Genetic Variation in Cold Hardiness and Phenology Between and Within Turkish Red Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) Populations: Implications for Seed Transfer

Wind-pollinated seeds from 40 trees (half-sib families) were collected from each of six Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) populations in southern Turkey. Two-year old seedlings were evaluated for growth, phenology and cold resistance in a common garden experiment established in Ankara, located outside the species’ natural range. Each family was represented with a six-tree row plot within each of the three replications. The below freezing temperatures (-15.2°C) observed in January and February of 2000 were sufficient to observe visually- assessable-cold damage to the seedlings. The populations significantly differed in all traits under investigation except for second flushing in 1999. Populations originating from more inland and higher elevation areas were more resistant to cold than coastal low elevation populations. Families within populations were significantly different as regards all traits except HT00. Family heritability for bud burst was 0.40, and ranged from 0.12 to 0.37 for height, and from 0.20 to 0.23 for bud set. Final height of cold damage prone seedlings was shorter than cold tolerant seedlings. Families with early bud-set, later bud-burst and shorter second flush shoots suffered less from cold damage. Considering the expected climate change in the eastern Mediterranean, there is a potential for using this species outside its natural range, especially in sites experiencing more continental climate since it will be possible to move the species 200-300 m in altitude and 2-3 degrees in latitude.