Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use Maritime pine Pinus pinaster Ricardo Alía1 and Sonia Martín2 1 Centro de Investigaciones Forestales—Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (CIFOR—INIA), EUFORGEN Madrid, Spain 2 Dirección General de Conservación de la Naturaleza (DGCN), Madrid, Spain These Technical Guidelines are intended to assist those who cherish the valuable Maritime pine genepool and its inheritance, through conserving valuable seed sources or use in practical forestry. The focus is on conserving the genetic diversity of the species at the European scale. The recommendations provided in this module should be regarded as a commonly agreed basis to be complemented and further developed in local, national or regional conditions. The Guidelines are based on the available knowledge of the species and on widely accepted methods for the conservation of forest genetic resources.

Biology and ecology nous cones, and a thick bark. Compared with other Mediter- ranean pines, Maritime pine has Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster large cones (8-22 cm long) usual- Aiton) morphologically is similar ly in groups of 2 or 3, and long to other species of the genera. needles (10-25 cm). Clear mor- The species display several adap- phological differences exist tations to forest fires: early flower- among the different populations, ing (in some populations cones resulting in the subdivision of the can be observed in 4-year-old species into two subspecies seedlings), presence of seroti- (atlantica and pinaster), and into several geographical races (atlantica, mesogeensis, corteen- sis, maghrebiana, renoui, etc.), but a complete revision of the species does not exist. The species can be found in quite different environments: from sea level to 2100 m eleva- tion in the High Atlas (Morocco); from areas with more than 1400 mm of annual rainfall and no dry season, to others with 350 mm and more than 4 dry months. The soil conditions are variable; main- ly in acid soils, but also in basic soils and even in sandy and poor soils, where not many commer- cial species can grow. Pinusaritime pinePinus pinaster Maritimepinaster pinePinus pinasterMaritime pine PinusPin pinasterMarit

Distribution Importance and use The ability of the species to grow in very poor soils, and under prolonged drought, is one Maritime pine is a broadly dis- Maritime pine is one of the most of the reasons for its use in tributed conifer in the western important forest species in afforestation programmes for Mediterranean Basin, in South- France, Portugal and Spain. The wood production or soil protec- ern Europe and Africa, and the main uses of the species are tion. Atlantic coast in Portugal, Spain related to wood and resin produc- and France. The island distribu- tion, recreation and soil protec- tion of the species is limited to tion. It can be considered a fast- Corsica, and to a very limited growing species (especially in the extent, northern Sardinia. There Atlantic region where rotation is a marginal stand in Pantelleria ages of 40-50 years are com- island, close to the Tunisian mon). The main uses in these shore. Two main factors have regions are pulp and paper pro- affected the present natural dis- duction, construction, chip- tribution of the species, resulting boards, floor boards and palettes. in a high degree of fragmenta- In the other regions, the rotation tion: the discontinuity and alti- ages vary from 80 to 120 years, tude of the mountain ranges and trees produce either high- causes isolation of even close quality (Corsica, some mountains populations, and the human areas in Central Spain), or low- impact. quality timber, especially owing to At present, the species is the existence of very broadly distributed by forestation crooked trees (Castillian in different countries (within and plains and several south- outside the natural range). The ern populations in southern differentiation of autochthonous Spain). and non-autochthonous stands One of the most tra- is, in many cases, controversial. ditional uses of the We can find regions with either a species is resin tap- large or a limited human impact. ping. Maritime pines This combination presents a produce resin of high unique opportunity to under- quality. The importance stand some aspects of forest of this product has decreased management and its impact on over time, but recently the pro- the genetic resource conserva- duction has increased slightly in tion of broadly distributed some regions (Castillian plains in conifers. Spain, Portugal). The develop- ment of new tools and extraction methods, combined with breed- ing programmes, could be of importance for this product. nustime pinePinus pinasterpinasterPinusMaritime pinePinus pinasterMaritime pinePinus pinasterMaritime

Genetic knowledge different types of genetic mark- Threats to ers, and within these areas, dif- genetic diversity ferent adaptations are found. A Coniferous forest trees are wind- clear geographic structuration of The main threats to the genetic pollinated and typically have high the diversity is found with the dif- diversity in maritime pine are proportions of outcrossed prog- ferent genetic markers and similar to those of other Mediter- eny (>0.80). In Mediterranean adaptive traits. ranean species. forests, pollen gene flow could be great owing to generally low- Forest fires. Mainly isolated density stands and the low- stands or small populations fertility soils where Maritime pine have been affected. grows. Maritime pine has an Fires have traditionally important genetic load. played an important role Because of its high com- in modeling the genetic mercial value, there have architecture of the been many studies dealing species. with the genetics of Mar- itime pine. This species is Land uses and plant one of the model species cover changes. Trans- used worldwide for the dis- formation of forest covery of genes related to land to agricultural or wood quality and water pasture areas has been a stress resistance. general trend in the Mediter- Large genetic differ- ranean region. Forest stands ences among populations have been ploughed to introduce have been reported at more productive species, or regional and wide-range water-demanding crops have spatial scales using various been introduced close to some genetic markers (terpenes, pine forests. However, at pres- isozymes, DNA markers) ent, the main threat comes from and common garden exper- conversion of forested to resi- iments. Especially impor- dential areas. tant is the large genetic variation found between Introduction of exotic species provenances in traits of or genomes. Hybridization of importance for the adaptation of maritime pine with other species the species (drought and frost is quite limited. The main threat is tolerance, insect resistance) and the introduction of material from others of large importance for exotic provenances close to nat- the use of the species (growth, ural populations. Because of stem form, polycyclism, branch- advanced breeding programmes, ing habit). In general, clear geo- selected material is widely plant- graphic areas can be defined in ed in some countries (e.g. terms of genetic diversity using France). e pinepinasterPinus pinasterMaritime pinePinus pinaster MaritimePinus pinePinus pinasterMaritime p p

Pollen flow in this species is forests in the 1960s. Resistant Guidelines for genetic quite extensive and could impact material, both local and from conservation and use local resources, leading to loss of Spain and Morocco, is currently local adaptivity, for example in tested to understand the genetic Seed source selection. Taking sand dune areas where determinism of the resistance into consideration the important P. pinaster has a very important and to reintroduce the resource. differences in growth, stem form ecological role against habitat The presence of a nematode and adaptation of the different destruction by wind and waves. (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) in populations, seed source selec- Portugal is a risk not completely tion has to be carefully analyzed Overexploitation. There is little evaluated until now. based on the results of prove- information on the effect of silvi- nance trials. Selection is cultural practices on the genetic dependent on the main objective resources of the forest species. of the plantation (protection, In conifers, the effect seems to wood production, etc.), and in be of scant importance under most countries descriptions of normal forestry practices. The the base material are available to adoption of criteria and indica- assist in selecting the most tors of sustainable forest man- suitable for afforestation. agement in most European countries would diminish the In situ conservation areas. importance of this factor in the These are the best means of near future. preserving the adaptive potential of the species in the Global climatic change. Most of long term. Given the breeding the models predict a reduction system of the species, special and changes in the pattern of care has to be taken to establish rainfall in the Mediterranean conservation stands of sufficient area, where P. pinaster is mainly size to reduce the effect of found. We can expect a shift inbreeding and external contam- northward in its range, leading to ination. As in other conifers, changes in pollen flow, seed dis- areas greater than 20 ha are nec- persal, recolonization dynamics essary to ensure enough regen- and new possibilities for gene eration to maintain the genetic exchange with resources from variability of the species. A net- breeding programmes. work of conservation areas cov- ering the most contrasting Pests and diseases. A good areas in the distribution range example is the reduction in the of the species would be a natural area of Maritime pine in method to preserve the natural the Southern French Maures and stands of the species. Esterel mountain regions, caused by Matsococcus feytaudy. This Ex situ conservation. This form insect caused the destruction of of conservation is based on dif- approx. 200 000 ha of P. pinaster ferent activities, such as clonal PinusMaritime pinePinus pinasterMaritime pinaster pinePinus pinasterMaritime pinePinus Ppinaste

Distribution range of maritime pine

banks, seed banks and planta- tions using seeds from the threatened populations. Clonal banks are mainly used in popula- tions with large economic (or ecological) value. Seed banks are very effective methods of preserving the adaptiveness of the target populations, because of the heavy seed production in Maritime pine, and the possibility of conserving the seed (or pollen) for a prolonged period of time.

At present there are many activities in different countries that could be considered as a starting point for the conserva- tion of the species. PinusterMaritime pinePinus pinasterpinasterMaritime pinePinus pinasterMaritime pinePinPinus pinaster EUFORGEN

These Technical Guidelines were Selected bibliography produced by members of the EUFORGEN Conifers Network. The objective of the Network is to Alía, R., J. Moro and J.B. Denis. 1997. Performance of Pinus pinaster Ait. provenances in Spain: interpretation of the genotype-environment interac- identify minimum genetic conser- tion. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 27:1548-1559. vation requirements in the long Petit, R.J., N. Bahrman and Ph. Baradat. 1995. Comparison of genetic differ- term in Europe, in order to reduce entiation in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) estimated using isozyme, the overall conservation cost and total protein and terpenic loci. Heredity 75:382-389. to improve the quality of stan- Salvador, L., R. Alía, D. Agúndez and L. Gil. 2000. Genetic variation and migra- dards in each country. tion pathways of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) in the Iberian Peninsu- la. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 100:89-95. Vendramin, G.G., M. Anzidei, A. Madaghiele and G. Bucci. 1998. Distribution of genetic diversity in Pinus pinaster Ait. as revealed by chloroplast microsatellites. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 97:456-463.

Citation: Alía, R. and S. Martín. 2003. EUFORGEN Technical Guidelines for genetic conserva- tion and use for Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). International Plant Genetic Resources Insti- tute, Rome, Italy. 6 pages.

Drawings: Pinus pinaster, Claudio Giordano. © IPGRI, 2003.

ISBN 92-9043-570-4

EUFORGEN Secretariat c/o IPGRI Via dei Tre Denari, 472/a 00057 Maccarese (Fiumicino) Rome, Italy Tel. (+39)066118251 More information Fax: (+39)0661979661 www.euforgen.org [email protected]