experiments spread all over Europe and North America are real ex situ gene banks preserving the genetic diversity of Norway spruce, they need special care as a possible source of material for the restitution of some declining in situ populations.

3. There is an urgent need to undertake studies aimed at predicting the response of spruce populations to the changing climatic conditions on both new and existing experimental sites. Consideration should be given to establishing test plantations under the conditions uncharacteristic of given populations (e.g. in Scandinavia for Polish populations) or at a different altitude. In view of the declining health condition of spruce stands, it is also necessary to consider the possibility of lowering the cutting age of spruce.

4. Molecular genetic studies are a fast-expanding area in population genetics and phylogeographic investigations. Such studies make very useful tools to reconstruct some re-immigration routes of spruce after the last glaciation.

5. We should continue studies on the intraspecific variation of Norway spruce. In the future experiments coordinated by IUFRO, more attention should be devoted to southern and marginal provenances of spruce from southern and southeastern Europe that for many years now have been exposed to higher temperatures than those from the North. New approaches, based on clone testing and reproduction, should be adopted for evaluating the breeding populations of spruce.

6. DNA polymorphism studies in the field of forest tree genetics should consider the genes coding specific breeding and resistance traits. Understanding the regulation mechanisms of gene expression in the presence of external factors (climate changes, fungal pathogens, insect pests) will enable the implementation of a rational strategy for the spruce's genetic resources.