Reproductive ecology of male and female Strobili and mating system in two different populations of Pinus roxburghii

Inbreeding in Chinese Fir: Insight into the Rare Self-Fertilizing Event from a Genetic View

Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) is a fast-growing conifer with great forestation value and prefers outcrossing with high inbreeding depression effect. Previously, we captured a special Chinese fir parent clone named as 'cx569' that lacks early inbreeding depression. In view of the fact that very little has been published about the rare self-fertilizing event in Chinese fir from a genetic view, herein, we conduct an SSR-based study on the variation of open- and self-pollinated offspring of this parent to gain a view of the rare self-fertilizing event. The results indicated that genetic diversity of self-pollinated offspring was significantly reduced by half (Ho: 0.302, vs. 0.595, p = 0.001; He: 0.274 vs. 0.512, p = 0.002) when compared to an open-pollinated set. Self-pollinated offspring also had significantly positive FIS values (FIS = 0.057, p = 0.034) with a much higher proportion of common allele (20.59% vs. 0), reflecting their heterozygote deficiency. Clustering analysis further indicated a separation of the self- and opened- pollinated groups, implying a natural preference of outcrossing for cx569. However, the cx569 still had 6% acceptance for selfing. When accepted 100% for its own pollen, the cx569 led to a genetically unique selfing group. Additionally, this selfing group seemed to be consistently homozygous at seven particular loci. These findings gave us more genetic clues to gain insight into the rare self-fertilizing event in conifer (Chinese fir).

Producing Urban Aerobiological Risk Map for Cupressaceae Family in the SW Iberian Peninsula from LiDAR Technology

Given the rise in the global population and the consequently high levels of pollution, urban green areas, such as those that include plants in the Cupressaceae family, are suitable to reduce the pollution levels, improving the air quality. However, some species with ornamental value are also very allergenic species whose planting should be regulated and their pollen production reduced by suitable pruning. The Aerobiological Index to create Risk maps for Ornamental Trees (AIROT), in its previous version, already included parameters that other indexes did not consider, such as the width of the streets, the height of buildings and the geographical characteristics of cities. It can be considered by working with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data from five urban areas, which were used to create the DEM and DSM (digital elevation and surface models) needed to create one of the parameters. Pollen production is proposed as a parameter (α) based on characteristics and uses in the forms of hedges or trees that will be incorporated into the index. It will allow the comparison of different species for the evaluation of the pruning effect when aerobiological risks are established. The maps for some species of Cupressaceae (Cupressus arizonica, Cupressus macrocarpa, Cupressus sempervirens, Cupressocyparis leylandii and Platycladus orientalis) generated in a GIS (geographic information system) from the study of several functions of Kriging, have been used in cities to identify aerobiological risks in areas of tourist and gastronomic interest. Thus, allergy patients can make decisions about the places to visit depending on the levels of risk near those areas. The AIROT index provides valuable information for allergy patients, tourists, urban planning councillors and restaurant owners in order to structure the vegetation, as well as planning tourism according to the surrounding environmental risks and reducing the aerobiological risk of certain areas.

Urban aerobiological risk mapping of ornamental trees using a new index based on LiDAR and Kriging: A case study of plane trees

Ornamental trees bring benefits for human health, including reducing urban pollution. However, some species, such as plane trees (Platanus sp.), produce allergenic pollen. Consequently, urban maps are a valuable tool for allergic patients and allergists, but they often fail to include variables that contribute to the "building downwash effect", such as the width and shape of streets and the height of buildings. Other factors that directly influence pollen dispersion (slopes and other geographical features) also have not traditionally been discussed. The LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) technique enables one to consider these variables with high accuracy. This work proposes an Aerobiological Index to create Risk maps for Ornamental Trees (AIROT) and the establishment of potential areas of risk of exposure to Platanus pollen. LiDAR data from five urban areas were used to create the DEM and DSM (Digital Elevation and Surface Models) needed to perform further analysis. GIS software was used to map the points for each city and to create risk maps by Kriging, with stable (3 cases) and exponential function (2 cases) as the optimal models. In short, the AIROT index was a useful tool to map possible biological risks in cities. Since AIROT allows each city to consider its own characteristics, including geographical specifications, by using remote sensing and geostatistics techniques, the establishment of risk maps and healthy itineraries is valuable for allergic patients, allergists, architects and urban planners. This new aerobiological index provides a new decision-making tool related to urban planning and allergenicity assessment.