Pines

Authors

C. Plomion, INRA, UMR BIOGECO, 69 route d’Arcachon, 33610 Cestas, France
D. Chagné, HortResearch, Private Bag 11030, Palmerston North, New Zealand
D. Pot, Coffee Genomic Team, CIRAD, UMR PIA 1096, 34398, Montpellier cedex 5, France
S. Kumar, Ensis-Genetics, Ensis, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand
P. L. Wilcox, Cellwall Biotechnology Centre, Scion, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand
R. D. Burdon, Ensis-Genetics, Ensis, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand
D. Prat, Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1, EA 3731 Génome et Evolution des Plantes Supérieures, Bât F.A. Forel, 6 rue Raphaël Dubois, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
D. G. Peterson, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, 117 Dorman Hall, Box 9555, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
J. Paiva, INRA, UMR BIOGECO, 69 route d’Arcachon, 33610 Cestas, France
P. Chaumeil, INRA, UMR BIOGECO, 69 route d’Arcachon, 33610 Cestas, France
G. G. Vendramin, Plant Genetics Institute, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
F. Sebastiani, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 14, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
C. D. Nelson, USDA - Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, 23332 Mississippi 67, Saucier, MS 39574, USA
C. S. Echt, USDA - Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, 23332 Mississippi 67, Saucier, MS 39574, USA
O. Savolainen, Department of Biology, PL 3000, 90014, University of Oulu, Finland
T. L. Kubisiak, USDA - Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, 23332 Mississippi 67, Saucier, MS 39574, USA
M. T. Cervera, CIFOR - INIA, Genética y Ecofisiología Forestal & Unidad Mixta de Genómica y Ecofisiología Forestal INIA-UPM, Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Forestales, Carretera de La Coruña km 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain
N. de María, CIFOR - INIA, Genética y Ecofisiología Forestal & Unidad Mixta de Genómica y Ecofisiología Forestal INIA-UPM, Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Forestales, Carretera de La Coruña km 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain
M. N. Islam-Faridi, USDA-Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, Forest Tree Molecular Cytogenetics Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2007

Comments

Published in Genome Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Plants, Volume 7.

Abstract

Pinus is the most important genus within the Family Pinaceae and also within the gymnosperms by the number of species (109 species recognized by Farjon 2001) and by its contribution to forest ecosystems. All pine species are evergreen trees or shrubs. They are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, from tropical areas to northern areas in America and Eurasia. Their natural range reaches the equator only in Southeast Asia. In Africa, natural occurrences are confined to the Mediterranean basin. Pines grow at various elevations from sea level (not usual in tropical areas) to highlands. Two main regions of diversity are recorded, the most important one in Central America (43 species found in Mexico) and a secondary one in China. Some species have a very wide natural range (e.g., P. ponderosa, P. sylvestris). Pines are adapted to a wide range of ecological conditions: from tropical (e.g., P. merkusii, P. kesiya, P. tropicalis), temperate (e.g., P. pungens, P. thunbergii), and subalpine (e.g., P. albicaulis, P. cembra) to boreal (e.g., P. pumila) climates (Richardson and Rundel 1998, Burdon 2002). They can grow in quite pure stands or in mixed forest with other conifers or broadleaved trees. Some species are especially adapted to forest fires, e.g., P. banksiana, in which fire is virtually essential for cone opening and seed dispersal. They can grow in arid conditions, on alluvial plain soils, on sandy soils, on rocky soils, or on marsh soils. Trees of some species can have a very long life as in P. longaeva (more than 3,000 years).