Aspen Bibliography

Associations Between Environmental Heterogeneity, Heterozygosity, and Growth Rates of Populus Tremuloides in a Cordilleran Landscape

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Arctic and Alpine Research

Volume

25

Issue

3

First Page

183

Last Page

188

Publication Date

1993

Abstract

The relationship between mean annual incremental growth, habitat heterogeneity and heterozygosity at 14 polymorphic loci was studied in a natural population of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the premontane-montane region of Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada. Multiple correlation of mean annual incremental growth in relation to elevation, aspect, exposure, slope, slope position, and age of the oldest standing ramet explained 56% of the variability in growth. A positive correlation was found between an individual tree's growth rate and its degree of heterozygosity after controlling for environmental influence. There was also a positive correlation between growth and the degree of heterozygosity when clones were grouped into heterozygosity classes. Mean annual incremental growth was most strongly associated with heterozygosity at the G6PD, ADH, ALD, and G2DH loci; growth rates were higher in heterozygotes than homozygotes. The differences in heterozygosity might be attributed to the enzyme loci involved in regulatory functions. The implications of these results for forest structure and succession are discussed.

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