Adaptive of trees and its correlation with the climatic are causing changes in tree species performance and distribution, which will change breeding programs and influence forest productivity. To further evaluate the joint influence of climatic factors and provenance on the ring width (RW) and ring density (RD) of Masson pine. We selected 18 provenances at Chun’an (CA) and Taizi Mountain (TZS) test site, which representing four different breeding regions, including the south, west, north and east-central regions. The results showed that the provenance effects were significantly for the RW and RD. The provenances from high temperature and low latitude regions had greater mean RW compared to species from local and cold sources. The geographical genetic variation in wood traits is generally weak. The correlation between RW of Masson pine and precipitation was stronger in the relatively arid TZS site compared with that in relatively wet CA site, as well as the effect of temperature and precipitation on RD was earlier than that in CA test site. The response relationship between establishing the width of tree rings and the environmental variables of provenance indicated that during the transition from the northern and western breeding regions to the eastern and southern breeding regions, the response of RW to climate factors changed from being temperature-based to being precipitation-based. In addition, the response of provenance to the climate of seed sources origin showed their own variation characteristics in each breeding area. Therefore, genetic improvement of big diameter wood and wood density can be gain through selection of provenance and analysis of adaptability.

Instytut Dendrologii PAN w Kórniku - Institute of Dendrology PAS (Kórnik, Poland)

Cypress (Cupressus funebris Endl.) is a major tree species planted for forestland restoration in low-fertility soil and in areas where rocky desertification has occurred. Calcium (Ca) fertilizer can adjust the pH of soil and has an important effect on the growth of cypress. Soil and water losses are serious in Southern China, and soil acidification is increasing, which results in high calcium loss. However, the adaptability of cypress clones to different concentrations of calcium in acidic soils has not been studied. In this investigation, a potted-plant experiment was set up with three concentrations of calcium oxide (CaO) fertilizer (0, 3, and 6 g·kg⁻¹) added under local soil conditions with 0 and 3 g·kg⁻¹ nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizer. The effects of CaO on the growth, root development, and nutrient uptake and utilization efficiency of cypress clones were analyzed. The growth, root development, and nutrient absorption and utilization of cypress differed when calcium fertilizer was applied to acidic soils with different degrees of fertility. In the soil with 0 g·kg⁻¹ NPK fertilizer, the 3 and 6 g·kg⁻¹ CaO treatments significantly increased the clonal growth of cypress seedling height, basal diameter, and dry-matter weight. In addition, the length, surface area, and volume of the roots less than 2.0 mm of root diameter also significantly increased, indicating that the fine cypress roots were somewhat able to adapt to differing Ca levels under lower fertility conditions. Moreover, the efficiency of N, P, and Ca accumulation was highest in the 3 g·kg⁻¹ CaO treatment. After adding 3 g·kg⁻¹ CaO fertilizer to the soil with 3 g·kg⁻¹ NPK fertilizer, only the root dry-matter weight increased significantly, indicating that root development (including root length, surface area, and volume) in the D1–D3 diameter classes (≤1.5 mm in diameter) was significantly elevated. When CaO application reached 6 g·kg⁻¹, the seedling height, basal diameter, and dry-matter weight of each organ decreased, as did the length, surface area, and volume of the roots in the all diameter classes, indicating that the addition of excessive CaO to fertile soil could inhibit the growth and root development of cypress. In Ca-deficient low-quality acidic soils, adding CaO fertilizer can promote the development of fine roots and the uptake and utilization of N, P, and Ca. The results of this study provide a basis for determining the optimal fertilization strategy when growing cypress in acidic soils in Southern China.

Cupressus funebris Endl., a widely cultivated evergreen species in China, plays an important ecological and economic role in afforestation, ecological restoration, and the production of essential oils and medicinal compounds. However, its taxonomic status within Cupressaceae has long been debated due to complex phylogenetic relationships. In this study, we sequenced and annotated the complete chloroplast genome of C. funebris and conducted comparative analyses with nine other Cupressaceae species. The genome of C. funebris is 127,816 bp in length, encoding 117 genes. Comparative analyses revealed a highly conserved genome structure across the ten species, with notable divergence concentrated in coding regions such as accD, ycf1, ycf2, and rpoC2. Codon usage analysis indicated a significant bias toward codons ending in A or U. A total of 709 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 170,475 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, providing valuable markers for genetic studies. The phylogenetic tree constructed from 63 complete chloroplast genomes revealed species relationships largely consistent with traditional taxonomy, indicating that chloroplast genomes can effectively reflect phenotypic variation within Cupressaceae and thus hold broad potential for systematic and evolutionary studies. Furthermore, variable regions within the rpoA and rpoC2 genes were identified as SNP-rich hotspots, enabling species-level discrimination across all ten species. These findings not only enhance our understanding of chloroplast genome evolution in Cupressaceae but also offer genomic resources for taxonomy, phylogenetics, and molecular breeding.

Background: Cypress (Cupressus funebris Endl.) is an important tree species in the subtropics of China, it is also a major tree species for afforestation and forest land restoration under infertile site conditions. Cypress is considered to be a calcicolous tree, whose there are growth and development can be promoted significantly by exchangeable Calcium (Ca²⁺) in the soil. However, most of the subtropical regions have infertile acidic soils, in which Ca²⁺ gradually becomes a limiting element for cypress growth. Results: In this study, different concentrations of Ca²⁺ fertilizer were added under fertile and infertile soil conditions. Cypress clones responded differently to Ca²⁺ addition in different soil conditions. In the infertile soil, the addition of 3 g•kg^− 1 Ca²⁺ advanced and prolonged the fast-growing period of seedling height growth, increased plant height and dry biomass, promoted the development of fine roots ≤ 1.5 mm in diameter, and improved accumulation efficiencies of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and Ca by the roots in cypress clones; however, the addition of 6 g•kg^− 1 Ca²⁺ inhibited height growth and root development of cypress. In the fertile soil, Ca²⁺ addition delayed and shortened the fast-growing period for cypress height growth, but plant height and dry biomass did not differ significantly between treatments; Ca²⁺ addition also inhibited the development of fine roots. The clone with fast height growth had a larger proportion of roots with a diameter ≤ 1.5 mm and achieved higher N accumulation efficiency, while Ca accumulation efficiency showed genotypic differences only in the fertile soil. Conclusions: An appropriate level of Ca²⁺ can be added to infertile soil to promote cypress seedling growth, and clones with fast height growth and developed fine roots can be selected for cultivation and promotion in the fertile soil without Ca²⁺ application.