VARIABILITY OF ASSIMILATION APPARATUS INDICATORS OF SPRUCE CLIMATYPES OF THE PROVENANCE TRIAL PLANTATIONS IN THE KOMI REPUBLIC
The paper presents the study results of the variability of indicators of the assimilation apparatus of spruce climatypes in the provenance trial plantations of the Komi Republic. The indicators of needle length, needle density per shoot centimeter, needle oven-dry weight of 8 climatypes of common spruce and Siberian spruce, and their hybrid forms are studied. The climatypes from Arkhangelsk (Pinezhskiy forestry), Nizhny Novgorod and Leningrad regions are characterized by the longest needles (11.4-11.8 mm). The differences in the needle length between the Kortkeros climatype and geographical races growing to the West (the Republic of Karelia and Arkhangelsk region), to the South (Moscow region), to the East (Sverdlovsk region) in relation to a local origin spruce are reliable. The spruce climatypes of the Republic of Karelia and Komi and Arkhangelsk region are characterized by the high needle density per shoot centimeter (15.3-17.5 pcs./cm). The needle density per shoot centimeter decreases with advancing of maternal habitats of plants of the tested progenies from the northern taiga subzone to the southern subzone of mixed forests. The representatives of common spruce and hybrid spruce with the signs of common spruce (Leningrad, Karelian and Plesetsk spruce) have the greatest needle oven-dry weight (0.300-0.349 g). Siberian spruce and hybrid spruce with the signs of Siberian spruce (Kortkeros spruce and spruce from Sverdlovsk region) have the smallest needle oven-dry weight. The dependence of the needle mass of spruce climatypes on the amount of the annual precipitation in the areas of growth of initial plantings as well as the dependence of needle packing of shoots on the sum of temperatures over +5 °C and bonitet of parent plants are established.