Summary
Climate change continues to affect forest management and tree growth in significant levels. Warmer temperatures are anticipated with an increased occurrence of drought and in-storm sessions. The projected rise in temperature is anticipated to lead to acute drought throughout the interior plateau of western North America (David Montwe et al., 2015). There is no assurance that many present trees are suitable for the projected increase in temperatures. Hence more tree species that are adapted to drought and heat are subsequently required for reforestation (Levers et al., 2014). The aim of this study is to identify drought resistant genotypes/individuals in the various geographical climes (provenances in this study). Our results revealed that provenances in central Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec as well as Southern Ontario had better growth rates compared to other regions. Water Use Efficiency (WUE) varied within the population. Most of the regions exhibited higher water use efficiency under drought conditions with the exception of Yukon.
Disclaimer: Part of the data used in this study were fabricated for RENR 580
References
Levers, C., Verkerk, P. J., Müller, D., Verburg, P. H., Butsic, V., Leitão, P. J., ... & Kuemmerle, T. (2014). Drivers of forest harvesting intensity patterns in Europe. Forest Ecology and Management, 315, 160-172
Montwé, D., Spiecker, H., & Hamann, A. (2015). Five decades of growth in a genetic field trial of Douglas-fir reveal trade-offs between productivity and drought tolerance. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 11(2), 29.