Population genetic structure of a timberline oak (Quercus semecarpifolia Sm.) of western Himalayas and conservation implications

Forests are considered as one of the most complex terrestrial ecosystems due to their high level of biodiversity, including genetic diversity. Understanding the genetic diversity of keystone species at a population level is vital to forest managers and policymakers for the conservation and sustainable utilization of forest genetic resources. Quercus semecarpifolia , commonly known as brown oak, is a keystone species of climax community thriving in the alpine zone of the Himalayas, which is presently experiencing population decline and range shift under the changing climate. In the present study, a landscape genetic approach was employed for deciphering the population genetic structure of Q. semecarpifolia in the western Himalayas using nuclear simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. By analysing 718 individuals of 24 populations at 10 SSR loci, a high gene diversity (expected heterozygosity, He = 0.72; Allelic richness, Ar = 8.37) was recorded with a moderate genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.16; P