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 Betula pendula conservation in Europe
The genetic diversity within populations of silver birch is high and differentiation between populations is low, with northern European populations being genetically similar (Vakkari, 2009). Silver birch has large intrapopulation genetic variation in characteristics such as growth, phenology, and resistance to mammal and insect herbivores, which makes the species economically important (Vakkari, 2009; Solé-Medina et al., 2020).
This diversity is attributed to siler birch being an outcrossing diploid species with its pollen able to travel hundreds of kilometres and its seeds being easily dispersed. This means it can rapidly colonize open areas and gene flow can occur over large distances (Vakkari, 2009; De Dato et al., 2020). Genetic studies have revealed clear differentiation between populations at the extremes of its range, indicating some level of genetic structuring driven by adaptation to local environments and historical glaciation events.
Silver birch does show clustering in the UK, Iberian Peninsula, and central Europe (Tsuda et al., 2017). Most of the species' range in Europe is dominated by two haplotypes, one in western and north-western Europe, and one in eastern and southeastern Europe (De Dato et al., 2020). It may have been refugia north of the Alps that colonized most of Europe leading to the domination of these two haplotypes, with the Alps acting as a barrier to postglacial recolonization of birch from southern refugia (De Dato et al., 2020). Marginal southern populations of silver birch are isolated, have reduced gene flow with other populations, increased inbreeding, and are typically smaller and fragmented, reducing their genetic diversity but increasing their differentiation (De Dato et al., 2020). However there does not appear to be a correlation between genetic and geographic distance, at least in Italian populations (De Dato et al., 2020).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Silver birch is genetically like downy birch (Betula pubescens) and curly birch (Betula pendula var. carelica). Curly birch was previously considered a variety of silver birch however recent evidence suggests it may be a separate species (Vetchinnikova et al., 2023). There is a lack of species differentiation among silver birch, downy birch, and dwarf birch (Betula nana), however the differentiation is still significant to distinguish species (Tsuda et al., 2017). There is frequent hybridization and introgression among birch species (Tsuda et al., 2017). Zones of hybridization as the result of certain geographic and climatic contexts such as in Siberia have affected the evolution of birch species (Vetchinnikova et al., 2023). Introgression can generate unusual genotypes and haplotypes in birch and make it difficult to identify specific species (Vetchinnikova et al., 2023).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Threats to silver birch are low because natural regeneration is common, and the species is widely planted (Vakkari, 2009). However low temperatures and drought limit the species regeneration and recruitment in northern and southern regions, therefore future climate changes creating drier conditions could further limit the species southern range (Solé-Medina et al., 2020). Marginal, discontinuous, and isolated populations of silver birch or special native forms such as curly birch or southern populations may be at risk of extinction and losing their genetic diversity (Vakkari, 2009). However, there is a lack of research on the genetic variation of these populations (Vakkari, 2009).
The species high production rate also creates issues because clonal seed orchards in good conditions can produce so much reproductive material that one orchard may produce enough seeds for extremely large areas (Vakkari, 2009). Therefore, the use of only a few orchards can lead to reduced genetic diversity and the use of poorly adapted varieties to local conditions (Vakkari, 2009).
Gene conservation measures are precautionary due to the low threat to the species, especially in central populations (Vakkari, 2009). Restrictions on the use of single seed sources or vegetatively reproduced clones and the selection of properly adapted forest reproductive material are key to protect the natural genetic composition of the species, but natural regeneration should be favoured (Vakkari, 2009).
Marginal southern populations which are genetically distinct such as those in the central Apennines and or lower elevations should be prioritized for ex-situ conservation, as their long-term survival is not guaranteed (De Dato et al., 2020). Whereas populations that are less isolated with high diversity and geneflow such as in Greece and the southern Apennines, should be considered for the establishment of in-situ gene conservation units. (De Dato et al., 2020). Restoring degraded habitats with genetically diverse seed sources and implementing guidelines for the sustainable harvesting of birch timber are also key to maintain the resilience and adaptability of silver birch.
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.
Genetic Characterisation of Betula pendula and its GCUs
Availability of FRM
FOREMATIS
Betula pendula - Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use for silver birch
Publication Year: 2009Because silver birch is a widespread species, the environmental conditions and hence priority and methodology of genetic conservation are different in various parts of the distribution area. In northern Eu- rope silver birch is common and has almost continuous distribution over large areas without any immediate threats to the amount of genetic diversity, hence the nature of the gene conservation measures in these areas is mostly precautionary. These measures include restrictions on the use of single seed sources or vegetatively reproduced clones and the selection of properly adapted forest reproductive material.
In the northern parts of the distribution area (Finland and Sweden), controlling the distance of provenance shifts is crucial for the successful use of planting material. In order to avoid the risk of late spring and early autumn frosts, the recommended maximum transfer distance in Finland is 150km either north or south. The transfer distance could be larger at low elevations in Central European countries.
An additional measure to protect the natural genetic composition is to select in situ areas for genetic conservation either for birch alone or as mixed forest with other species. Such areas can be nature conservation areas or gene reserve forests under commercial forestry. In both cases natural regeneration should be favoured or, if artificial regeneration must be applied, the material originating from the same forest should be used.
In the areas of scattered distribution the use of gene reserve forests may not be possible. The local stands may be too small and threatened by various environmental hazards to such a degree that an ex situ conservation strategy is more applicable. Ex situ collections may be based on either grafts or seedlings.
A special case for gene conservation is curly birch, which is usually found as single trees or as groups of a few trees in natural forests. In such cases a population-based approach is not functional and an ex situ collection of individual clones (genotypes) is a more appropriate approach. The collections can be created either by grafting or seedlings.
Because silver birch is a widespread species, the environmental conditions and hence priority and methodology of genetic conservation are different in various parts of the distribution area. In northern Eu- rope silver birch is common and has almost continuous distribution over large areas without any immediate threats to the amount of genetic diversity, hence the nature of the gene...
Noble Hardwoods Network: Report of the first meeting
Contacts of experts
NA
Further reading
Eriksson, G. and Jonsson, A., 1986. A review of the genetics of Betula. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 1(1–4), pp.421–434.
Martín, C., Parra, T., Clemente-Muñoz, M. and Hernandez-Bermejo, J.E., 2008. Genetic diversity and structure of the endangered Betula pendula subsp. fontqueri populations in the south of Spain. Silva Fennica, 42(4), pp.487–498.
Stener, L.G. and Hedenberg, Ö., 2003. Genetic parameters of wood, fibre, stem quality and growth traits in a clone test with Betula pendula. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 18(2), pp.103–110.
References
De Dato, G.D., Teani, A., Mattioni, C., Aravanopoulos, F., Avramidou, E.V., Stojnic, S., Ganopoulos, I., Belletti, P. and Ducci, F., 2020. Genetic analysis by nuSSR markers of silver Birch (Betula pendula Roth) populations in their Southern European distribution range. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, p.310.
Solé-Medina, A., Heer, K., Opgenoorth, L., Kaldewey, P., Danusevicius, D., Notivol, E., Robledo-Arnuncio, J.J. and Ramírez-Valiente, J.A., 2020. Genetic variation in early fitness traits across European populations of silver birch (Betula pendula). AoB Plants, 12(3), p.plaa019.
Tsuda, Y., Semerikov, V., Sebastiani, F., Vendramin, G.G. and Lascoux, M., 2017. Multispecies genetic structure and hybridization in the Betula genus across Eurasia. Molecular Ecology, 26(2), pp.589–605.
Vakkari, P., 2009. EUFORGEN Technical Guidelines for genetic conservation and use of silver birch (Betula pendula). Bioversity International, Rome, Italy. 6 pages.
Vetchinnikova, L.V. and Titov, A.F., 2023. Genus Betula L.: Species-specific population-genetic features and taxonomy problems. Biology Bulletin Reviews, 13(Suppl 3), pp.S377–S391.
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