Biology subjects

Beaton, J. K.

Publications and source records attributed to Beaton, J. K..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Significant and persistent carryover effects in Scots pine

After tracking Scots pine plants from germination to 15 years old, through contrasting early life environments, we observed significant and persistent carryover effects. Groups of plants from common genetic backgrounds were raised in distinct nursery environments, and growth and phenology traits were measured repeatedly once trees had established in their field sites. Growth and phenology differences were evident for 10 and 6 years post-transplantation to the field, respectively. There was a clear interaction between site of origin and carryover effect, indicating that local adaptation also played a role. Given the increasing rate of tree planting initiatives being undertaken around the world in the name of the climate and biodiversity crises, and the strong dependence on those initiatives of nursery-grown plants, our finding of strong carryover effects of the early life environment has significant implications.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Tree nursery environments and their effect on early trait variation

Despite the major role of nurseries in raising young plants and trees prior to transplantation, not enough is known about how the nursery climate impacts the growth and development of plants from germination through to maturity. It is important for forestry practitioners to understand the effect that different nursery environments may have on early stage growth as these may exceed differences due to genetic variation and can confound the use of early stage traits for selection. Here, a replicated progeny-provenance experiment of the economically and ecologically important species Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was established in three environmentally distinct nurseries in Scotland and traits including survival, growth, form and phenology were measured. Temperature variation and photoperiod were the only uncontrolled environmental variables during this period, and their effect on measured traits was found to be significant among nurseries from the first growing season onwards. Trait interactions were not consistent between nurseries, indicating that the effectiveness of using proxy traits to select for desirable characteristics may depend on the environment in which the trees are grown. This study is the first in a series that will examine trait variation in Scots pine from seedlings to mature trees and highlights the importance of carefully considering and accounting for the nursery environment when growing trees for subsequent transplantation.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Phenotypic trait variation in a long-term, multisite common garden of Scots pine in Scotland

Multisite common garden experiments, exposing common pools of genetic diversity to a range of environments, allow quantification of plastic and genetic components of trait variation. For tree species, such studies must be long term as they typically only express mature traits after many years. As well as evaluating standing genetic diversity, these experiments provide an ongoing test of genetic variation against changing environmental conditions and form a vital resource for understanding how species respond to abiotic and biotic variation. Finally, quantitative assessments of phenotypic variation are essential to pair with rapidly accumulating genomic data to advance understanding of the genetic basis of trait variation, and its interaction with climatic change. We describe a multisite, population-progeny, common garden experiment of the economically and ecologically important tree species, Scots pine, collected from across its native range in Scotland and grown in three contrasting environments. Phenotypic traits, including height, stem diameter and budburst were measured over 14 growing seasons from nursery to field site. The datasets presented have a wide range of applications.

ecology↗