Species breeding monograph: Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) and Brutia pine (Pinus brutia Ten.)

Chambel, Maria Regina; Climent, José M.; Ducci, Fulvio; Pichot, Christian (2013) - Species breeding monograph: Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) and Brutia pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) - Springer

Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) and Brutia pine (P. brutia Ten.) are two native species of the Mediterranean basin, the first widespread mostly in its western part and the second widespread mostly in its eastern part. Together, they cover more than 7 million ha and play major ecological and economical roles in low to mid elevation Mediterranean forests. Both species are well adapted to dry summer conditions and colonize successfully abandoned arable lands and burned areas. Provenance testing has been carried out in most countries thanks to international collaboration through FAO’s Silva Mediterranea, IUFRO and UE projects. Breeding programs based on seed orchards have been developed in Spain and Greece for Aleppo pine and in Turkey for Brutia pine. The target of these programs has been not only yield improvement, but especially adaptability and endurance under limiting environmental conditions, particularly summer drought. In this monograph we compile the main information related to these low-intensity breeding programs, together with relevant research related to the ecology, genetics and products (both wood and non-wood) of these species. Special emphasis is given to some key differences between both species, such as cold tolerance (higher in Brutia pine) and drought tolerance (higher in Aleppo pine), reproductive biology and fire resilience. After revising the current status of breeding and species use across Europe, the chapter ends with some updated perspectives of research gaps or short term research needs in the light of fast climate change in the Mediterranean basin.

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