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 Alnus incana conservation in Europe
Grey alder has a moderate level of genetic diversity across central Europe; however, inbreeding is high in some populations, especially marginal populations at the northern limit of the species’ distribution (Jurkšienė et al., 2021).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Grey alder hybridizes naturally with black alder and their hybrid is widespread across Europe (Voronova et al., 2015; Jurkšienė et al., 2021). However, hybrids are rare. There is a greater frequency of hybridization at the northern boundary of grey alder’s range, and in years with prolonged winters and cold early springs, as these conditions alter flowering times and result in greater overlap with flowering of black alder (Jurkšienė et al., 2021; Marković, Vidaković, and Popović, 2024). Hybridization only takes place when grey alder is the mother tree; when black alder is the mother tree the seeds are sterile (Jurkšienė et al., 2021; Marković, Vidaković, and Popović, 2024). Hybrids also appear to be genetically and morphologically closer to grey alder than black alder (Jurkšienė et al., 2021).
Hybrids often exhibit useful traits and controlled breeding, and hybridization of grey and black alder have been carried out (Voronova et al., 2015). Hybrids usually have high allelic richness and variation in growth traits, like their parental species, but potentially have higher genetic diversity and superior growth rates than both parent species (Voronova et al., 2015; Marković, Vidaković, and Popović, 2024). Grey and black alder hybrids are hard to distinguish from their parental species as they are morphologically intermediate between both parent species, but typically closer to grey alder (Voronova et al., 2015; Marković, Vidaković, and Popović, 2024).
Grey alder may have been able to survive in glacial refugia further north than many other European tree species because of its ability for clonal reproduction (which is shown to be significant in northern populations), contributing to its current genetic distribution and structure (Dering et al., 2017). Northern refugia of grey alder are the main sources of colonization for Fennoscandia and Eastern Europe (Dering et al., 2017). Populations in the Scandinavian Peninsula showed clustering and large genetic differentiation among populations, suggesting that multiple ancestral populations survived the Last Glacial Maximum in Central Europe (Dering et al., 2017). Grey alder populations in the Carpathians originated from multiple glacial refugia in the Balkans (Dering et al., 2017). Populations between the Alps and the Carpathians were genetically distinct, with high genetic diversity, indicating these populations survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (Dering et al., 2017). North-eastern populations have low genetic diversity, which could be because these populations are more reliant on clonal propagation for survival (Dering et al., 2017).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Genetic drift could threaten grey alder genetic diversity, especially if climate change increases the frequency of hybridization through the altering of flowering times (Jurkšienė et al., 2021). Fragmentation also threatens grey alder genetic diversity by isolating populations and limiting gene flow between them, increasing inbreeding.
Conservation efforts for grey alder involve preserving its natural habitats, including maintaining and restoring riverine and wetland ecosystems. Establishing genetic conservation units and using assisted migration to introduce genetic diversity into fragmented populations are key strategies.
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Genetic Characterisation of Alnus incana and its GCUs
Availability of FRM
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Contacts of experts
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Further reading
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References
Dering, M., Latalowa, M., Boratynska, K., Kosinski, P., and Boratynski, A. 2017. Could clonality contribute to the northern survival of grey alder [Alnus incana (L.) Moench] during the Last Glacial Maximum? Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, 86(1): 3523. https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp.3523
Jurkšienė, G., Tamošaitis, S., Kavaliauskas, D., Buchovska, J., Danusevičius, D., and Baliuckas, V. 2021. Identification of Alnus glutinosa L. and A. incana (L.) Moench. hybrids in natural forests using nuclear DNA microsatellite and morphometric markers. Forests, 12(11): 1504. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111504
Marković, M., Vidaković, V., and Popović, Z. 2024. A geometric morphometrics approach to the study of natural variations and hybrid detection in populations of Alnus incana (L.) Moench and Alnus rohlenae Vít, Douda and Mandák. Plants, 13(7): 993. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13070993
Voronova, A., Lazdina, D., Korica, A., Veinberga, I., Liepins, K., and Rungis, D. 2015. Evaluation of allelic content in an experimental alder (Alnus spp.) plantation. Acta Biologica Universitatis Daugavpiliensis, 15(1): 227–240.
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