engleski

Diversity and structure of croatian continental and alpine-dinaric populations of grey alder (Alnus incana /L./ Moench subsp. incana); Isolation by distance and environment explains phenotypic divergence

We studied the morphological variation and its correlation to the environment in a boreal tree species, Alnus incana (L.) Moench subsp. incana , across the Croatian continental and Alpine-Dinaric biogeographical regions. A total of seven grey alder populations from environmentally divergent habitats were included in the study. We combined descriptive and multivariate statistical methods by using morphological leaf traits and environmental features to examine the diversity and structure of grey alder populations. High phenotypic variation, and two distinct morphotypes were found: small-leaf in the Alpine-Dinaric region, and large-leaf in the continental region. We identified a biogeo-graphical structuring of populations with a high level of among-tree variation within the populations. Multivariate phenotypic and environmental analysis confirmed the existence of small- and large-leaf ecotypes. Additionally, a lack of significant among- population variation within biogeographical regions was observed. Furthermore, we found that phenotypic divergence of the studied grey alder populations can be explained as a result of a significant level of isolation both by distance and by environment.

phenotypic variation ; leaf morphology ; adaptation ; ecological divergence ; clinal variation ; altitudinal gradient

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