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AOBPreview originally published online on August 25, 2004
Annals of Botany 2004 94(4):635-644; doi:10.1093/aob/mch184
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Annals of Botany 94/4, © Annals of Botany Company 2004; all rights reserved

Comparative Seedling Ecology of Eight North American Spruce (Picea) Species in Relation to their Geographic Ranges

KAE MIYAZAWA* and MARTIN J. LECHOWICZ

1 Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 1B1

* For correspondence at: National Agricultural Research Center for Tohoku Region (NARCT), Department of Upland Farming, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Harajuku-minami 50, Aza, Arai, Fukushima, Fukushima 960-2156, Japan. E-mail kae{at}affrc.go.jp

Received: 10 March 2004    Returned for revision: 21 May 2004    Accepted: 9 July 2004    Published electronically: 25 August 2004

• Background and Aims Allowing for dispersal limitation, a species' geographic distribution should reflect its environmental requirements. Comparisons among closely related species should reveal adaptive differentiation in species characteristics that are consistent with their differences in geographic distribution. This expectation was tested by comparing characteristics of seedlings of spruce species in relation to environmental factors representative of their current natural ranges.

• Methods Seedlings were grown from a total of 34 populations representing eight North American spruce (Picea) species in a controlled environment chamber for 140 d. Traits related to the potential of seedling establishment, including tolerance to stress events (high temperature, desiccation) were evaluated. Correlations were sought between these characteristics and modal values of latitude, aridity and continentality in the geographic range of each species.

• Key Results Many seedling traits changed significantly in response to stress events, but only the response of chlorophyll concentration differed significantly among species. Components of seedling growth were good correlates of species distribution. Seedling relative growth rate (RGR) and specific leaf area (SLA) were positively correlated with latitude, and leaf weight ratio (LWR) negatively correlated with aridity. Seed mass was negatively correlated with latitude.

• Conclusions Relationships found between seedling traits and geographical variation in environmental conditions suggest that factors such as temperature regime, water availability and perhaps litter depth affect species range in North American spruces. Seedling characteristics appear to be elements in a reasonably distinct environmental niche for each spruce species at the continental scale.

Key words: Relative growth rate, specific leaf area, leaf weight ratio, seed mass, seedling, stress response, distribution, Picea


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