EUROPEAN FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES PROGRAMME (EUFORGEN) Noble Harclwoods Network Report of the first meeting 24-27 March 1996 Escherode, Germany J .. Turok, G .. Eriksson, J .. Kleinschmit and S.. Canger, compilers ii NOBI..E HARDWOODS NETWORK ' The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an autonomous international scientific organization operating under the aegis of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The international status of IPGRI is conferred under an Establishment Agreement which, by December 1995, had been signed by the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Chile, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uganda. IPGRI's mandate is to advance the conservation and use of plant genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations. IPGRI works in partnership with other organizations, undertaking research, training and the provision of scientific and technical advice and information, and has a particularly strong programme link with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Financial support for the agreed research agenda of IPGRI is provided by the Governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the USA, and by the Asian Development Bank, IDRC, UNDP and the World Bank. The European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is a collaborative programme among European countries aimed at ensuring the effective conservation and the sustainable utilization of forest genetic resources in Europe. It was established to implement Resolution 2 of the Strasbourg Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe. EUFORGEN is financed by participating countries and is coordinated by IPGRI, in collaboration with the Forestry Department of FAO. It facilitates the dissemination of information and various collaborative initiatives. The Programme operates through networks in which forest geneticists and other forestry specialists work together to analyze needs, exchange experiences and develop conservation objectives and methods for selected species. The networks also contribute to the development of appropriate conservation strategies for the ecosystems to which these species belong. Network members and other scientists and forest managers from participating countries carry out an agreed workplan with their own resources as inputs in kind to the Programme. EUFORGEN is overseen by a Steering Committee composed of National Coordinators nominated by the participating countries. The geographical designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IPGRI or the CGIAR concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Similarly, the views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of these participating organizations. Citation: Turok, J., G. Eriksson, J. Kleinschmit and S. Canger, compilers. 1996. Noble Hardwoods Network. Report of the first meeting, 24-27 March 1996, Escherode, Germany. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. ISBN 92-9043-291-8 IPGRI Via delle Sette Chiese 142 00145 Rome Italy © International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 1996 G0NmENms iii Contents Introduction 1 Country Reports: the Mediterranean 9 Conservation of genetic resources of Noble Hardwoods in France: Overview Brigitte Demesure 9 Conservation and study of native elm genetic resources in France Eric Collin and Isabelle Bilger 12 Conservation of Prunus avium genetic resources in France Bernard Heois, Eric Collin, Priscilla Legrand, Isabelle Bilger, Nathalie Frascaria and Frederique Santi 16 Noble Hardwoods in Spain: conservation of genetic resources Ricardo Alia Miranda 23 Noble Hardwoods and their genetic resources in Portugal Alexandre de Aguiar 26 NOble Hardwoods in Malta: status and perspectives of their genetic resources Joseph Buhagiar 31 Study and conservation of Noble Hardwoods in Italy Fulvio Ducci 38 Country Reports: the Temperate Zone Present status of Noble Hardwoods in Croatia Joso Gracan 45 Noble broadleaves in Slovenia Marjanca Pavle, Igor Smolej, Hojka Kraigher and Robert Brus 51 Gene conservation and silviculture of broadleaved mixture species in Hungary Tamas Barna 64 Conservation of genetic resources of Noble Hardwoods in Austria Ferdinand Muller 68 Noble Hardwoods in Slovakia R. Longauer and J. Hoffmann 73 State of genetic resources and gene conservation of Noble Hardwoods in the Czech Republic Karel Vancura, Vladimir Hynek and Jana Mala 80 Noble Hardwoods in Switzerland Peter Rotach 91 Noble Hardwood species in Germany: occurrence and gene conservation measures J. Kleinschmit, RR. Stephan, M. Liesebach, G. Schute and S. Steinhoff 101 Conservation strategy for Noble Hardwoods in Belgium Bart A. de Cuyper and D. Jacques 111 Activities on genetic resources of Noble Hardwoods in the Netherlands Sven M.G. de Vries 120 iv NOBl...E HARDWOODS NETWORK Country Reports: the Boreal Zone Genetic resources of Noble Hardwoods and their conservation in Lithuania, with special emphasis on Fraxinus excelsior L. and Quercus robur L. V. Baliuckas, J. Danusevicius and R. Cabrilavicius 125 Genetic resources of Noble Hardwoods in Latvia and their conservation Imants Baumanis, Janis BirgeZis and Arnis Cailis 133 Genetic resources of Noble Hardwoods in Denmark Sonja Canger and Erik D. Kja;r 141 A policy suggestion for conservation of Noble Hardwoods genetic resources in Sweden Costa Eriksson 147 Noble Hardwoods genetic resources and their conservation in Finland Mari Rusanen 155 Evolutionary genetics and conservation of forest tree genetic resources Costa Eriksson 159 Agenda 168 List of participants 169 INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction The first EUFORGEN Noble Hardwoods Network meeting was held in Escherode, Germany, from 24 to 27 March 1996. Participants from 17 countries attended the meeting, and representatives of a further six countries were unable to attend (see List of Participants). Dr Jochen Kleinschmit, Director of the Department for Forest Tree Breeding, NFV, welcomed the participants to Escherode. He mentioned that the increasing pressure on the environment, due to global human population growth, would inevitably increase the pressure on forests. Efficient conservation and sustainable management of the genetic resources of Noble Hardwoods, which are often considered an 'overlooked' group of species in Europe, has become imperative in view of the global changes. Several research project proposals on the genetic diversity of Noble Hardwoods have been prepared by various European institutions over the past few years, and J. Kleinschmit expressed his satisfaction on hosting a joint meeting of the EUFORGEN Network and scientists from institutions participating in the EU research project proposals (see List of Participants). He wished all participants a successful meeting. The ongoing activities of EUFORGEN in general, as well as in the gene conservation networks, were presented by Jozef Turok, EUFORGEN coordinator from IPGRI. He stressed that the increasing activities of EUFORGEN confirmed the strong commitment of European countries to international collaboration in the field of forest genetic resources which were initiated at the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe and implemented through the multilateral collaborative networking activities. Jozef Turok then briefly summarized replies to a survey on Noble Hardwoods genetic conservation that had been provided by the participating countries prior to the meeting. He thanked the host of the meeting for its organization in Escherode and for the overall support. Following these introductory statements, the agenda of the meeting was presented and approved (see Agenda). A concept for the general development of gene conservation strategies for forest trees was then presented by Professor Gosta Eriksson from Sweden (see page 159). Country presentations Both the attending and the corresponding members of the Network prepared reports on the status of the conservation of genetic resources in Noble Hardwoods in their countries, and the attending members presented brief summaries at the meeting. All country reports are published in this volume. They gave an overview of the status of genetic resources and current conservation activities in European countries. The reports are ordered from south to north, according to three major ecogeographic zones: the Mediterranean, the Temperate and the Boreal Zones. This order was found most suitable with respect to Noble Hardwood species' occurrence, their biological and known genetic characteristics and common concerns on the conservation and use of genetic resources. It does not imply any order of importance or priorities. It was shown that Noble Hardwoods were becoming increasingly important in Europe. Reports were made of the numerous activities on conservation of genetic resources, breeding and genetic research. The presentations also confirmed that