First Progress Report, February – July 2014 Altitudinal genetic

First Progress Report, February – July 2014
Altitudinal genetic differentiation among Abies religiosa natural populations
for seed and seedling transfer for reforestation considering climatic change
Project responsable: Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero, Instituto de Investigaciones
Agropecuarias y Forestales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Av. San
Juanito Itzícuaro s/n, Col. San Juanito Itzícuaro, Morelia Michoacán 58330, México. Phone
+52(443) 334-0475, Ext. 118 or 117, [email protected]
Grant category: Scientific Research
Activities
1) Transplanting Abies religiosa seedlings originated from 15 provenances from nursery
containers to a common garden test.
2) Maintenance and evaluation of seedling height growth on the common garden test.
Objectives
To demonstrated whether or not exists genetic differentiation among natural A.
religiosa populations for quantitative traits of adaptive value along environmental
(altitudinal) gradients. If such differentiation exist, then we will develop an altitudinal
zoning to guide seed and seedling transfers for reforestation programs. Such zoning could
be used with or without consideration of climatic change.
Methodology
Previously to this project, a collection of cones were made in natural stands of Abies
religiosa on the hill of San Andrés, western Michoacan, Mexico, near of the Monarch
Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR). Collection was done in 15 sites along an altitudinal
gradient, from 2850 to 3540 m. The sites were located at 50 meters of difference in altitude,
where 11 trees were collected at each of the sites.
The cones maintained their individual identity (which was called origin) and were
dried for 19 days in a greenhouse of San Juanito Itzícuaro (Instituto de Investigaciones
Agropecuarias y Forestales (IIAF) Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo
(UMSNH)), subsequently seed cones was extracted manually and the individual tree seed
lots were mixed by population.
The seed was germinated in nursery in Peat-moss substrate (where each seed source
has always kept its identity) in a greenhouse at the Centro de Investigaciones en
Ecosistemas (CIEco) of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Morelia (Fig. 1),
where plants remained for 10 months.
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The project funded by the Monarch Butterfly Fund started when seedlings were at the
nursery stage.
Fig.1. 10-month-old Abies religiosa seedlings, CIEco-UNAM nursery.
The seedlings were kept in the greenhouse until March 8, 2014, and then they were
transplanted to a common garden tests, consisting in two wooden frame raised bed at the
Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IIAF), Universidad Michoacana de
San Nicolás de Hidalgo (UMSNH), at San Juanito Itzícuaro, Morelia Michoacán (Fig. 2).
Each seedling bed measures 14 m length by 1.5 m width and 0.6 m height. Seedlings
were planted at spacing of 30 x 25 cm (Fig. 2). Six completely randomized blocks were
established with six plants of each population per block (Fig. 3).
The height of the plants was assessed at 10, 11 and 12 months of age (month 1, 2 and
3 after transplantating), placing an aluminium bar (1.5 cm thick) as steady and repeatable
support of a rule; measurements were made on mm (Fig 4).
Fig. 2. Transplantation to the common garden tests.
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Fig. 3. Common garden tests, with a design of randomized complete blocks, with 15
provenances and six plants per plot. On the right, 11-month-old seedling of population 11,
collected at 3050 m of altitude.
Fig. 4. Evaluation of seedling height using an aluminum bar as steady support, to make
repeatable measurements to the mm.
Preliminar results
ANOVA indicated significant differences (P <0.0001) among provenances at 12
months of age (in fact, 3 blocks contained at the moment of the measurement illustrated
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seedlings of 12 months, and 3 blocks included 11-month-old seedlings). Seedlings
originated from the lower part of the altitudinal distribution (2850 m) are taller than plants
that come from the highest part of the altitudinal distribution (3550m) (R 2 = 0.51) (Fig . 5).
Abies religiosa seedling height, 12 months
15
14
R² = 0.5178
Plant height (cm)
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
2800
3000
3200
3400
3600
Elevation of seed source (masl)
Figure 5. Regression of average seedling height (12-month-old) per population against
elevation of seed source.
Future activities
Continue maintenance of the common garden tests (weeding, irrigation and
fertilization) and monthly measurements.
The most important growth is expected on Spring 2015. This project is funded up to
January 2015.
Participants
Dante Castellanos-Acuña, former Master student; Marisol A. Ortiz-Bibian, former
undergrad student ; Roberto Lindig-Cisneros, researcher at CIEco-UNAM, Morelia;
Arnulfo Blanco-García, School of Biology, UMSNH, Morelia.
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