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Alderotti F, Sillo F, Brilli L, Bussotti F, Centritto M, Ferrini F, Gori A, Inghes R, Pasquini D, Pollastrini M, Saurer M, Cherubini P, Balestrini R, Brunetti C. Quercus ilex L. dieback is genetically determined: Evidence provided by dendrochronology, δ 13C and SSR genotyping. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 904:166809. [PMID: 37690750 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Quercus ilex L. dieback has been reported in several Mediterranean forests, revealing different degree of crown damages even in close sites, as observed in two Q. ilex forest stands in southern Tuscany (IT). In this work, we applied a novel approach combining dendrochronological, tree-ring δ13C and genetic analysis to test the hypothesis that different damage levels observed in a declining (D) and non-declining (ND) Q. ilex stands are connected to population features linked to distinct response to drought. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of two major drought events (2012 and 2017), that occurred in the last fifteen years in central Italy, on Q. ilex growth and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi). Overall, Q. ilex showed slightly different ring-width patterns between the two stands, suggesting a lower responsiveness to seasonal climatic variations for trees at D stand, while Q. ilex at ND stand showed changes in the relationship between climatic parameters and growth across time. The strong divergence in δ13C signals between the two stands suggested a more conservative use of water for Q. ilex at ND compared to D stand that may be genetically driven. Q. ilex at ND resulted more resilient to drought compared to trees at D, probably thanks to its safer water strategy. Genotyping analysis based on simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers revealed the presence of different Q. ilex populations at D and ND stands. Our study shows intraspecific variations in drought response among trees grown in close. In addition, it highlights the potential of combining tree-ring δ13C data with SSR genotyping for the selection of seed-bearing genotypes aimed to preserve Mediterranean holm oak ecosystem and improve its forest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Alderotti
- University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Viale delle idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, Italy; National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy
| | - Fabiano Sillo
- National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Brilli
- CNR-IBE, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for the BioEconomy, Via Caproni 8, 50145 Firenze, Italy
| | - Filippo Bussotti
- University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Viale delle idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, Italy
| | - Mauro Centritto
- National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy
| | - Francesco Ferrini
- University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Viale delle idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, Italy; National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (www.nfbc.it), Italy
| | - Antonella Gori
- University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Viale delle idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, Italy; National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy
| | - Roberto Inghes
- National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy
| | - Dalila Pasquini
- University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Viale delle idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, Italy
| | - Martina Pollastrini
- University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Viale delle idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (www.nfbc.it), Italy
| | - Matthias Saurer
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Paolo Cherubini
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; University of British Columbia, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Raffaella Balestrini
- National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy
| | - Cecilia Brunetti
- University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Viale delle idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, Italy; National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135, Torino, Italy.
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