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Weak local adaptation to drought in seedlings of a widespread conifer Candido Ribeiro, Rafael; Aitken, Sally

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Abstract

Tree seedlings from populations native to drier regions are often assumed to be more drought tolerant than those from wetter provenances. However, intraspecific variation in drought tolerance has not been well characterized despite being critical for developing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, and for predicting the effects of drought on forests.

We used a large-scale common-garden drought-to-death experiment to assess range-wide variation in drought tolerance measured by decline of photosynthetic efficiency, growth, and plastic responses to extreme summer drought in seedlings of 73 natural populations of the two main varieties of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii and var. glauca).

Local adaptation to drought was weak in var. glauca and nearly absent in menziesii. Var. glauca showed higher tolerance to drought but slower growth than var. menziesii. Clinal variation in drought tolerance and growth species-wide was mainly associated with temperature rather than precipitation. A higher degree of plasticity for growth was observed in var. menziesii in response to extreme drought.

Genetic variation for drought tolerance in seedlings within varieties is maintained primarily within populations. Selective breeding within populations may facilitate adaptation to drought more than assisted gene flow.

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Title	Weak local adaptation to drought in seedlings of a widespread conifer
Creator	Candido Ribeiro, Rafael; Aitken, Sally
Date Issued	2024-01-18
Description	<b>Abstract</b><br/> Tree seedlings from populations native to drier regions are often assumed to be more drought tolerant than those from wetter provenances. However, intraspecific variation in drought tolerance has not been well characterized despite being critical for developing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, and for predicting the effects of drought on forests.</p> We used a large-scale common-garden drought-to-death experiment to assess range-wide variation in drought tolerance measured by decline of photosynthetic efficiency, growth, and plastic responses to extreme summer drought in seedlings of 73 natural populations of the two main varieties of Douglas-fir (<em>Pseudotsuga menziesii </em>var. <em>menziesii </em>and var. <em>glauca</em>).</p> Local adaptation to drought was weak in var. <em>glauca </em>and nearly absent in <em>menziesii.</em> Var. <em>glauca</em> showed higher tolerance to drought but slower growth than var. <em>menziesii</em>. Clinal variation in drought tolerance and growth species-wide was mainly associated with temperature rather than precipitation. A higher degree of plasticity for growth was observed in var. <em>menziesii</em> in response to extreme drought.</p> Genetic variation for drought tolerance in seedlings within varieties is maintained primarily within populations. Selective breeding within populations may facilitate adaptation to drought more than assisted gene flow.</p>
Subject	Other; local adaptation; Climate change; Drought tolerance; Climate Adaptation; temperate trees; extreme drought; assisted gene flow; Douglas-fir
Type	Dataset
Notes	Dryad version number: 3</p> Version status: submitted</p> Dryad curation status: Published</p> Sharing link: http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.w3r2280wr</p> Storage size: 827064</p> Visibility: public</p>
Date Available	2024-01-16
Provider	University of British Columbia Library
License	CC0 1.0
DOI	10.14288/1.0438741
URI	https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/1CNWZL
Publisher DOI	https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/1CNWZL; https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w3r2280wr
Grant Funding Agency	Genome Canada; Genome British Columbia
Aggregated Source Repository	Dataverse

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