Eichen im Aargau – eine besondere Verantwortung für das Fricktal | Oak in the canton of Argovia – a special responsibility for the Fricktal
A targeted nurturing of oak in the canton of Argovia goes against the natural development of forest stands where the dominant, naturally occurring species is beech. Because of this, afforestation with oak is both work intensive and costly and is therefore concentrated on sites where silvicultural, economical and ecological aspects have been taken into account. With the help of a simple model showing areas where, above all, oak is nurtured, comprehensively mapped forest stands were classed according to competitiveness and correlated to thermal levels, that represent an important site factor for oak. One important aspect surrounding the issue is the preservation of genetic resources and an adequate supply of appropriate seed from chosen autochthonal, indigenous oak stands. In addition, the endangered population of middle spotted woodpecker, which is tied to widespread sites of aged oak-rich deciduous stands, should be fostered. Taking ecological priorities into account a possible area to nurture oak has bee...
Autochthon oder allochthon? Ein molekulargenetischer Ansatz am Beispiel der Eichen (Quercus spp.) in der Schweiz
Autochthonous forests are considered to be valuable genetic resources, and their conservation is incorporated into many national forest programmes. The methods applied so far often do not allow to distinguish between autochthonous and allochthonous stands. Therefore, alternative methods are needed. In this study, we analyse spatial patterns of variation of chloroplast DNA to estimate the extent of the human influence on oak stands in Switzerland.
Amplification of oak DNA from ancient and modern wood
A polymorphic noncoding region of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) was successfully amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from various oak wood samples, including recent and more ancient (about 600‐years‐old) samples from different oak species. Adaptation of DNA isolation and amplification protocols was necessary to obtain this result. Polymorphisms useful to distinguish species or geographical origin of these samples could be scored through sequencing. These polymorphisms include one substitution and two microsatellite‐type polymorphisms, due to a variable number of A/T repeats. Identical results were obtained independently in two separate laboratories.