European larch and its improvement in Slovakia

Elena Foffová1), Vladimír Foff2), Roman Longauer1)

National Forest Centre - Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 91 Zvolen, Slovakia

LIA Ltd., Fot Informaton Agency, Liptovksý Hrádok, Slovakia

Proportion of forests 45%, 2.3 million ha,

Net annual growth 17 million m3 European larch: 2.5%, ~55 ths. ha

Naturally occurring in the inner part of Western Carpathians.

Commonly grown elsewhere - mountains, piedmonts, hills.

Interest rather high, even increasing >>> climate change, difficulties with Norway spruce.

In forests under normal management, it is regenerated only artificially, using seeds produced in clonal seed orchards.

Autochthonous genetic resources conserved in multiple nature reserves, protective forests and gene reserve forests.

Natural altitudinal range from 450 to 1,500 m.

Three natural types: - High Tatra, - Central Mountain and Basin,

- Eastern Slovakian.

The edaphotypes of a „white larch“ (fixed to limestone sites) and „black larch“ (acidic substrates) considered but not proved experimentally. >>> different deployment areas according to the parent substrate on which source populations grow.

„Basin“ climatype better adapted to sites with late frosts confirmed by experiments instead.

Natural range of Larix decidua

Natural range of Larix decidua in Slovakia

Basic materials

Plus trees: 985, of which 931 in a archived.

Clonal seed orchards: 37 orchards (including replicates), 105 hectares.Started 1960, usually 25-35 clones per orchard.

Some orchards suspended, new orchards with 50+ clones.

Approved stands: 249 units, total area 1070 ha, of which 216 ha elite stands

Generative reproductive plantations: 17 units, 47 ha. Each unit is a mix of 50 HS families.

Gene reserve forests: 19 units with larch, the netto area of larch 570 ha

Larix decidua – basic materials

Regions of provenances

Approved stands

Region Count Area

1 38 115

2 368 581

3 116 261

4 6 10

5 164 287

6 27 44

Total 719 1298

Trees

Count

18

355

81

77

246

144

719

Orchards

Count Area

2 3,00

8 18,48

1 3,50

1 1,50

12 46,96

3 5,0

27 78,44

Deployment areas:

1) Central Mountains including (a) Tatras and (b) Low Tatra & Ore Mts.: autochthonous larch, several seed orchards.

2) Hills & mountains of east Slovakia: autochthonous larch, several seed orchards.

3) Hills & mountains of northwest Slovakia: putatively autochthonous, 1 multi-clonal seed orchard.

4) Chain of hills and lower mountains of (a) Southwest and Central and (b) Eastern Slovakia: Outside the natural range. Many seed orchards including 3 comprised of the clones from Jeseniky Mts. (Sudetic) and 1 with clones from several alochthonous populations.

Larix decidua – seeds and plantsSeeds

YearRegion of provenances

1 2 3 4 5 6 Total

2004 95 24 310 239

2005 2 1 1 1 18 23

2006 8 331 196 48 164 6 753

2007 15 195 38 20 13 268

Seeds [in kg]

YearRegion of provenances

1 2 3 4 5 6 Total

2004 95 24 310 239

2005 2 1 1 1 18 23

2006 8 331 196 48 164 6 753

2007 15 195 38 20 13 268

Inventory of plants [in 1 000 pieces]

YearAge of plants [in years]

1 2 3 4 5 Total

2004 4 416 2 838 1 329 334 55 8 972

2005 4 916 3 643 1 027 326 27 9 939

2006 4 836 3 965 1 615 308 65 10 789

2007 5 014 3 756 1 752 682 31 11 235

Reforestation [in 1 000 pieces]

YearAge of plants [in years]

1 2 3 4 5 Total

2004 1 779 1 004 307 55 3 145

2005 2 028 751 262 27 3 068

2006 2 213 933 276 65 3 487

2007 2 002 1 323 606 31 3 962

Larix decidua – provenance researchPodbanské - IUFRO I 55 provenances 1944

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Scotland

Podbanské - IUFRO II 14 provenances 1958–1959

Austria, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania

Likavka 5 provenances 1914

Larix decidua, Larix leptolepis, Larix sibirica

ŠLP Zvolen 12 provenances 1961

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany

Antol 27 provenances 1992

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany

Hnilčík 16 provenances 1992

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany

Mlynky 8 provenances 1992

Slovakia

Results/Experience:

• Western Carpathian provenances are very adaptable, maybe except of those from High Tatras.

The phenotypic quality of local provenances is very good. Jeseniky (Sudetic) larch may grow better in lower altitudes.

• Experiment starting: Phenological responses on the effects of nursery cultivation and subsequent transfer into very contrasting site conditions.

Progeny testing: • Progeny testing of 3 clonal seed orchards with 3 testing

plots located within the range of the source populations. - Definition of a deployment area /size of breeding zone. - 1.5 (2nd) generation seed orchard(s).

• Small experiment with species hybridization and testing hybrid progenies: Hybrids belonging to 11 species combinations were obtained from 45 crosses.

Research support:

• Flowering phenology, mating system and gene flow in a seed orchard. Genetic makeup of the orchard progenies (PhD. studies).