COST Action E 52 - vTI - Bund.de

GeNeTIcs: TaXoNomy, GeNeTIc resources, LeGIsLaTIoN,
maNaGemeNT aWareNess oF The GeNeTIc resources oF beech,
area oF iN situ, EX situ reserves, commoN GardeN TesTs
Taxonomy of beech in Greece: F. sylvatica L., Sp. Pl.: 998 (1 53) ssp. sylvatica (recorded from Europe).
2n = 22 and 24. Syn.: F. moesiaca (K. Maly) Czecz. in Roczn. Polsk. Towarsz. Dendrol. 5: 96 (1993),
p.p. It is closely related to F. sylvatica ssp. orientalis (Lipsky) Greuter and Burdet in Willdenowia
11: 2 9 (1981), described from NW Iran. Typical ssp. orientalis from N. Iran and NC Turkey can be
distinguished from ssp. sylvatica on the following characters (Moulopoulos 1965, Strid 1989): leaf
size/shape and number of veins, cupula size and shape of scales. Beech stands show high differentiation
in Greece. Various forms called F. moesiaca (K. Maly) Czecz. with intermediate leaves (between the
two species) can be found throughout the range of ssp. sylvatica but are more frequent in the Balkan
Peninsula and in NW Anatolia (Turkey) where the two subspecies meet. The shape and the size of
the male perianth (diagnostic character) vary within the subspecies and even in the same tree and
the same inflorescence (Moulopoulos 1965, Strid 1989, 1991). Another diagnostic character of
ssp. orientalis is the spathulate cupula scales (Moulopoulos 1965, Athanasiadis 1986). In Europe,
beech trees with such scales are found in SE Bulgaria, Romania and European part of Turkey. In
Greece, and particularly in the north-eastern part of the country, some trees resemble ssp. orientalis
in vegetative characters, but never have clear dilated cupula scales (Strid 1989). Such phenotypes
usually grow at relatively low altitude (200 – 1,000 m), whereas typical ssp. sylvatica is mainly found
in the western and central parts and rarely below 1,000 m (Moulopoulos 1965, Strid, Kit 1991).
The two subspecies are considered typical geographical races, and have a broad range of intermediate
forms in the zone of contact (Moulopoulos 1965, Strid, Kit 1991). Recent studies based on leaf
morphological characters (e. g. Boutsios et al. 2004) and molecular markers (e. g. Vidali et al.
2005) have shown an increased genetic diversity in beech populations from NE and E Greece (Thraki
region) in comparison to other parts of the country, and suggested a possible meeting of the two
subspecies (F. sylvatica ssp. sylvatica and F. sylvatica ssp. orientalis) at this location.
The seed stands of beech have been selected according to EEC and OECD/international rules and
terminology (E.E.C. 1966, O.E.C.D. 196 , Barner, Koster 19 6, Matziris 1989). Beech selected
seed stands are shown in Table 1 along with the parameters: latitude, longitude, altitude, mean annual
temperatures, mean annual rainfall, summer rainfall and bedrock (E.E.C. 1966, Mavrommatis 1980,
Matziris 1989). In the description of each stand other details are also given (e. g. prefecture, village,
site name, local forest service).
Tab. 1: Fagus sylvatica selected seed stands in Greece
Species and
provenance
144
Stand
no.
Latitude Longitude Altitude
(m)
Mean annual
temperature
(°C)
Mean annual
rainfall
(mm)
Summer
rainfall
Bedrock
Fagus sylvatica
Aridaia 59 41° 07‘ 22° 05‘ 1,400 - 746 133 granite
Konitsa 60 40° 05‘ 20° 41‘ 1,750 10.8 1,000 150 flysch
Drama 61 41° 22‘ 24° 34‘ 1,450 8.8 1,020 205 granite