We present a database of Norway spruce phenotypic traits measured over a period of 51 years in provenance trials planted across western Germany. These trials are part of the \'Inventory Provenance Test 1964/68 with Norway spruce\' (IPTNS) that tested a total of 1,100 provenances collected across Europe, both from the species natural and artificial range. Phenotypic traits (first height, later diameter at breast height, survival) were recorded at 33 trial sites of 100 provenances, each a subsample from the entire collection area that represents an approximately comparable climate space. The dataset contains 424,781 records of the same 65,518 trees ranging from age 7 to 51. Overall, it captures the considerable genetic and phenotypic intraspecific variation present in Norway spruce and should be of interest to various fields including quantitative genetics, ecology, biogeography and the adaptive management of forests.

To study the interspecific differentiation characteristics of species originating from recent radiation, the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technique was used to explore the kinship, population structure, gene flow, genetic variability, genotype-environment association and selective sweeps of Picea asperata complex with similar phenotypes from a genome-wide perspective. The following results were obtained: 14 populations of P. asperata complex could be divided into 5 clades; P. wilsonii and P. neoveitchii diverged earlier and were more distantly related to the remaining 6 spruce species. Various geological events have promoted the species differentiation of P. asperata complex. There were four instances of gene flow among P. koraiensis, P. meyeri, P. asperata, P. crassifolia and P. mongolica. The population of P. mongolica had the highest level of nucleotide diversity, and P. neoveitchii may have experienced a bottleneck recently. Genotype-environment association found that a total of 20,808 genes were related to the environmental variables, which enhanced the adaptability of spruce in different environments. Genes that were selectively swept in the P. asperata complex were primarily associated with plant stress resistance. Among them were some genes involved in plant growth and development, heat stress, circadian rhythms and flowering. In addition to the commonly selected genes, different spruce species also displayed unique genes subjected to selective sweeps that improved their adaptability to different habitats. Understanding the interspecific gene flow and adaptive evolution of Picea species is beneficial to further understanding the species relationships of spruce and can provide a basis for studying spruce introgression and functional genomics.

Authorities have long proved the utility of bioindicators in monitoring the state of environmental pollution. Some biological indicators can measure environmental pollutant levels, and many tree species have been tested for suitability for monitoring purposes. The differences in morphological characteristics in the trees have demonstrated the effects of human activities on different materials. Measuring bark and wood biomass from contaminated sites was identified and directly compared with those from a clean site or areas characterized by distinct contamination sources. However, preliminary results demonstrate the approach\'s potential in the realization of strategies for disease control and promoting health to reduce environmental and health inequalities in at-risk urban areas. Picea orientalis L. and Cedrus atlantica Endl., especially their bark, can be regarded as a more robust storage of Cu (37.95 mg/kg) and Mn (188.25 mg/kg) than Pinus pinaster, Cupressus arizonica, and Pseudotsuga menziesii, which and is therefore a better bioindicator for Cu and Mn pollution. Considering the total concentrations as a result of the study, the pollution is thought to be caused by environmental problems and traffic in the region. The deposition of Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn elements was found P. menziesii (60, 443, 58, and 258 mg/kg) and P. orientalis (76, 1684, 41, and 378 mg/kg) and seems to reflect atmospheric quite clearly compared to P. pinaster, C. arizonica, and C. atlantica. Ni and Zn concentrations have significantly increased since 1983, and P. menziesii and P. orientalis can be potentially valuable bioindicators for emphasizing polluted fields.

The influence of tree age on the growth response of Picea likiangensis, a predominant timber species in southwestern China, to climatic factors has been under-researched. In this study, we examined the relationships between tree age and the response of P. likiangensis to climatic factors and extreme drought events using tree-ring samples procured from the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The results revealed differential responses of the radial growth of P. likiangensis trees of varying ages to climatic factors and extreme drought events. Specifically, deficient water availability during the early growing season emerged as the principal factor constraining radial growth across all age classes. Young and middle-aged trees (<100 years) demonstrated greater responsiveness to water availability than did mature trees (>100 years). Mature trees, in contrast, demonstrated markedly greater resistance to extreme drought events than young and middle-aged trees. Comparative studies of individual trees across different ages revealed negligible differences in the response of young and middle-aged trees to climatic factors and extreme drought events. Given these responses, future forest management practices should prioritize young and middle-aged trees that are more affected by drought to maximize the ecological value of the species. According to the specific research objectives, sample collection processes should classify mature trees and young and middle-aged trees, to minimize the influence of tree age on the final findings of the study.

In the acoustics of musical instruments with a resonator body, the aging of the wood leads to the improvement of the acoustic properties due to increasing the crystallinity of wood. This phenomenon could be explained by the fact that wood is a complex product based on three-dimensional polymer chains of carbohydrates, its aging being closely related to covalent cross-linking and scission of polymer chains. The aim of this study was to evaluate at a multiscale the changes produced artificial aging of tone wood by measuring the acoustic, mechanical and chemical parameters. The spruce and maple wood samples were investigated before and after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, through the tensile test, the time-of-flight method (TOF), the analysis of the wood color and the determination of the chemical fingerprint through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The obtained results showed that the effects of artificial aging are manifested at the chemical level where the crystallinity increases up to the acoustic level, depending on the wood species and their quality class. These results are relevant for musical instrument manufacturers to find treatments that lead to superior acoustic properties.

We conducted field surveys on foraging habitat and foraging activities of Picoides tridactylus in Liangshui National Nature Reserve of Heilongjiang Province, China, from April to May and November to December 2022. By using the resource selection function, we analyzed the factors affecting foraging habitat selection of P. tridactylus, compared the differences between foraging habitat selection and foraging activities in winter and spring by chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests, and investigated their foraging preference with Bailey\'s method. The results showed that dominant tree species and dead arbor number were the important factors affecting foraging habitat selection of P. tridactylus. They preferred habitats with a large number of dead arbor and dominant trees, such as Picea asperata and Abies fabri. They preferred trees with a height of 10-20 m and a diameter at breast height of 15-45 cm. In spring, they favored semi-withered arbors and showed random utilization of P. koraiensis. During winter, they preferred dead arbors and avoided choosing P. koraiensis. They preferred to forage on tree trunk, in spring pecking in the middle of the tree for a short duration, and during winter, digging in the upper part of the tree for a long duration. Foraging habitat selection and foraging activities of P. koraiensis showed certain differences between winter and spring.
2022年4—5月和11—12月在黑龙江省凉水国家级自然保护区开展野外调查,收集三趾啄木鸟的取食生境及取食活动特征数据。利用资源选择函数分析影响三趾啄木鸟取食生境选择的重要因子,通过卡方检验、Mann-Whitney U检验比较冬春季节取食生境选择和取食活动间的差异,采用基于“利用-可利用”的Bailey方法探讨其取食偏好。结果表明: 优势乔木树种和枯立木数量是影响三趾啄木鸟取食生境选择的重要因子,其偏好在优势乔木为云、冷杉且枯立木数量多的生境中取食;偏好取食的树木高度在10～20 m、胸径在15～45 cm,春季偏好半枯立木,对红松表现出随机利用,冬季偏好枯立木,避免选择红松。三趾啄木鸟偏好在树的主干取食,春季偏好采用轻啄的方式在树中部取食,取食时长较短,冬季偏好采用凿取的方式在树上部取食,取食时长较长。三趾啄木鸟的取食生境选择和取食活动特征在冬春季节呈现出一定的差异。.

Picea schrenkiana is the dominant tree species in Ili River Basin located in the western Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang. We investigated the growth decline characteristics of P. schrenkiana at different altitudes (1800, 2300 and 2800 m) based on tree-ring index (TRI) and percentage growth change (GC), aiming to understand the growth response of P. schrenkiana to drought events at different altitudes and the impacts of altitude on tree growth decline in this region. The results showed that P. schrenkiana experienced multiple decline events at low-altitude (1800 m). TRI and GC identified inconsistent occurrence time of the decline events. The variations of TRI indicated that P. schrenkiana at low-altitude experienced two large-scale declines during 1927-1933 and 2017-2014, respectively. The variations of GC identified four decline events, including 1891-1893, 1924-1926, 1973-1975, and 2004-2009. The radial growth of P. schrenkiana across altitudes from low to high was significantly affected by the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) of the previous growing season. The impact of current PDSI on P. schrenkiana during the growing season initially enhanced but later decreased with increasing altitude. In the extreme drought year 1917, the magnitude of growth decline increased with altitude. At low-altitude (1800 m), the TRI was 0.65, which was 35% lower than the normal level. At mid-altitude (2300 m) and high-altitude (2800 m), it was 0.56 and 0.54, respectively, being 40% lower than the average level. The drought event in 1917 had a 2-year legacy effect on the growth of P. schrenkiana at all the altitudes, with the TRI in 1920 recovered to exceeding 0.9, being close to the normal level. The impact of altitude on drought-induced forest decline was significant. Tree growth in low-altitude areas was more vulnerable to drought events due to the relatively poorer water and temperature conditions at low-altitude, which could lead to multiple large-scale decline events. In mid- and high-altitude areas, where hydrothermal conditions were more favorable, trees could experience even more severe decline during extreme droughts.
本文以新疆天山西部伊犁河流域优势树种雪岭云杉为对象,采用树轮指数(TRI)和生长变化百分率(GC)的方法研究不同海拔(1800、2300和2800 m)雪岭云杉的衰退特征,分析不同海拔雪岭云杉生长对干旱事件的响应差异,揭示该地区海拔对树木生长衰退的影响。结果表明: 低海拔(1800 m)雪岭云杉呈现多次衰退,但树轮指数法和生长变化百分率法判定的衰退时间存在差异。树轮指数表明,低海拔雪岭云杉在1927—1933、2007—2014年期间出现了2次的持续大规模衰退;生长变化百分率表明,低海拔雪岭云杉在1891—1893、1924—1926、1973—1975、2004—2009年期间出现了4次生长衰退。上一年生长季帕尔默干旱指数(PDSI)显著影响不同海拔雪岭云杉径向生长。随着海拔上升,当年生长季PDSI对雪岭云杉径向生长的作用呈现先显著增强再减弱的趋势。在极端干旱年份(1917年),雪岭云杉生长衰退程度随海拔增加呈现增强趋势,低海拔处(1800 m)树轮指数为0.65,比平均水平低35%,而中(2300 m)、高(2800 m)海拔则分别为0.56和0.54,显著低于平均水平40%。1917年的干旱事件对不同海拔雪岭云杉生长均存在2年的遗产效应,1920年树轮指数达到0.9以上,接近正常水平。海拔因素对干旱导致的森林衰退具有重要影响,分布在水热条件相对较差的低海拔处的树木生长更易受到干旱事件的抑制作用,进而引发了次数多、规模大的衰退事件。但在面对极端干旱时,水热条件较好的中、高海拔处的树木也会出现更大程度的衰退事件。.

BACKGROUND: Forest geneticists typically use provenances to account for population differences in their improvement schemes; however, the historical records of the imported materials might not be very precise or well-aligned with the genetic clusters derived from advanced molecular techniques. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of marker-based population structure on genetic parameter estimates related to growth and wood properties and their trade-offs in Norway spruce, by either incorporating it as a fixed effect (model-A) or excluding it entirely from the analysis (model-B).
RESULTS: Our results indicate that models incorporating population structure significantly reduce estimates of additive genetic variance, resulting in substantial reduction of narrow-sense heritability. However, these models considerably improve prediction accuracies. This was particularly significant for growth and solid-wood properties, which showed to have the highest population genetic differentiation (QST) among the studied traits. Additionally, although the pattern of correlations remained similar across the models, their magnitude was slightly lower for models that included population structure as a fixed effect. This suggests that selection, consistently performed within populations, might be less affected by unfavourable genetic correlations compared to mass selection conducted without pedigree restrictions.
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the results of models properly accounting for population structure are more accurate and less biased compared to those neglecting this effect. This might have practical implications for breeders and forest managers where, decisions based on imprecise selections can pose a high risk to economic efficiency.

Our study delved into the relationship between root-associated fungi, gene expression and plant morphology in Norway spruce cuttings derived from both slow-and fast-growing trees. We found no clear link between the gene expression patterns of adventitious roots and the growth phenotype, suggesting no fundamental differences in the receptiveness to fungal symbionts between the phenotypes. Interestingly, saplings from slow-growing parental trees exhibited a higher richness of ectomycorrhizal species and larger roots. Some ectomycorrhizal species, typically found on mature spruces, were more prevalent on saplings from slow-growing spruces. The ericoid mycorrhizal fungus, Hyaloscypha hepaticola, showed a stronger association with saplings from fast-growing spruces. Moreover, saplings from slow-growing spruces had a greater number of Ascomycete taxa and free-living saprotrophic fungi. Aboveground sapling stems displayed some phenotypic variation; saplings from fast-growing phenotypes had longer branches but fewer whorls in their stems compared to those from the slow-growing group. In conclusion, the observed root-associated fungi and phenotypic characteristics in young Norway spruces may play a role in their long-term growth rate. This suggests that the early interactions between spruces and fungi could potentially influence their growth trajectory.

Climate change (CC) necessitates reforestation/afforestation programs to mitigate its impacts and maximize carbon sequestration. But comprehending how tree growth, a proxy for fitness and resilience, responds to CC is critical to maximize these programs\' effectiveness. Variability in tree response to CC across populations can notably be influenced by the standing genetic variation encompassing both neutral and adaptive genetic diversity. Here, a framework is proposed to assess tree growth potential at the population scale while accounting for standing genetic variation. We applied this framework to black spruce (BS, Picea mariana [Mill] B.S.P.), with the objectives to (1) determine the key climate variables having impacted BS growth response from 1974 to 2019, (2) examine the relative roles of local adaptation and the phylogeographic structure in this response, and (3) project BS growth under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways while taking standing genetic variation into account. We modeled growth using a machine learning algorithm trained with dendroecological and genetic data obtained from over 2600 trees (62 populations divided in three genetic clusters) in four 48-year-old common gardens, and simulated growth until year 2100 at the common garden locations. Our study revealed that high summer and autumn temperatures negatively impacted BS growth. As a consequence of warming, this species is projected to experience a decline in growth by the end of the century, suggesting maladaptation to anticipated CC and a potential threat to its carbon sequestration capacity. This being said, we observed a clear difference in response to CC within and among genetic clusters, with the western cluster being more impacted than the central and eastern clusters. Our results show that intraspecific genetic variation, notably associated with the phylogeographic structure, must be considered when estimating the response of widespread species to CC.