Dissertation Research: Impact of Landscape Management on Mating Patterns and Pollen Movement in Short Leaf Pine

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Sork0073242 Gene movement is a critical process for the long-term survival of natural populations. For temperate tree species, pollen movement is the most important vector of gene movement within and between populations. The physical structure of the forest determines the distance of pollen movement and the distribution of conspecific trees affects the amount of inbred matings. The major goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that modification of forest structure, through the application of alternate forest management techniques (even-aged, uneven-aged, and no management treatments), influences pollen movement in a common forest tree species, short leaf pine (Pinus echinata). Using allozymes as genetic markers, two specific objectives are addressed. First, the investigators will compare patterns of pollen movement across each treatment using a recently developed statistical model that allows hypothesis testing on a landscape scale. Second, they will compare mating patterns within populations (proportion of self- and inbred matings and number of pollen donors) across the three treatments. Increasingly, forests are becoming managed for resource extraction and ecosystem conservation. Understanding how forest modification influences the patterns of gene movement will provide needed insight about environmental impact on population-level changes in gene frequencies. Such insight facilitates the development of effective strategies for species conservation.