Genetic and breeding complex of the coniferous in the Novosobirsk region/oblast

Demidenko V.P., Noskov V.I., Yudintsev A.N.

Regional State Forestry «Berdsk Seed Forestry», Russia, berdskleshoz@mail.ru

The “common genetic and breeding complex” (CGBC) in the forestries of the Novosibirsk region dates back for more than 30 years.

The long-term programs and research have been carried out by a laboratory of the Research Institute of Genetics and Selection together with the Institute of Forest of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Implementation of the programs and the general supervision is provided by the Berdsk Seed Forestry Station. Various projects are carried out by the Siberian Office of the Project Institute ‘Rosgiproles’.

Selection schemes include inventories of the perspective tree stands, selection of the plus trees and plantations, establishing of seed and archive plantations, as well as testing cultures of plus trees. Besides that, genetic reserves were set-up to preserve the valuable gene pools, plantations with genetic cultures (climatypes) were set up to elucidate forest seed zoning and to study population structure.

The Novosibirsk region is one of the leading in Siberia in the number of selection and seed forestry plantations. Selection efforts focus primarily on the Scots pine, which tree stands occupy nearly 80 % of the forested area of the region, involving to a lesser degree the Siberian pine, fir tree, spruce and larch. Inventory of the perspective tree stands had been completed, and now plantations are being set up. According to the 2007 data, the UGSC embraces 832 plus trees, including 401 trees of the Scots pine, 137 trees of the Siberian pine, 146 spruce trees, 75 fir trees and 55 larch trees); 194 ha of plus plantations, 2773 ha of genetic reserves; 196 ha of forest seed orchards, 58 ha of archive plantations, 20 ha of testing cultures of the plus trees, 15.4 ha of climatype plantations. Besides that, 345 ha Constant Forest Seed Plot (CFSP) were established.

The main plantation areas are in the Elbashino Forestry are of the berdsk Forestry. The main spruce seed plantations are established by the Suzun Forestry, and plantations of the draught-resistant pines and larches are set up in the Kulunda steppe by the Karasuk Forestry. Seeds are collected from the (CFSP) and forest seed orchards. Improved seeds and seedlings are sold by the regional forestries.

Implementation of selection and genetic preservation programs allowed the Novosibirsk region to acquire significant expertise in the filed, creative exploitation of which may improve the UGSC quality and promote selection rate.

We consider that the current forestry conditions and the amount of its financial support the main task is to preserve the forest gene pool and to work for the increased selection value of forest plantations.

We need to adjust the current methods of establishing the seed and selection plantations, first of all by promoting the step-by-step character of testing plus trees and decreasing the areas of the 1^st order forest seed plantations. Some seed and selection plantations should be excluded from the regional CGBC and categorize otherwise. Practice showed that population selection should be carried out alongside with the plus one. Efficiency of the efforts to establish and use a UGSC depends strongly on the structure and status of the sed selection enterprise. In this respect a selection seed center with financial support from the federal and regional budgets seems to be one of the most perspective forms.