Credit: José Luis Sánchez Mesa/Wikimedia
Credit: José Luis Sánchez Mesa/Wikimedia
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 Abies marocana conservation in Europe
Genetic diversity in fir species decreases from the east to the west of the Mediterranean, probably because there were fewer refugial areas in the west during the last glacial maximum (Ben-Said, 2022). Moroccan fir has relatively low genetic diversity and variety due to its limited distribution (Ben-Said, 2022). The species’ distribution is limited to the Tazaot and Talassemtane fir forest in the Atlas Mountains, and most genetic variability is found within populations (Méndez-Cea et al., 2023). Talassemtane and Tazaot populations are genetically distinct and differentiated from each other, and the Talassemtane population shows a greater level of within-population diversity than the Tazaot population (Méndez-Cea et al., 2023). The high level of differentiation between the Talassemtane and Tazaot populations, despite their proximity, suggests a biological constraint to gene flow between them (Ben-Said, 2022).
Mediterranean firs typically show strong differentiation as the result of restricted pollen dispersal and gene flow (Sánchez-Robles et al., 2014). This is observed with Moroccan fir, where the isolation of habitat patches has reduced the exchange of genetic material between populations.
Low differentiation within populations, low levels of genetic mixing between populations, genetic drift, and high diversity between populations of fir species in Morocco indicate that they may have been isolated for a long time (Ben-Said, 2022). The distribution of Moroccan fir declined by 70 per cent from 1938 to 1994 because of fires, overgrazing, and forest clearing (Dering et al., 2014). Isolation and fragmentation caused by human activity and climate change during the last glacial maximum, coupled with the small size of the populations, has created genetic bottlenecks in Moroccan fir, revealed through genetic analysis (Dering et al., 2014; Ben-Said, 2022).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Many North African fir species evolved from a single species originating in southern Spain or northern Morrocco (Sánchez-Robles et al., 2014). Many fir species in Europe are closely related as hybridization is common. As a result, classification of fir species in the Mediterranean is difficult (Dering et al., 2014; Ben-Said, 2022). The definition of Moroccan fir is problematic in relation to the definition of Andalusian or Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo) (Ben-Said, 2022). Andalusian fir is found in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, with three subspecies recognized in the literature: Andalusian fir (Abies pinsapo var. pinsapo), found in southern Spain, and Tazaout fir (Abies pinsapo var. tazaotana) and Moroccan fir (Abies pinsapo var. marocana), both found in North Africa (Dering et al., 2014; Ben-Said, 2022).
Moroccan fir was first described as a separate species in 1906, but the Talassemtane and Tazaout populations in the Atlas Mountains were separated into two species in 1946 based on morphological differences (Ben-Said, 2022). the Tazaout population was designated Tazaout fir, while the Talassemtane population was designated as Moroccan fir or a variety of Spanish fir (Ben-Said, 2022). However, recent literature and research recognize the two North African populations as the same species (Ben-Said, 2022; Méndez-Cea et al., 2023). Genetic analysis confirms Moroccan fir and Tazaout fir, as well as the Talassemtane population should be considered as one species as they have insufficient levels of genetic differentiation to be considered a separate species (Dering et al., 2014; Ben-Said, 2022).
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 Abies marocana and its GCUs
Availability of FRM
FOREMATIS
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...
Contacts of experts
NA
Further reading
Jaramillo-Correa, J.P., Grivet, D., Terrab, A., Kurt, Y., de Lucas, A.I., Wahid, N., Vendramin, G.G. and González-Martínez, S.C. 2010. The Strait of Gibraltar as a major biogeographic barrier in Mediterranean conifers: A comparative phylogeographic survey. Molecular Ecology, 19: 5452–5468.
Terrab, A., Talavera, S., Arista, M., Paun, O., Stuessy, T.F. and Tremetsberger, K. 2007. Genetic diversity and geographic structure at chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSRs) in endangered west Mediterranean firs (Abies spp., Pinaceae). Taxon, 56: 409–416.
References
Méndez-Cea, B., García-García, I., Sánchez-Salguero, R., Lechuga, V., Gallego, F.J., Linares, J.C. 2023. Tree-level growth patterns and genetic associations depict drought legacies in the relict forests of Abies marocana. Plants, 12: 873–873.
Ben-Said, M. 2022. The taxonomy of Moroccan fir Abies marocana Trab. (Pinaceae): Conceptual clarifications from phylogenetic studies. Mediterranean Botany, 43: e71201. https://doi.org/mbot.71201
Dering, M., Sękiewicz, K., Boratyńska, K., Litkowiec, M., Iszkuło, G., Romo, A. and Boratyński, A. 2014. Genetic diversity and inter-specific relations of western Mediterranean relic Abies taxa as compared to the Iberian A. alba. Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants, 209: 367–374.
Sánchez-Robles, J.M., Balao, F., Terrab, A., García-Castaño, J.L., Ortiz, M.A., Vela, E., Talavera, S., 2014. Phylogeography of SW Mediterranean firs: Different European origins for the North African Abies species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 79: 42–53.
See details
Designed by Newtvision
