Ecotypic variation of black spruce in northwestern Ontario

Abstract

The success of reforestation can be improved by selecting the appropriate seed source for the site type. However, not much is known about the differences in using upland versus lowland black spruce seed sources when making seed transfer decisions. A black spruce provenance test consisting of 50 seed sources from across northwestern Ontario was analyzed to determine if adaptive divergence of provenances originating from different soil types was evident. Differences in height and diameter of black spruce provenances planted at the 25th Side Road Tree Farm near Thunder Bay, Ontario were examined. Soil categories were created based on the northwestern Ontario Forest Ecosystem Classification (FEC) program. One-way and two-way ANOVAs were run for each of the measured variables. The results suggest an absence of ecotypic variation concerning soil types in black spruce.