To learn more about the map elements, please download the "Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees"
This distribution map has been developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (partly based on the EUFORGEN map) and released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)
Caudullo, G., Welk, E., San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., 2017. Chorological maps for the main European woody species. Data in Brief 12, 662-666. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2017.05.007
The following experts have contributed to the development of the EUFORGEN distribution maps:
Fazia Krouchi (Algeria), Hasmik Ghalachyan (Armenia), Thomas Geburek (Austria), Berthold Heinze (Austria), Rudi Litschauer (Austria), Rudolf Litschauer (Austria), Michael Mengl (Austria), Ferdinand Müller (Austria), Franz Starlinger (Austria), Valida Ali-zade (Azerbaijan), Vahid Djalal Hajiyev (Azerbaijan), Karen Cox (Belgium), Bart De Cuyper (Belgium), Olivier Desteucq (Belgium), Patrick Mertens (Belgium), Jos Van Slycken (Belgium), An Vanden Broeck (Belgium), Kristine Vander Mijnsbrugge (Belgium), Dalibor Ballian (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Alexander H. Alexandrov (Bulgaria), Alexander Delkov (Bulgaria), Ivanova Denitsa Pandeva (Bulgaria), Peter Zhelev Stoyanov (Bulgaria), Joso Gracan (Croatia), Marilena Idzojtic (Croatia), Mladen Ivankovic (Croatia), Željka Ivanović (Croatia), Davorin Kajba (Croatia), Hrvoje Marjanovic (Croatia), Sanja Peric (Croatia), Andreas Christou (Cyprus), Xenophon Hadjikyriacou (Cyprus), Václav Buriánek (Czech Republic), Jan Chládek (Czech Republic), Josef Frýdl (Czech Republic), Petr Novotný (Czech Republic), Martin Slovacek (Czech Republic), Zdenek Špišek (Czech Republic), Karel Vancura (Czech Republic), Ulrik Bräuner (Denmark), Bjerne Ditlevsen (Denmark), Jon Kehlet Hansen (Denmark), Jan Svejgaard Jensen (Denmark), Kalev Jðgiste (Estonia), Tiit Maaten (Estonia), Raul Pihu (Estonia), Ülo Tamm (Estonia), Arvo Tullus (Estonia), Aivo Vares (Estonia), Teijo Nikkanen (Finland), Sanna Paanukoski (Finland), Mari Rusanen (Finland), Pekka Vakkari (Finland), Leena Yrjänä (Finland), Daniel Cambon (France), Eric Collin (France), Alexis Ducousso (France), Bruno Fady (France), François Lefèvre (France), Brigitte Musch (France), Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio (France), Luc E. Pâques (France), Julien Saudubray (France), Marc Villar (France), Vlatko Andonovski (FYR Macedonia), Dragi Pop-Stojanov (FYR Macedonia), Merab Machavariani (Georgia), Irina Tvauri (Georgia), Alexander Urushadze (Georgia), Bernd Degen (Germany), Jochen Kleinschmit (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Volker Schneck (Germany), Richard Stephan (Germany), H. H. Kausch-Blecken Von Schmeling (Germany), Georg von Wühlisch (Germany), Iris Wagner (Germany), Heino Wolf (Germany), Paraskevi Alizoti (Greece), Filippos Aravanopoulos (Greece), Andreas Drouzas (Greece), Despina Paitaridou (Greece), Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou (Greece), Kostas Thanos (Greece), Sándor Bordács (Hungary), Csaba Mátyás (Hungary), László Nagy (Hungary), Thröstur Eysteinsson (Iceland), Adalsteinn Sigurgeirsson (Iceland), Halldór Sverrisson (Iceland), John Fennessy (Ireland), Ellen O'Connor (Ireland), Fulvio Ducci (Italy), Silvia Fineschi (Italy), Bartolomeo Schirone (Italy), Marco Cosimo Simeone (Italy), Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin (Italy), Lorenzo Vietto (Italy), Janis Birgelis (Latvia), Virgilijus Baliuckas (Lithuania), Kestutis Cesnavicius (Lithuania), Darius Danusevicius (Lithuania), Valmantas Kundrotas (Lithuania), Alfas Pliûra (Lithuania), Darius Raudonius (Lithuania), Robert du Fays (Luxembourg), Myriam Heuertz (Luxembourg), Claude Parini (Luxembourg), Fred Trossen (Luxembourg), Frank Wolter (Luxembourg), Joseph Buhagiar (Malta), Eman Calleja (Malta), Ion Palancean (Moldova), Dragos Postolache (Moldova), Gheorghe Postolache (Moldova), Hassan Sbay (Morocco), Tor Myking (Norway), Tore Skrøppa (Norway), Anna Gugala (Poland), Jan Kowalczyk (Poland), Czeslaw Koziol (Poland), Jan Matras (Poland), Zbigniew Sobierajski (Poland), Maria Helena Almeida (Portugal), Filipe Costa e Silva (Portugal), Luís Reis (Portugal), Maria Carolina Varela (Portugal), Ioan Blada (Romania), Alexandru-Lucian Curtu (Romania), Lucian Dinca (Romania), Georgeta Mihai (Romania), Mihai Olaru (Romania), Gheorghe Parnuta (Romania), Natalia Demidova (Russian Federation), Mikhail V. Pridnya (Russian Federation), Andrey Prokazin (Russian Federation), Srdjan Bojovic (Serbia) , Vasilije Isajev (Serbia), Saša Orlovic (Serbia), Rudolf Bruchánik (Slovakia), Roman Longauer (Slovakia), Ladislav Paule (Slovakia), Gregor Bozič (Slovenia), Robert Brus (Slovenia), Katarina Celič (Slovenia), Hojka Kraigher (Slovenia), Andrej Verlič (Slovenia), Marjana Westergren (Slovenia), Ricardo Alía (Spain), Josefa Fernández-López (Spain), Luis Gil Sanchez (Spain), Pablo Gonzalez Goicoechea (Spain), Santiago C. González-Martínez (Spain), Sonia Martin Albertos (Spain), Eduardo Notivol Paino (Spain), María Arantxa Prada (Spain), Alvaro Soto de Viana (Spain), Lennart Ackzell (Sweden), Jonas Bergquist (Sweden), Sanna Black-Samuelsson (Sweden), Jonas Cedergren (Sweden), Gösta Eriksson (Sweden), Markus Bolliger (Switzerland), Felix Gugerli (Switzerland), Rolf Holderegger (Switzerland), Peter Rotach (Switzerland), Marcus Ulber (Switzerland), Sven M.G. de Vries (The Netherlands), Khouja Mohamed Larbi (Tunisia), Murat Alan (Turkey), Gaye Kandemir (Turkey), Gursel Karagöz (Turkey), Zeki Kaya (Turkey), Hasan Özer (Turkey), Hacer Semerci (Turkey), Ferit Toplu (Turkey), Mykola M. Vedmid (Ukraine), Roman T. Volosyanchuk (Ukraine), Stuart A'Hara (United Kingdom), Joan Cottrell (United Kingdom), Colin Edwards (United Kingdom), Michael Frankis (United Kingdom), Jason Hubert (United Kingdom), Karen Russell (United Kingdom), C.J.A. Samuel (United Kingdom).
Status of Picea sitchensis conservation in Europe
Like other conifers with wide geographic and ecological niches and efficient gene flow, Sitka spruce exhibits higher within-population genetic diversity than between-population genetic diversity due to high gene flow by seed dispersal and wind pollination to nearby stands and even isolated populations (Gapare, Aitken, and Ritland, 2005; Elleouet and Aitken, 2019). This also means that populations have low frequencies of rare alleles and genetic differentiation (Elleouet and Aitken, 2019). The genetic variability of the species has been shaped by climatic gradients, isolation by distance, and limited gene flow among similar environments due to its thin, longitudinal, and linear distribution along the coastal areas of North America’s Pacific Northwest (Mimura and Aitken, 2007).
In Europe, where Sitka spruce has been introduced for timber production or afforestation, gene flow is heavily affected by human-mediated activities. European Sitka spruce populations show signs of low genetic diversity when compared with populations in their native range, due to the species' introduction from a limited number of source populations and heavy fragmentation from geographical barriers and isolated planting of stands. In Scotland, most of the provenance originates from Queen Charlotte Island, Cananda, as this provenance was more suited to cool coastal environments (Cameron, 2015). As a result, the populations in Scotland may be at risk from climate change (especially drought), disease, and pests due to limited genetic variability. Therefore, in the future Sitka spruce may have to be replaced by more tolerant species or at least planted in mixed stands (Cameron, 2015).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Sitka spruce populations in different areas show distinct patterns of genetic diversity, reflecting historical colonization events and population dynamics. During the last glacial period, the range of Sitka spruce contracted multiple times to multiple glacial refugia along the coast. Wind pollination of the species and subsequent postglacial warming facilitated its expansion from these regions (Gapare, Aitken, and Ritland, 2005). Despite quick Quaternary migration. the species still has strong population genetic structure and adaptive divergence in North America, likely because of high pollen flow allowing neighbouring populations to continue gene flow to populations on the edge the species’ range (Mimura and Aitken, 2007).
Populations located in peripheral areas have lower genetic diversity than core populations due to founder effects and limited gene flow (Gapare, Aitken, and Ritland, 2005). Lower genetic variety has been observed in North American peripheral populations of Sitka spruce. However, peripheral populations will be more likely to contain rare alleles, genotypes, and phenotypes (Gapare, Aitken, and Ritland, 2005). Peripheral populations of Sitka spruce over large distributions typically display local adaptions depending on the ecological niche they inhabit (Byrne et al., 2022). However high gene flow from close populations means that populations at the edge of the species’ range have genetic diversity from multiple sources, limiting genetic differentiation and resulting in higher genetic diversity than would be expected (Elleouet and Aitken, 2019).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
No available information.
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Genetic Characterisation of Picea sitchensis and its GCUs
Availability of FRM
FOREMATIS
Contacts of experts
NA
Further reading
Chaisurisri, K. and El-Kassaby, Y.A. 1994. Genetic diversity in a seed production population vs. natural populations of Sitka spruce. Biodiversity and Conservation, 3: 512–523.
Gapare, W.J. 2003. Genetic diversity and spatial population structure of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.): implications for gene conservation of widespread species. Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia.
References
Byrne, T., Farrelly, N., Kelleher, C., Hodkinson, T.R., Byrne, S.L., and Barth, S. 2022. Genetic diversity and structure of a diverse population of Picea sitchensis using genotyping-by-sequencing. Forests, 13(9): 1511. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091511
Cameron, A.D. 2015. Building resilience into Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) forests in Scotland in response to the threat of climate change. Forests, 6(2): 398–415.
Elleouet, J.S. and Aitken, S.N. 2019. Long‐distance pollen dispersal during recent colonization favors a rapid but partial recovery of genetic diversity in Picea sitchensis. New Phytologist, 222(2): 1088–1100.
Gapare, W.J., Aitken, S.N., and Ritland, C.E. 2005. Genetic diversity of core and peripheral Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr) populations: implications for conservation of widespread species. Biological Conservation, 123(1): 113–123.
Mimura, M. and Aitken, S.N. 2007. Adaptive gradients and isolation-by-distance with postglacial migration in Picea sitchensis. Heredity, 99(2): 224–232.
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