© 2001 Heron Publishing—Victoria, Canada
Family differences in height growth and photosynthetic traits in three conifers
John D. Marshall (1), Gerald E. Rehfeldt (2) and Robert A. Monserud (2, 3)
1. Department of Forest Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1133, USA / 2. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest Research Station, Moscow, ID 83843, USA / 3. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR 97208, USA / Received May 15, 2000
Summary
We investigated variation in height growth, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf stable carbon isotope ratio among
wind-pollinated progenies of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. glauca), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) and western white pine (Pinus monticola Dougl. ex D. Don) from a small group of contiguous stands on the Priest River Experimental Forest in northern Idaho. Photosynthetic
variables differed between height classes in the pines, but not in Douglas-fir. Among species and families, tall families
of ponderosa pine regained photosynthetic capacity earliest in the spring and maintained it latest in the growing season.
Tall families of western white pine had higher instantaneous water-use efficiencies and lower photosynthetic rates than short
families on warm days in August.
Keywords:
chlorophyll fluorescence, genetic variation, half-sib, net photosynthesis, seasonal gas-exchange, stable carbon isotope ratio.
