TREEBREEDEX seminar "What do large genetic field experimental network across Europe bring to the scientific community?"

A TREEBREEDEX seminar open beyond the consortium

What do large genetic field experimental networks across Europe bring to the scientific community?

Sękocin Stary (Poland), June  22 – 24, 2010

The background of the seminar. Compared to other plant species, forest trees are specific in many aspects. They are long living plants with late sexual maturity, still undomesticated with high variability and heterozygosity levels. All this implies that research and tree improvement requires a specific approach. Forest tree breeders have developed over a long time a vast and original know-how. Most are interested in traits exploitable through selection, they have developed extended and unique experimental field networks covering contrasting ecological conditions where expression of genetic variability is studied. Unfortunately, this knowledge is not always disseminated and infrastructures are not exploited to their full extent. Thus we organise this seminar to discuss practical aspects connected with genetic field experiments not only between forest tree breeders but also with a wider audience.

The main objectives of the seminar were:

• To review the existing international field experiments
• To inform (advertise) the scientific community about the existing international networks.
• To review studies in different fields of biological sciences already done (such as biochemical/molecular genetics, environmental changes, soil microbiology, ecophysiology etc.) using forest tree provenance experimental networks.
• To evaluate limitations and  constraints as well as new possibilities for using old  provenance trials.
• To discuss  the need for new networks for forest tree studies.

Results and dissemination materials:

• Seminar programme and presentation summaries - PDF file
• Field trip guide - PDF file
• Reports from seminar – PDF file
• Presentation in one PDF file -  77 MB big file
• Presentation in separate PDF files
• Some photos in mini gallery - go to the galery