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Novas tecnoloxías aplicadas ao aproveitamento resineiro do interior de Galicia (RESDRON)
El grupo de Genética y Ecología Forestal de la MBG-CSIC participa en el proyecto RESDRON para potenciar el aprovechamiento resinero como complemento productivo de los pinares gallegos con fuertes implicaciones ambientales, sociales y económicas
Esta iniciativa, beneficiaria de una ayuda FEADER liderada por Roberto Alfonso Touza, busca valorar el potencial productivo de los pinares atlánticos, determinar los principales factores ambientales y silvícolas que condicionan la productividad de los pinares y desarrollar un sistema ágil y versátil identificar desde el aire mediante imágenes multiespectrales tomadas desde drones los pinares más adecuados para la actividad de extraer resina.
El sector resinero prospera de forma llamativa en el noroeste peninsular. En los últimos cinco años, Galicia ha pasado de producir 1.000 kg de resina a 130.000 kg. De igual manera, el número de profesionales que trabaja en este sector ha pasado de una a quince personas. El crecimiento experimentado por esta actividad ha despertado el interés de las administraciones públicas y de las empresas para ayudar a consolidar el sector resinero de Galicia.
Los beneficios de este aprovechamiento son múltiples y van desde rentas complementarias a la propiedad y la creación de puestos de trabajo y fijación de población en el medio rural, hasta el mantenimiento y vigilancia de los montes, con especial énfasis en la prevención de incendios forestales.
Objetivos
El objetivo de fondo del proyecto es contribuir a la mejora de la competitividad del sector a través del aprovechamiento resinero, mediante:
Participantes:
Publicaciones científico-técnicas derivadas del proyecto
5. Zas, R., Quiroga, R., Touza, R., Vázquez-González, C., Sampedro, L., Lema, M. 2020. Predicting resin tapping potential from intrinsic, silvicultural and ecological factors in Atlantic Maritime pine forests. Industrial Crops and Products, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.112940
4. Zas, R., Touza, R., Sampedro, L., Lario, F.J., Bustingorri, G., Lema, M. 2020. Variation in resin flow among Maritime pine populations: Relationship with growth potential and climatic responses. Forest Ecology and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118351
3. Vázquez-Gonzalez, C., López-Goldar, X., Alía, R., Bustingorri, G., Lario, F.J., Lema, M., de la Mata, R., Sampedro, L., Touza, R., Zas, R. 2020. Genetic variation in resin yield and covariation with tree growth at different genetic levels in Pinus pinaster. Forest Ecology and Management 482: 11843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118843
2. Quiroga, R. 2019. A resina como aproveitamento alternativo dos piñeirais galegos: estudo dos factores silvícolas e dendrométricos que regulan o potencial resineiro en piñeirais de Pinus pinaster. Proxeto Fin de Grado. Grado de Enxeñería Forestal. Universidade de Vigo. Directores: R. Zas (MBG-CSIC) e M. Lema (USC). Defendido o 14 de novembro de 2019. Cualificación: 10.
1. Vázquez-Gonzalez, C., López-Goldar, X., Alía, R., Bustingorri, G., Lario, F.J., Lema, M., de la Mata, R., Quiroga, R., Sampedro, L., Touza, R., Zas, R. 2020. Producción de resina en los pinares Atlánticos de Pinus pinaster: factores genéticos, ambientales y ontogenéticos. VIII Congreso Forestal Nacional, Lleida, comunicación enviada en proceso de evaluación.
El grupo de Genética y Ecología Forestal de la MBG-CSIC participa en el proyecto RESDRON para potenciar el aprovechamiento resinero como complemento productivo de los pinares gallegos con fuertes implicaciones ambientales, sociales y económicas
Esta iniciativa, beneficiaria de una ayuda FEADER liderada por Roberto Alfonso Touza, busca valorar el potencial productivo de los pinares atlánticos, determinar los principales factores ambientales y silvícolas que condicionan la productividad de los pinares y desarrollar un sistema ágil y versátil identificar desde el aire mediante imágenes multiespectrales tomadas desde drones los pinares más adecuados para la actividad de extraer resina.
El sector resinero prospera de forma llamativa en el noroeste peninsular. En los últimos cinco años, Galicia ha pasado de producir 1.000 kg de resina a 130.000 kg. De igual manera, el número de profesionales que trabaja en este sector ha pasado de una a quince personas. El crecimiento experimentado por esta actividad ha despertado el interés de las administraciones públicas y de las empresas para ayudar a consolidar el sector resinero de Galicia.
Los beneficios de este aprovechamiento son múltiples y van desde rentas complementarias a la propiedad y la creación de puestos de trabajo y fijación de población en el medio rural, hasta el mantenimiento y vigilancia de los montes, con especial énfasis en la prevención de incendios forestales.
Objetivos
El objetivo de fondo del proyecto es contribuir a la mejora de la competitividad del sector a través del aprovechamiento resinero, mediante:
- Identificar los principales factores que determinan la producción de resina, tanto intrínsecos del árbol y de la masa como aquellos relacionados con el propio procedimiento de extracción de resina.
- Desarrollar y poner a punto un método innovador, sencillo, barato y rápido para estimar el potencial productivo de las masas de pino mediante técnicas de microresinación.
- Calibrar el uso de imágenes multiespectrales tomadas desde drones para valorar el potencial resinero de los pinares
Participantes:
- Extracción de Resina Roberto Touza (Coordinador)
- Misión Biológica de Galicia – CSIC
- Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Publicaciones científico-técnicas derivadas del proyecto
5. Zas, R., Quiroga, R., Touza, R., Vázquez-González, C., Sampedro, L., Lema, M. 2020. Predicting resin tapping potential from intrinsic, silvicultural and ecological factors in Atlantic Maritime pine forests. Industrial Crops and Products, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.112940
4. Zas, R., Touza, R., Sampedro, L., Lario, F.J., Bustingorri, G., Lema, M. 2020. Variation in resin flow among Maritime pine populations: Relationship with growth potential and climatic responses. Forest Ecology and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118351
3. Vázquez-Gonzalez, C., López-Goldar, X., Alía, R., Bustingorri, G., Lario, F.J., Lema, M., de la Mata, R., Sampedro, L., Touza, R., Zas, R. 2020. Genetic variation in resin yield and covariation with tree growth at different genetic levels in Pinus pinaster. Forest Ecology and Management 482: 11843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118843
2. Quiroga, R. 2019. A resina como aproveitamento alternativo dos piñeirais galegos: estudo dos factores silvícolas e dendrométricos que regulan o potencial resineiro en piñeirais de Pinus pinaster. Proxeto Fin de Grado. Grado de Enxeñería Forestal. Universidade de Vigo. Directores: R. Zas (MBG-CSIC) e M. Lema (USC). Defendido o 14 de novembro de 2019. Cualificación: 10.
1. Vázquez-Gonzalez, C., López-Goldar, X., Alía, R., Bustingorri, G., Lario, F.J., Lema, M., de la Mata, R., Quiroga, R., Sampedro, L., Touza, R., Zas, R. 2020. Producción de resina en los pinares Atlánticos de Pinus pinaster: factores genéticos, ambientales y ontogenéticos. VIII Congreso Forestal Nacional, Lleida, comunicación enviada en proceso de evaluación.
as R, Sampedro L. 2013. Resistencia de los pinos a plagas y enfermedades: nuevas oportunidades de control fitosanitario. Proceedings del 6º Congreso Forestal Español. DESCARGA ESTE ARCHIVO PARA INFORMARTE DE NUESTRA LINEA DE INVESTIGACIÓN EN ESPAÑOL.
Innovation Grant "Genetic resources for sustainable supply of high quality coniferous wood" / "Recursos genéticos para el abastecimiento sostenible de madera de calidad de coníferas" por el Grupo Operativo GENMAC. Grant number GENMAC/20180020012479. July 2018 - july 20121. Grupos operativos de la AEI-Agri. Programa Nacional de Desarrollo Rural 2014-2020. Financia: Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca. Coordinador: Luis Ocaña (TRAGSA). IP MBG-CSIC: R. Zas. Participan: Empresa de Transformación Agraria, S.A., Viveros Fuenteamarga, Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Selvicultores de España, Cluster da Madeira e o Deseño de Galicia, Neiker-Instituto Vasco de Investigación Agraria, Misión Biológica de Galicia-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Agencia Gallega de la Calidad Alimentaria- Centro de Investigación Forestal de Lourizán. More info here / Más información aquí
"Understanding the evolution of integrated phenotypes for the resilience of Mediterranean pines in a changing environment: phenotypic integration of chemical and physical defences, climatic responses and adaptive syndromes" (RESILPINE). Grant number RTI2018-094691-B-C33. Duration: 2019-2022. PIs: Luis Sampedro and Rafael Zas.
Coordinated Grant with CIFOR-INIA and University of Lleida.
“Adaptive framework for future management of genetic resources in Mediterranean pines” (FUTURPIN 2016-2018)
code: MINECO AGL2015- 68274-C3-2-R
P1. Phenotypic integration and human made selection (CIFOR-INIA, Madrid)
P2. Reproductive dynamics and defensive strategies (Misión Biológica de Galicia – CSIC, Pontevedra)
P3. Ecophysiology and response to climate (Univ Lleida, Lleida)
Summary: Mediterranean pines are large-sized, long living, iteroparous species. During their long live, they have to endure changing biotic and abiotic environments that favor plastic strategies in relative investment of resources in growth, maintenance and reproduction. The rhythm of change determined by global change imposes serious doubts regarding the viability of individual plasticity as a strategy of adaptation to environmental change. Migration and genetic adaptation are the alternative responses to cope with the new environmental pressures. Nevertheless, life history theory predicts compromises between the different vital functions that might impose limitation in a context of new and multiple biotical and abiotical stresses. In addition, in Mediterranean climates and long living species, selective forces may change significantly from year to year and from one recruitment event to the next. In this context and giving the existing lack of knowledge on the genetic architecture and on the effects of environment over integrated phenotypes of live history traits in Mediterranean pines, arises this project, whose ultimate aim is to improve our understanding of the capacity of our pinewoods to adapt to global change and to design strategies of management of forest genetic recourses that will ensure the persistence of pine forests and the maintenance of intraspecific genetic diversity. This project has a precedent, coordinated by the same teams. The present proposal broadens the range of species studied and proposes new experimental approaches to study the co(variation) and plasticity of life history traits, extends the concept of integrated phenotype to new functional characters, associated with ecosystem services and further deepens in the direct repercussions of the possible adaptive syndromes on the recruitment and responses to selection that will influence the next generation. We include species with different ecological niches and contrasted life histories, aiming to progress in the understanding of the different strategies. To this end, understanding how the time dynamics in the reproductive allocation and seed dispersal (masting and serotiny, espectively)as life history traits, affect the adaptability of populations and how they relate to the tolerance and resistance to biotical and abiotical stresses , are key aspects to this project. An important part of this project will be centered in the genetic changes among generations, which might imply fitness differences of the adaptive syndromes. Giving the complexity of the evaluated characters, we will use innovative technologies applied to forest genetics: georadar to study the architecture of roots, LIDAR techniques as an alternative to in situ measurements of growth and aerial architecture. Finally, special emphasis will be placed on dissemination of the results concerning the forest genetic resources management, especially the selection of base material, transfer of forest reproductive material and silvicultural treatments.
FENOPIN - Phenotypic integration, plasticity and evolutionary trade-offs among life history traits in Iberian pines: implications for managing genetic forest resources under new environmental scenarios. MICIN 2012-2015. AGL2012-40151. (Misión Biológica de Galicia PI:R Zas; CIFOR-INIA; Universidad de Lleida)
Pine trees are massive organisms, with long lifespan and delayed reproduction. As any other organism they should optimize the relative investment of resources to their life functions (growth, reproduction and maintenance). As resources are limited and their sources shared, any investment in a particular function involves a reduction of resources available for the remaining functions. Resource allocation between life functions can be subjected to tradeoffs preventing the simultaneous maximization of both functions. Environmental limitation, in particular reduced water availability common in Mediterranean region, can increase the strength of those tradeoffs. Pine forests in the Mediterranean basin are subjected to serious risks derived from climate warming, changes in soil use and other human-derived impacts, and current models predict that rising temperatures and decreasing water availability will be particularly intense in the region. Those factors will increase the risk from other disturbances such as wildfires and epidemic outbreaks of pest and pathogens. Mediterranean pine populations are expected to harbor a valuable adaptive genetic diversity for facing all those increased challenges, already shaping the populations since long time ago. Persistence of pine forests will rely on their plasticity, gene flux among populations (pollen and seeds) and on the existence of enough genetic variation allowing to local adaptation. However, very little is still known about phenotypic plasticity and the relevance of putative adaptive traits for future fitness in Mediterranean pine trees. The overall aim of this proposal is to evaluate the intraspecific genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity in three Mediterranean pine trees species (P. pinaster, P. sylvestris and P. halepensis) simultaneously in a large set of phenotypic traits related to growth, reproduction, resistance to herbivory and drought tolerance, and to explore the existence of tradeoffs among those traits. We also study the role of long distance gene flux for maintaining the observed genetic variation. We will get insight on the drivers conditioning the past evolution of Iberian pines which will be relevant for predicting their adaptive value in new scenarios. The specific objectives are: (1) To determine at what extent evolutionary tradeoffs among life history traits have conditioned the differentiation between this pine populations. (2) To understand the cause of the physiological constrains involved in possible trade-offs, and the relevance of reduced water availability as a driver of the emergence of those tradeoffs. (3) To identify by means of artificial selection experiments whether the tradeoffs among life history traits can constrain the adaptive response of pine populations to future selection events drove by global change-derived pressures.
COMPROPIN. Tradeoffs between growth and constitutive and induced resistance in the genus Pinus: Within and across species variation and implications for breeding programs. MCIN 2011-12. PI: R Zas
Pines are a remarkably successful and economically relevant group of plants. They live in a wide range of habitats and, because of their long life span and their large size, they are subject to numerous attacks from a wide range of organisms, especially of insects. The selective pressure imposed by these natural enemies have led to the evolution of effective resistance mechanisms that includes both constitutive resistance traits which are permanently expressed irrespective of the incidence of herbivores, and induced resistance traits that are activated as a response to the attacks. The overlap in space and time of both strategies is assumed to be crucial for an efficient defence strategy. In pine trees, resin and phenolic compounds are the major carbon based chemical defences. Ecological theories predict that, because of the restrictions in the allocation of limited resources and the functional redundancy between the different strategies, both constitutive and induced resistance traits can not be maximized at the time, and evolutionary tradeoffs between them and between resistance and growth have been postulated. The existence of these evolutionary conflicts has been many times suggested in the literature and some times reported for angiosperms, mainly herbaceous, but not in conifers. However, because of their high and prolonged exposure to herbivores, these tradeoffs should be expected to be stronger in this group of plants. Recently, our research group has showed the existence of these tradeoffs within an Atlantic population of Pinus pinaster, evidenced by negative genetic correlations between growth and resistance, and between constitutive and induced defensive traits. The aim of this project is to determine at what extent these tradeoffs are generalizable within the Pinus genus. Furthermore, we aim to determine whether the expression of these conflicts are restricted to the juvenile phase, in which resistance and growth are both crucial for future fitness, or whether they appear also at older ages. To achieve these objectives we propose different experiments focused on estimating the genetic correlation between growth and resistance and between constitutive and resistance traits i) within a population of another pine species, Pinus radiata, ii) across populations of P. pinaster, and iii) at the interspecific level within the genus Pinus. The retrospective analysis of resistance traits usingdendrochronology methodologies and the comparison of juvenile environmentally controlled experiments and old field genetic trials, will also allow us to explore the age to age correlation in resistance traits and to determine at what extent the expression of these tradeoffs are ontogenetically regulated. Results will provide new high-impact knowledge on the genetic variation of defensive strategies within the genus, and on the evolutionary relevance of herbivory in this group. Results will be also very useful for optimizing breeding strategies within tree breeding programs, usually unilaterally focused on improving productivity. This last practical application of the results of this project is especially relevant within the context of the current global change, in which forest pests are predicted to become more frequent and virulent.
NEMARES - Exploring new aspects of pine resistance to the Pine Nematode Wilt Disease (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus): intraespecific genetic variation and role of induced defences. (MICIN Acción Integrada MBG-CSIC / Universidade Católica Portuguesa / Universidad de Extremadura)
With this collaboration project, we aim to take advantage of a multidisciplinary equip with different methodological approximations and different scientific perspectives in order to improve our knowledge on the ecology of a extremely dangerous forest pathology, the pine wilt disease (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), that has been recently introduced in the Iberian Peninsula, generating very strong damage on pine stands and a dramatic phytosanitary alarm. Every advance in our knowledge on the biology of the aggressor and on the resistance of the host will be very helpful for optimizing transborder control and eradication programs of this problematic forest health problem.
Patróns de resistencia de pinus pinaster e p. radiata fronte a pragas. implicacións para xestión forestal nun clima cambiante. (Xunta de Galicia 2012-14, IP: Fina Lombardero, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela)
La prevención constituye el mejor sistema de control de plagas y el más respetuoso con el medio ambiente. La aplicación de una selvicultura preventiva puede reducir enormemente el impacto de una plaga, bien reduciendo las probabilidades de ataque del insecto o reduciendo la vulnerabilidad de la masa. Pero para poder prevenir, los gestores y propietarios forestales deben conocer cuales son los riesgos de sus masas. Numerosos trabajos abordan el estudio da plagas desde el punto de vista del insecto, pero muy pocos lo hacen desde la perspectiva del árbol. En este estudio proponemos caracterizar los patrones de resistencia de las dos especies de pino más empleadas en repoblaciones en Galicia, la especie nativa Pinus pinaster y la introducida P. radiata, lo que nos permitirá conocer la vulnerabilidad de cada árbol hacia los distintos insectos en función de la calidad de estación donde se encuentre. Entendiendo por resistencia todas aquellas situacións en las que el ataque de un insecto o su establecimiento en la planta se ve desfavorecido por ciertas características bien del árbol individual (calidad nutritiva, palatabilidad, respuesta defensiva) o del conjunto de la masa (diversidad de enemigos naturales o competidores, que puede verse afectada por la especie
arbórea predominante). Dicha información facilitaría la toma de decisiones oportunas en cuanto a los tratamientos selvícolas preventivos destinados a aminorar el impacto de las plagas, optimizando las actuacións selvícolas en función de los riesgos reales. La reducción del impacto de las plagas mediante la toma de decisiones apropiadas redundará en una mayor sostenibilidad de la gestión forestal, maximizando los beneficios económicos, ambientales y sociales y
minimizando los riesgos biológicos derivados de una inapropiada gestión de la actividad forestal. Pero los resultados del estudio permitirían además hacer previsiones de futuro dentro del contexto del cambio climático, que parece conducir a una disminución de la precipitación y por tanto una limitación al acceso a los recursos por parte del árbol. Si determinamos qué especie va a ser más vulnerable/resistente en una situación de estres hídrico como la prevista en os modelos predictivos sobre las consecuencias del cambio climático, los propietarios y gestores poderían empezar a plantar para el futuro, con masas más tolerantes a las nuevas condiciones.
Maternal effects in Pinus pinaster: effects of the nutritional and sanitary status of the mother trees in the growth and resistance of its offspring. Implications for early selection within breeding programs. INIA - RTA07-100-C02-00. 2008-2010. PIs: L Sampedro / R Zas
Many investigations in ecology and/or genetics of forest tree species are based on juvenile experiments at very early stages. Although the effort undertaken in controlling the different sources of variation of the characters studied is high, the influence of the maternal effects (maternal environmental effects on the progeny phenotype) is commonly underestimated. Recent research and our first results obtained within the ongoing project "Phosphorus use efficiency on rapid growth conifers as an alternative to fertilizers. Genetic variability, breeding and plant health repercussions", suggest that maternal effects can be higher than expected, making erroneous the conclusions obtained from experiments. In order to optimize the genetic results obtained at early stages, identification and quantification of maternal effects influencing juvenile characters would be desirable, and appropriate analysis methods that account for these effects should be developedThe aim of this project is to quantify, in Pinus pinaster, the influence of the mother biotic and abiotic environments on its progeny phenotype, and to study how this influence modifies the variability recorded at early stages. The possibility of modulating the progeny phenotype by changing the mother environment would be under study.Specific objectives of the project are the following:1.In several juvenile characters of P. pinaster, determine the genetic control of the maternal effects linked to seed weigh. 2.Identify and quantify the influence of the vigour of the mother trees on the early growth of its progenies.3.Identify and quantify the influence of the nutritional state of the mother trees on the nutritional efficiency of its progenies.4.Determine the genetic variation of the ability of P. pinaster to respond to pathogens through the activation of induced defences.5.Determine the phenotypic plasticity of the induced defence mechanisms in relation to nutrient availability. 6.Study the presence of transgenerational induced defences in P. pinaster.
Innovation Grant "Genetic resources for sustainable supply of high quality coniferous wood" / "Recursos genéticos para el abastecimiento sostenible de madera de calidad de coníferas" por el Grupo Operativo GENMAC. Grant number GENMAC/20180020012479. July 2018 - july 20121. Grupos operativos de la AEI-Agri. Programa Nacional de Desarrollo Rural 2014-2020. Financia: Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca. Coordinador: Luis Ocaña (TRAGSA). IP MBG-CSIC: R. Zas. Participan: Empresa de Transformación Agraria, S.A., Viveros Fuenteamarga, Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Selvicultores de España, Cluster da Madeira e o Deseño de Galicia, Neiker-Instituto Vasco de Investigación Agraria, Misión Biológica de Galicia-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Agencia Gallega de la Calidad Alimentaria- Centro de Investigación Forestal de Lourizán. More info here / Más información aquí
"Understanding the evolution of integrated phenotypes for the resilience of Mediterranean pines in a changing environment: phenotypic integration of chemical and physical defences, climatic responses and adaptive syndromes" (RESILPINE). Grant number RTI2018-094691-B-C33. Duration: 2019-2022. PIs: Luis Sampedro and Rafael Zas.
Coordinated Grant with CIFOR-INIA and University of Lleida.
“Adaptive framework for future management of genetic resources in Mediterranean pines” (FUTURPIN 2016-2018)
code: MINECO AGL2015- 68274-C3-2-R
P1. Phenotypic integration and human made selection (CIFOR-INIA, Madrid)
P2. Reproductive dynamics and defensive strategies (Misión Biológica de Galicia – CSIC, Pontevedra)
P3. Ecophysiology and response to climate (Univ Lleida, Lleida)
Summary: Mediterranean pines are large-sized, long living, iteroparous species. During their long live, they have to endure changing biotic and abiotic environments that favor plastic strategies in relative investment of resources in growth, maintenance and reproduction. The rhythm of change determined by global change imposes serious doubts regarding the viability of individual plasticity as a strategy of adaptation to environmental change. Migration and genetic adaptation are the alternative responses to cope with the new environmental pressures. Nevertheless, life history theory predicts compromises between the different vital functions that might impose limitation in a context of new and multiple biotical and abiotical stresses. In addition, in Mediterranean climates and long living species, selective forces may change significantly from year to year and from one recruitment event to the next. In this context and giving the existing lack of knowledge on the genetic architecture and on the effects of environment over integrated phenotypes of live history traits in Mediterranean pines, arises this project, whose ultimate aim is to improve our understanding of the capacity of our pinewoods to adapt to global change and to design strategies of management of forest genetic recourses that will ensure the persistence of pine forests and the maintenance of intraspecific genetic diversity. This project has a precedent, coordinated by the same teams. The present proposal broadens the range of species studied and proposes new experimental approaches to study the co(variation) and plasticity of life history traits, extends the concept of integrated phenotype to new functional characters, associated with ecosystem services and further deepens in the direct repercussions of the possible adaptive syndromes on the recruitment and responses to selection that will influence the next generation. We include species with different ecological niches and contrasted life histories, aiming to progress in the understanding of the different strategies. To this end, understanding how the time dynamics in the reproductive allocation and seed dispersal (masting and serotiny, espectively)as life history traits, affect the adaptability of populations and how they relate to the tolerance and resistance to biotical and abiotical stresses , are key aspects to this project. An important part of this project will be centered in the genetic changes among generations, which might imply fitness differences of the adaptive syndromes. Giving the complexity of the evaluated characters, we will use innovative technologies applied to forest genetics: georadar to study the architecture of roots, LIDAR techniques as an alternative to in situ measurements of growth and aerial architecture. Finally, special emphasis will be placed on dissemination of the results concerning the forest genetic resources management, especially the selection of base material, transfer of forest reproductive material and silvicultural treatments.
FENOPIN - Phenotypic integration, plasticity and evolutionary trade-offs among life history traits in Iberian pines: implications for managing genetic forest resources under new environmental scenarios. MICIN 2012-2015. AGL2012-40151. (Misión Biológica de Galicia PI:R Zas; CIFOR-INIA; Universidad de Lleida)
Pine trees are massive organisms, with long lifespan and delayed reproduction. As any other organism they should optimize the relative investment of resources to their life functions (growth, reproduction and maintenance). As resources are limited and their sources shared, any investment in a particular function involves a reduction of resources available for the remaining functions. Resource allocation between life functions can be subjected to tradeoffs preventing the simultaneous maximization of both functions. Environmental limitation, in particular reduced water availability common in Mediterranean region, can increase the strength of those tradeoffs. Pine forests in the Mediterranean basin are subjected to serious risks derived from climate warming, changes in soil use and other human-derived impacts, and current models predict that rising temperatures and decreasing water availability will be particularly intense in the region. Those factors will increase the risk from other disturbances such as wildfires and epidemic outbreaks of pest and pathogens. Mediterranean pine populations are expected to harbor a valuable adaptive genetic diversity for facing all those increased challenges, already shaping the populations since long time ago. Persistence of pine forests will rely on their plasticity, gene flux among populations (pollen and seeds) and on the existence of enough genetic variation allowing to local adaptation. However, very little is still known about phenotypic plasticity and the relevance of putative adaptive traits for future fitness in Mediterranean pine trees. The overall aim of this proposal is to evaluate the intraspecific genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity in three Mediterranean pine trees species (P. pinaster, P. sylvestris and P. halepensis) simultaneously in a large set of phenotypic traits related to growth, reproduction, resistance to herbivory and drought tolerance, and to explore the existence of tradeoffs among those traits. We also study the role of long distance gene flux for maintaining the observed genetic variation. We will get insight on the drivers conditioning the past evolution of Iberian pines which will be relevant for predicting their adaptive value in new scenarios. The specific objectives are: (1) To determine at what extent evolutionary tradeoffs among life history traits have conditioned the differentiation between this pine populations. (2) To understand the cause of the physiological constrains involved in possible trade-offs, and the relevance of reduced water availability as a driver of the emergence of those tradeoffs. (3) To identify by means of artificial selection experiments whether the tradeoffs among life history traits can constrain the adaptive response of pine populations to future selection events drove by global change-derived pressures.
COMPROPIN. Tradeoffs between growth and constitutive and induced resistance in the genus Pinus: Within and across species variation and implications for breeding programs. MCIN 2011-12. PI: R Zas
Pines are a remarkably successful and economically relevant group of plants. They live in a wide range of habitats and, because of their long life span and their large size, they are subject to numerous attacks from a wide range of organisms, especially of insects. The selective pressure imposed by these natural enemies have led to the evolution of effective resistance mechanisms that includes both constitutive resistance traits which are permanently expressed irrespective of the incidence of herbivores, and induced resistance traits that are activated as a response to the attacks. The overlap in space and time of both strategies is assumed to be crucial for an efficient defence strategy. In pine trees, resin and phenolic compounds are the major carbon based chemical defences. Ecological theories predict that, because of the restrictions in the allocation of limited resources and the functional redundancy between the different strategies, both constitutive and induced resistance traits can not be maximized at the time, and evolutionary tradeoffs between them and between resistance and growth have been postulated. The existence of these evolutionary conflicts has been many times suggested in the literature and some times reported for angiosperms, mainly herbaceous, but not in conifers. However, because of their high and prolonged exposure to herbivores, these tradeoffs should be expected to be stronger in this group of plants. Recently, our research group has showed the existence of these tradeoffs within an Atlantic population of Pinus pinaster, evidenced by negative genetic correlations between growth and resistance, and between constitutive and induced defensive traits. The aim of this project is to determine at what extent these tradeoffs are generalizable within the Pinus genus. Furthermore, we aim to determine whether the expression of these conflicts are restricted to the juvenile phase, in which resistance and growth are both crucial for future fitness, or whether they appear also at older ages. To achieve these objectives we propose different experiments focused on estimating the genetic correlation between growth and resistance and between constitutive and resistance traits i) within a population of another pine species, Pinus radiata, ii) across populations of P. pinaster, and iii) at the interspecific level within the genus Pinus. The retrospective analysis of resistance traits usingdendrochronology methodologies and the comparison of juvenile environmentally controlled experiments and old field genetic trials, will also allow us to explore the age to age correlation in resistance traits and to determine at what extent the expression of these tradeoffs are ontogenetically regulated. Results will provide new high-impact knowledge on the genetic variation of defensive strategies within the genus, and on the evolutionary relevance of herbivory in this group. Results will be also very useful for optimizing breeding strategies within tree breeding programs, usually unilaterally focused on improving productivity. This last practical application of the results of this project is especially relevant within the context of the current global change, in which forest pests are predicted to become more frequent and virulent.
NEMARES - Exploring new aspects of pine resistance to the Pine Nematode Wilt Disease (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus): intraespecific genetic variation and role of induced defences. (MICIN Acción Integrada MBG-CSIC / Universidade Católica Portuguesa / Universidad de Extremadura)
With this collaboration project, we aim to take advantage of a multidisciplinary equip with different methodological approximations and different scientific perspectives in order to improve our knowledge on the ecology of a extremely dangerous forest pathology, the pine wilt disease (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), that has been recently introduced in the Iberian Peninsula, generating very strong damage on pine stands and a dramatic phytosanitary alarm. Every advance in our knowledge on the biology of the aggressor and on the resistance of the host will be very helpful for optimizing transborder control and eradication programs of this problematic forest health problem.
Patróns de resistencia de pinus pinaster e p. radiata fronte a pragas. implicacións para xestión forestal nun clima cambiante. (Xunta de Galicia 2012-14, IP: Fina Lombardero, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela)
La prevención constituye el mejor sistema de control de plagas y el más respetuoso con el medio ambiente. La aplicación de una selvicultura preventiva puede reducir enormemente el impacto de una plaga, bien reduciendo las probabilidades de ataque del insecto o reduciendo la vulnerabilidad de la masa. Pero para poder prevenir, los gestores y propietarios forestales deben conocer cuales son los riesgos de sus masas. Numerosos trabajos abordan el estudio da plagas desde el punto de vista del insecto, pero muy pocos lo hacen desde la perspectiva del árbol. En este estudio proponemos caracterizar los patrones de resistencia de las dos especies de pino más empleadas en repoblaciones en Galicia, la especie nativa Pinus pinaster y la introducida P. radiata, lo que nos permitirá conocer la vulnerabilidad de cada árbol hacia los distintos insectos en función de la calidad de estación donde se encuentre. Entendiendo por resistencia todas aquellas situacións en las que el ataque de un insecto o su establecimiento en la planta se ve desfavorecido por ciertas características bien del árbol individual (calidad nutritiva, palatabilidad, respuesta defensiva) o del conjunto de la masa (diversidad de enemigos naturales o competidores, que puede verse afectada por la especie
arbórea predominante). Dicha información facilitaría la toma de decisiones oportunas en cuanto a los tratamientos selvícolas preventivos destinados a aminorar el impacto de las plagas, optimizando las actuacións selvícolas en función de los riesgos reales. La reducción del impacto de las plagas mediante la toma de decisiones apropiadas redundará en una mayor sostenibilidad de la gestión forestal, maximizando los beneficios económicos, ambientales y sociales y
minimizando los riesgos biológicos derivados de una inapropiada gestión de la actividad forestal. Pero los resultados del estudio permitirían además hacer previsiones de futuro dentro del contexto del cambio climático, que parece conducir a una disminución de la precipitación y por tanto una limitación al acceso a los recursos por parte del árbol. Si determinamos qué especie va a ser más vulnerable/resistente en una situación de estres hídrico como la prevista en os modelos predictivos sobre las consecuencias del cambio climático, los propietarios y gestores poderían empezar a plantar para el futuro, con masas más tolerantes a las nuevas condiciones.
Maternal effects in Pinus pinaster: effects of the nutritional and sanitary status of the mother trees in the growth and resistance of its offspring. Implications for early selection within breeding programs. INIA - RTA07-100-C02-00. 2008-2010. PIs: L Sampedro / R Zas
Many investigations in ecology and/or genetics of forest tree species are based on juvenile experiments at very early stages. Although the effort undertaken in controlling the different sources of variation of the characters studied is high, the influence of the maternal effects (maternal environmental effects on the progeny phenotype) is commonly underestimated. Recent research and our first results obtained within the ongoing project "Phosphorus use efficiency on rapid growth conifers as an alternative to fertilizers. Genetic variability, breeding and plant health repercussions", suggest that maternal effects can be higher than expected, making erroneous the conclusions obtained from experiments. In order to optimize the genetic results obtained at early stages, identification and quantification of maternal effects influencing juvenile characters would be desirable, and appropriate analysis methods that account for these effects should be developedThe aim of this project is to quantify, in Pinus pinaster, the influence of the mother biotic and abiotic environments on its progeny phenotype, and to study how this influence modifies the variability recorded at early stages. The possibility of modulating the progeny phenotype by changing the mother environment would be under study.Specific objectives of the project are the following:1.In several juvenile characters of P. pinaster, determine the genetic control of the maternal effects linked to seed weigh. 2.Identify and quantify the influence of the vigour of the mother trees on the early growth of its progenies.3.Identify and quantify the influence of the nutritional state of the mother trees on the nutritional efficiency of its progenies.4.Determine the genetic variation of the ability of P. pinaster to respond to pathogens through the activation of induced defences.5.Determine the phenotypic plasticity of the induced defence mechanisms in relation to nutrient availability. 6.Study the presence of transgenerational induced defences in P. pinaster.
