Credit: Mr. Turgay EZEN
Credit: Mr. Turgay EZEN
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. 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Turkish fir’s pollen is wind dispersed. However, the species’ limited distribution and fragmented habitat, and historical climatic events may constrain gene flow, potentially leading to isolated populations with distinct genetic profiles. Native fir species in Türkiye have been shown to have less genetic diversity than other conifer species, but the level is still comparable to that of other fir populations (Kaya, Skaggs and Neale, 2008). Turkish fir may have high allelic richness but low interpopulation differentiation because of the rough terrain in northern Türkiye and limited pollen dispersal (Hrivnák et al., 2017). The species was also observed to have significant isolation by distance and clustering associated with mountain range barriers, but this could be because of small sample sizes of the species in studies (Hrivnák et al., 2017).
Turkish fir may possess some genetic resistance to diseases common in other fir species, which makes it potentially commercially valuable (Kurt et al., 2016). Seeds have already been obtained and seedlings propagated to analyse germplasm of the species for Christmas tree production in, for example, Denmark (Kurt et al., 2016).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
The taxonomic status of Turkish fir is controversial. It was once categorized as a separate species or thought to be a hybrid species, but is now seen as a subspecies of Caucasian or Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana) (Kurt et al., 2016; Hrivnák et al., 2017). The name, Turkish fir, is sometimes used as a common name for Caucasian fir as well as for Abies bornmuelleriana (Kurt et al., 2016; Hrivnák et al., 2017). However, EUFORGEN recognizes Turkish fir (Abies bornmuelleriana) as a separate species for the purposes of conservation and forestry practices (Hrivnák et al., 2017).
Turkish fir may be part of the parental lineage of other species of fir. For example, Trojan fir may be a hybrid of silver fir (Abies alba) and Turkish fir, and Abies olcayana may be a hybrid of Trojan fir and Turkish fir (Kurt et al., 2016; Hrivnák et al., 2017). Genetic studies indicate Trojan fir and Turkish fir are genetically very similar, which is to be expected given that populations of the two species are often found close together (Kaya, Skaggs and Neale, 2008). Turkish fir (and Trojan fir) may have evolved from an ancestral species of Caucasian fir, which had a continuous distribution across Türkiye in the past, but populations have since become fragmented, possibly because of human activities (Kaya, Skaggs and Neale, 2008). Although Turkish fir is not clearly differentiated from other fir species in Türkiye, it is clearly differentiated from other subspecies of Caucasian fir (Hrivnák et al., 2017). Turkish fir is clearly distinct from Trojan fir, with variations in needle and cone characteristics, and germination, but the differentiation between the two species is still too low to class them as separate species (Hrivnák et al., 2017).
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.
Abies spp - Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use for Mediterranean firs
Publication Year: 2011Due to the threats, endemism and geographically scattered distribution, the conservation of Mediterranean firs and their genetic resources is a major challenge.
The genetic resources of the firs are currently conserved in various protected areas that have rarely been established for this purpose. Due to their evolutionary history and specific adaptation, the fir forests harbour unique genetic resources that are important beyond the Mediterranean. Thus, the establishment of conservation units for the firs that meet pan-European minimum requirements for dynamic gene conservation is of crucial importance.
At present, several of the species and their genetic resources are protected either in situ (national parks, nature reserves and gene conservation units) or ex situ (conservation seed orchards and stands). The critically endangered A. nebrodensis is conserved in situ in the Madonie Regional Park in Sicily, but the reinforcement of the species has been problematic mainly due to soil degradation in its natural habitat. A. nebrodensis is also conserved ex situ in a seed orchard (with grafts of the 29 remaining individuals of the species) in Arezzo, in botanical gardens (40 000 plants in the Botanical Garden of Palermo), arboreta and in private properties in the Madonie Mountains close to the natural habitat. A. borisiiregis and A. cephalonica are protected in situ in various protected areas in Greece. Genetic material, representing almost the whole natural distribution of the fir species, is included in provenance trials established in Greece and France. A. cilicica is protected in national parks, nature reserves and seed stands in ten areas in Turkey and in Lebanon while in Syria it is considered as an endangered species. A. equi-trojani is conserved in situ in the Kazdagi Goknari nature reserve in Turkey. A. nordmanniana is also covered by protected areas in Turkey and several provenances are growing ex situ in test sites, plantations and arboreta in Denmark and France. The A. pinsapo forests are included in three protected areas in Spain. A. numidica is protected in the Djebel Barbor nature reserve located in the Petite Kabylia Mountain range of Algeria and the same provenance is reportedly also conserved in ex situ stands. At present A. marocana is conserved in a nature reserve in Morocco and seven ex situ stands have also been established for the species.
Climate change will have an impact on the current in situ conservation efforts but it is difficult to predict its effect on seed production, natural regeneration and recruitment of the firs as well as on the risks from insects and pathogens. The dynamic gene conservation units should be monitored in order to ensure that the populations are not seriously affected and that they retain their evolutionary potential and regenerate naturally. Management of the units should aim mainly at assisting natural regeneration and when this is not possible, the area should be artificially regenerated with local genetic material. Management of natural forests should also safeguard genetic resources by allowing natural selection to occur on regeneration in a variety of situations. Ex situ conservation efforts should focus on small populations that have an endangered status, insufficient seed production or unsuccessful pollination in their natural environment. This approach is useful especially in case of rare species or species with limited or scattered distribution as ex situ stands with a sufficient number of genotypes form new interbreeding populations that will produce seeds with a potentially high genetic diversity.
Mediterranean firs offers an opportunity to tackle the predicted forest decline in southern Europe as a result of climate change. A. nordmanniana has already been used for reforestation in Europe. Other Mediterranean firs (particularly A. cephalonica, A. bornmuelleriana and A. cilicica) are far less water demanding and could represent an alternative for silver fir (A. alba) in Europe. Fir provenance tests in the Mediterranean include material that has demonstrated good growth, adaptation to drought and late bud burst in spring. Such provenances of Mediterranean firs could be of interest for the European forestry.
Due to the threats, endemism and geographically scattered distribution, the conservation of Mediterranean firs and their genetic resources is a major challenge.
The genetic resources of the firs are currently conserved in various protected areas that have rarely been established for this purpose. Due to their evolutionary history and specific adaptation, the fir forests harbour...
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Further reading
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References
Hrivnák, M., Paule, L., Krajmerová, D., Kulaç, Ş., Şevik, H., Turna, İ., Tvauri, I. and Gömöry, D. 2017. Genetic variation in tertiary relics: The case of eastern-Mediterranean Abies (Pinaceae). Ecology and Evolution, 7: 10018–10030.
Kaya, Z., Skaggs, A. and Neale, D.B. 2008. Genetic differentiation of Abies equi-trojani (Asch. & Sint. ex Boiss) Mattf. populations from Kazdağı, Turkey and the genetic relationship between Turkish firs belonging to the Abies nordmanniana Spach Complex. Turkish Journal of Botany, 32(1): article 1. https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/vol32/iss1/1
Kurt, Y., Frampton, J., Isik, F., Landgren, C. and Chastagner, G. 2016. Variation in needle and cone characteristics and seed germination ability of Abies bornmuelleriana and Abies equi-trojani populations from Turkey. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 40: 169–176.
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