FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES IN EUROPE – CONSERVATION AND USE

Alexandrov A. H., Pandeva D. I.

Forest Research Institute – Sofia, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, forestin@bas.bg

 

The separate parts of Europe are under the influence of different climates – oceanic and continental, arctic, sub-arctic, moderate-continental and sub-tropic.

The presence of several macro-biomes on this continent - tundra, taiga, deciduous forests of the moderate zone, forest steppes, Mediterranean sclerophillic forests and semi-deserts, determines the existence of large number forest tree and shrub species. Their genetic resources are of great economic importance for Europe but present interest for other continents too.

Many European mountains as Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians, Rila and Rhodopes, Balkan Range, and Caucasus are orientated in east-west direction, which had limited the migration of forest tree species during glacial periods and had determined to a great extent the contemporary vegetation pattern and biodiversity.

The sustainable management of forest ecosystems with respect to modern silviculture requires conservation of genetic resources in situ and ex situ along with controlled exchange of reproductive materials.

On the base of Ministerial Conference on Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), in 1994 a Programme for Forest Genetic Resources (EUROGEN) was established aiming to promote effective conservation and sustainable use of forest resources. During the first and second phases of the Programme (1994-1999 and 2000-2004) five networks operated, as follows:

 1) conifers;

 2) temperate oaks and beech;

3) noble hardwoods;

4) black poplar; and

5) Mediterranean oaks.

During the third phase (2005-2009) three species-oriented networks:

1) conifers;

2) scattered broadleaves;

3) stand-forming broadleaves

and one thematic network:

4) forest management,

were established.

As result of EUROGEN activities technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use of practically all valuable forest tree species in Europe were elaborated and published. They contain synthesised information on biology and ecology, distribution, importance and use, genetic knowledge, threats to genetic diversity, as well as genetic conservation and use and revised maps of their contemporary areas.