Paraná Pine (Araucaria angustifolia): The most planted native forest tree species in Argentina. Chap. 15

MARÍA ELENA GAUCHAT, MARÍA VIRGINIA INZA, FABIANA LATORRE, NATALIA C AGUIRRE, ÉCTOR C BELABER, NOGA ZELENER, SUSANA L TORALES, LUIS FORNÉS, MARTÍN A PINAZO, HUGO E FASSOLA, CRISTIAN A ROTUNDO, NORBERTO M PAHR

Low Intensity Breeding of Native Forest Trees in Argentina

Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Año: 2020; p. 395 - 426

Low Intensity Breeding of Native Forest Trees in Argentina. Genetic bases for their domestication and conservationGlobal climate change increasingly demands the development of programs that contemplate the active restoration of degraded forests and the use of native trees in afforestation to preserve the natural environment. International commitments like the UN REDD program, the Montréal Process and the Convention on Biological Diversity claim for the breeding of species rarely contemplated by large industrial companies. Low-intensity breeding is the most rational strategy to breed those species: simple but robust, independent of continuous and growing funding, therefore effective even with a relatively small budget. It commonly emphasizes high genetic diversity rather than improving economic traits and adaptability rather than productivity. Controlled crosses with full pedigree typical of high intensity breeding are replaced by open pollination. In this book we present the state of the art of breeding strategies in the last two decades for several forest tree species of first importance in the natural forests of Argentina. They are distributed in the three main forestry ecoregions of the country: the subtropical dry forest (Chaco), the subtropical rain forests (Yungas and Paranaense rainforest) and the temperate forests of Patagonia. We present the genetic patterns of the selected species defined by means of genetic markers together with the analysis of the variation in quantitative traits. We consider crucial features of their reproductive biology, such as the mating system and gene flow. The current ongoing breeding programs are also presented. Finally, we present the latest developments in genetic resources and their incipient applications, and conclude with some reflections and perspectives related to the conditioning imposed by climate change.Section 3. Subtropical RainforestsChapter 16: Pino Paraná (Araucaria angustifolia): the most planted native forest tree species in Argentina María Elena Gauchat, María Virginia Inza, Fabiana Latorre, Natalia C Aguirre, Éctor C Belaber, Noga Zelener, Susana L Torales, Luis Fornés, Martín A Pinazo, Hugo E Fassola, Cristian A Rotundo, Norberto M PahrNatural distribution in Argentina: the western extreme of a large range. Uses and cultural meaning. Current conservation status of its natural populations. The historical use in productive plantations. Reproductive biology. Morphology and structure of pollen cones and pollen grains. Pollen dispersion. Variation of pollen productivity through time and its relationship with climatic variables and seed production. Conservation alternatives for its recalcitrant seeds. Genetic variability of natural populations by means of AFLP genetic markers. The prominent case of a unique collection of more than 50 years old. Identification of valuable gene pools for conservation and management purposes. Genetic variation of quantitative traits. Provenance tests. Breeding and conservation strategy. Populations from tree improvement program (base, selected, breeding and propagation).