Wood density proxies of adaptive traits linked with resistance to drought in Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco)

Trees-Struct. Funct.ISI Document Delivery No.: AP9SQTimes Cited: 0Cited Reference Count: 52Diaz Britez, Manuela Ruiz Sergent, Anne-Sophie Martinez Meier, Alejandro Breda, Nathalie Rozenberg, PhilippeNational Research Agency (DRYADE project) [ANR-06-VULN-004]; Centre region Research Project Xylome [2009 0003 8263]; Regional Council of Burgundy region; Regional Council of Centre region, France; Parque Tecnologico Misiones; Universidad Nacional de Misiones, ArgentinaWe gratefully thank F. Geremia, Y. Lefevre, N. Metral, P. Behr, T. Paul and B. Issenut for their technical assistance during field data collection and F. Millier for fieldwork and laboratory measurements. The fieldwork was possible thanks to the help of agents from CRPF in the Midi-Pyrenees and Burgundy regions. We thank L. Sanchez and S. Marin for discussions during the preliminary steps of the study. We also thank all public and private forest owners for allowing tree coring. The research was funded by the National Research Agency (DRYADE project, ANR-06-VULN-004), the Centre region Research Project Xylome no 2009 0003 8263 and the Regional Council of Burgundy region. A.S. Sergent received a PhD grant from the Regional Council of Centre region, France, M. Ruiz-Diaz received fundings from the Parque Tecnologico Misiones and the Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Argentina.SpringerNew york; Proxies of adaptive traits for resistance to drought were discovered among original annual ring density variables in Douglas fir. A comparison of dead and surviving Douglas fir trees following the 2003 drought was made to define proxies of adaptive traits for resistance to drought. Increment cores were sampled from trees from three French regions: Centre, Midi-Pyr,n,es and Burgundy. Original tree-ring variables were calculated, based on a sliding density criterion dividing the microdensity profile into high- and low-density segments. Tree rings were analysed at each site in a number of consecutive annual rings before the 2003 drought event. Comparison between pairs of surviving and dead trees and between pairs of randomly selected trees (whether dead or alive) supports the evidence of systematic dissimilarities between surviving and dead trees in a number of original density variables. Correlation analysis between original and conventional ring density variables indicates a weak association. We found that the surviving trees were denser than the dead trees in all three sites, but that the denser part of the ring varied from region to region. We identified several original density variables intended to be used as proxies of adaptive traits in future studies of genetic determinism of Douglas fir resistance to drought.