Picea orientalis
Oriental spruce

Credit: Shioshvili/Wikimedia

Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis) is indigenous to the Caucasus and northeast Anatolia. It is one of the most important tree species in Türkiye, having a local and limited distribution in the rest of world (Güney et al., 2019). It is a medium-sized, evergreen conifer with a pyramid-shaped crown. It is a relict species, forming dense forests (Özdilek, 2015). It is characterized by short, blue-green needles and pendulous. Oriental spruce has commercial value for its soft, light, high-quality wood, which is used in flooring, carpentry, furniture-making, musical instruments, and general construction. Tannin and turpentine are extracted from its bark and branches.  It is also commonly used as a Christmas tree.

The tree prefers moist soils and is often found on shaded slopes or on rocky areas near the Black Sea coast, but it can adapt to a variety of soils. It grows in pure or mixed stands, at altitudes ranging from 550 to 2 400 m above sea level (Güney et al., 2019).

Oriental spruce hybridizes freely with other Picea species and cultivars of the species, especially dwarf cultivars, are grown as ornamentals in parks and urban gardens. Based on hybridization compatibility, it is closely related to the Serbian spruce (Picea omorika) (Özdilek, 2015).

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ex situ genetic conservation unit
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Acknowledgements

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 orientalis conservation in Europe

Genetic diversity and variation

Oriental spruce shows significant genetic and morphological variation in terms of form and growth characteristics (Turna, 2004). However, heterozygosis and genetic diversity are lower than in other spruce species, such as Norway spruce (Picea abies) (Güney et al., 2019). Levels of genetic variation vary between populations, with some showing high heterozygosis and others showing low heterozygosis (Özdilek, 2015). Populations in the eastern Black Sea Region in Türkiye, such as those in Torul-Örümcek,  have been shown to have relatively higher genetic diversity, making them an important genetic resource for Oriental spruce that should be conserved (Güney et al., 2019). However, many populations show some level of inbreeding (Özdilek, 2015). Overall genetic variation is low between populations, with 97 per cent of genetic variability within populations (Özdilek, 2015).

Genetic distribution and clustering

Geographically close populations have higher genetic similarity than geographically distant populations (Özdilek, 2015). However, genetic variation is also affected by climate and geographic features, as even populations near each other showed significant differentiation (Özdilek, 2015). Within Türkiye, genetic studies revealed at least three distinct groups (possibly four, according to Özdilek (2015) within populations despite their close proximity to each other (Güney et al., 2019). It is theorized that the rough geographical terrain, varied climate types, and different soil characteristics present in Türkiye have encouraged the development of genetic groups of Oriental spruce linked to specific local environments (Güney et al., 2019). Some studies have revealed clear geographic patterns of genetic diversity in Oriental pine related to watershed grouping and altitude, which also affected morphological variations in seed and cone size (Turna, 2004; Güney et al., 2019). Southern populations of Oriental spruce have greater morphological variation than northern ones, likely as a result of geographical parameters (Turna, 2004).

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.

No information available.

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.

Because of its economic and ecological significance in northeastern Türkiye, the genetic resources of this species must be carefully managed and conserved so that it can be effectively utilized (Özdilek, 2015). Conservation strategies for Oriental pine in Europe include seed banking to preserve genetic material, ex situ conservation in arboreta, and efforts to protect naturalized populations. Forestry practices, such as selection of seed sources and determination of seed transfer zones, should consider elevation gradients and variations in environmental conditions and their effects on different populations to ensure that the maximum amount of genetic diversity is conserved (Turna, 2004).

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.

Genetic Characterisation of Picea orientalis and its GCUs

Availability of FRM

FOREMATIS

Contacts of experts

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Further reading

Temel, F., Özdilek, A., and Kaya, Z., 2015. Effectiveness of genetic resource conservation in Picea orientalis, Accessed: 00, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/73480.

References

Güney, D., Yahyaoglu, Z., Bayraktar, A., Atar, F., and Turna, I., 2019. Genetic diversity of Picea orientalis (L.) Link populations in Turkey. Sumarski List, 143.

Özdilek, A., 2015. Assessment of genetic diversity in Picea orientalis (l.) link. in genetic resources by microsatellites. Ph.D. Thesis, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye.

Turna, I., 2004. Variation of morphological characters of oriental spruce (Picea orientalis) in Turkey. Biologia-Bratislava, 59(4): 519–526.