FORM DIVERSITY OF PINUS SYLVESTRIS L

FORM DIVERSITY OF PINUS SYLVESTRIS L. IN SOUTH SIBERIA

Novikova T.N.

Autochtonous (natural origin) populations of Pinus sylvestris L., which have been growing in Siberia territory for a long period of time, are particularly interested because they differ from pine forests, appeared after natural and man impacts by their historically formed gene pool. In this connection populations, growing in forest-steppe zone (Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe), submontane and low-mountain sub-taiga (the foothills of West Sayan).

Different features of the trees were studied, including color and structural characteristics of mature female cones, features of the seeds with determination of their quality. The investigations showed, that population of submontane taiga is characterized by a wider variety of cone colors. The trees with non-uniform coloring of the cones were also found there.

The cones of such trees in the presence of bright lighting potentially can produce brown pigment. As is well known, this ability is peculiar to the tree populations, growing on slopes of light exposition and in the south regions of range. This feature, obviously, is the evidence of gene pool specificity of this population concerned with its more ancient descent.

The most uniform is genotypic composition of this feature in Krasnoyarsk forest steppe and low-mountain sub-taiga (the foothills of West Sayan). Having little difference in total number of seed scales in cones, the populations have true distinction in the number of mature seed scales. These features, characterizing potential seed productivity, positively correlate with the number of seeds with endosperm in one cone. 1000 seeds from the populations of Krasnoyarsk forest steppe and submontane sub-taiga have very little difference in weight (7.0 and 7.1 g), significant difference was found out with the same feature (6.6g) of low-mountain sub-taiga population

The similarity on a number of features is the evidence of the isolation of pine forests in South Siberia in the past. Structure of population specificity is caused by the differentiation of the gene pool under the influence of natural selection in the specified environmental conditions.