Levels of diversity and inbreeding in a clonal seed orchard for high-mountain ecotype of Scots Pine

By

Doncheva, Neli
Evtimov, Ivan
Zhelev, Petar

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-9-30

Original Publication

Silva Balcanica

Volume

26

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

85--92

Subjects

Hybrids , outcrossing rate , Pinus sylvestris , seed orchard

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Forest Research Institute - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (FRI-BAS) [2001]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.26.e157342

 

Abstract

Seed orchards are an important source of high-quality seeds for afforestation. Genetic composition of seed orchard crop was studied in a clonal seed orchard situated in Borovets, Rila Mts, which was designed for producing seed for high-mountain afforestations. Diversity in the seed orchard was comparable with the results of other similar studies. Both multilocus and single-locus outcrossing rates were relatively low – 0.867 and 0.782, respectively. Such low levels of outcrossing are not unprecedented in conifers, but the results indicate some degree of selfing in the seed orchard. The possible causes and factors influencing genetic aspects of the reproductive process in the seed orchard are discussed.