Early results from a newly-established provenance test in Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) show significant population differentiation

Abstract

Valley oak (Quercus lobata) is a majestic, endemic California native oak, found throughout California's foothills, valleys and flood plains. It is threatened because: Contracted range due to housing and agriculture. Low recruitment in existing stands as a function of land use and increased stress on existing trees and recruitment due to recent and projected climate change. Valley oak substantially shapes ecosystem functions and biodiversity where it occurs through above ground (e.g., provides shelter with cavities, and food with acorns) and below ground (e.g., soil stability and productivity) contributions. Valley oak is also important to California's diverse Native American cultures, including the location of historic trade routes and settlements. To create a resource for research, education and conservation, in 2015, we established a fully-replicated two-site provenance trial from a range-wide acorn collection, representing 674 uniquely identified maternal trees from 95 populations of valley oak from across California now growing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Institute of Forest Genetics in Placerville, California, and the Chico Seed Orchard in Chico, California. Provenance tests, such as the one described here, are powerful research tools, allowing for the comparison of trees from a diverse range of climates in common garden settings. By comparing growth and performance in two climatically different gardens, we are able to understand more about the underlying genetics of traits.

Parent Publication

• Gene conservation of tree species—banking on the future. Proceedings of a workshop.

Citation

Wright, Jessica W.; Sork, Victoria L. 2017. Early results from a newly-established provenance test in Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) show significant population differentiation. In: Sniezko, Richard A.; Man, Gary; Hipkins, Valerie; Woeste, Keith; Gwaze, David; Kliejunas, John T.; McTeague, Brianna A., tech. cords. 2017. Gene conservation of tree species—banking on the future. Proceedings of a workshop. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-963. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. p. 164.