6 34 e90 97 11

Plus Tree r r

A REVIEW OF THE PLUS T R E E SELECTION PROGRAMME

F O R DOUGLAS-FIR (PSEUDOTSUGA MENZIESII I MIRB. ) FRANCO. )

IN COASTAL BRITISH COLUMBIA

by

J. C , HEAMAN

.

A Selected P l u s T r e e - - M e s a c h i e 66

w

ABSTRACT

The aims and p rogres s of the p lus t ree se lec t ion programme in Douglas- f i r , in i t ia ted by the Br i t i sh Columbia Fores t Serv ice in 1956. a re descr ibed . Al though the scope of t h e p r o g r a m m e w a s a t f i r s t small. the start of cooperat ive participation by the fores t indus t ry in 1959 and an expansion of the B. C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e c o m m i t m e n t in 1960. led to the establ ishment of a comprehens ive p rog ramme. The me thods of se lec t ion used in the f ie ld a re descr ibed . Discuss ion of the se lec t ion c r i te r ia fo l lows . A d e s c r i p t i v e s u m m a r y is given of t he work ca r r i ed out by the Researck; Division between 1957 and 1965. and the role of the B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e in the cooperat ive phases is outlined briefly. The present status of t h e p r o g r a m m e is reviewed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS V8W 3E7

1

1

2

3

4

6

6

6

7

8

13

13

14

17

18

23

24

25

27

FIGURES

F i g . " P a g e

1, Map showing the approximate dis t r ibut ion of Douglas-f i r in coastal Bri t ish Columbia -l__.l.__...l_l_ll__ _l__-.-.-.-..l".- 5

2. Example of a p lus t r ee r eg i s t r a t ion ca rd l___l_........_... I_ 10

3 . Example of a r e s e a r c h t r e e r e g i s t r a t i o n c a r d ___l_._...__ll~ 11

4. Example of a plus t r ee c r u i s e m a p "."" 15

5. Dis t r ibut ion of s e l ec t ed p lus t r ee s ---.--"--- "."_ 22

TABLES

Tab le

1 .

2.

3 .

4"

5.

S u m m a r y of plus t r ee selection. 1957-1966 ~Illlll_._..-.lltl-.l.ll 21

Collection of s c i o n m a t e r i a l b y B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e for d i s t r ibu t ion to co-opera tors . 1961- 1966 - 24

S u m m a r y of wood cores submi t ted for wood quality a n a l y s i s b y t h e B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e "" 25

S u m m a r y of p lus t r ee r eg i s t e r by e l eva t ion c l a s ses , 26

INTRODUCTION

The f i r s t moves by t he Br i t i sh Co lumbia Fo res t Se rv ice towards the es tabl ishment of a se l ec t ion p rog ramme fo r t he improve - m e n t of coas ta l Douglas- f i r were made in 1956 and s ince that t ime a very considerable amount of t ime and money has been devoted to this work. Although the B. C . Fo res t Se rv ice has p l ayed t he l ead ing pa r t i n t he p rog ramme. a co-operative effort developed when the scope of the t ask was rea l ized , and the fores t indus t ry has also jntJesTed hea\,rly in the p ro jec t . The pr imary a ims of the programme have now been real ized; suff ic ient mater ia l is ava i lab le for the f i rs t s t a g e s of seed orchard development and. a l though widely scat tered. some selections of coastal Douglas-f i r have been made f rom throughout the range of the spec ie s i n Br i t i sh Co lumbia . Soon ma te r i a l f rom a l l t he s e l ec t ed t r ee s will be preserved by vegetative propagation in the B. C . F o r e s t S e r v l c e clone bank at Cowichan Lake and in the industry banks. and increasing emphasis wil l be put upon the production of improved seed and evaluation of t he s e l ec t ed ma te r i a l . The re fo re i t was f e l t t ha t a s u m m a r y of the programme to date would be worthwhile

THE AIMS O F THE PROGRAMME

In the b roades t t e rms , the ob jec t ive of the t ree improvement p r o g r a m m e is the production of a regular quantity of Douglas-f i r seed of suitable provenance and of a genetic quality. which will. through se lec t ion and breeding , be super ior to tha t co l lec ted f rom na tura l s tands To a t t a in t h i s ob jec t ive . t h ree s t eps a r e r equ i r ed :

F i r s t l y . a population of p lus t r ee s mus t be bu i l t up through f ield selection

Secondly , the gene t ic mater ia l mus t be p reserved through propagation of these individuals

Th i rd ly , s eed o rcha rds m u s t be es tabl ished for product ion and the select ions must be evaluated through progeny tes t ing.

This repor t ou t l ines the p rogress of t h e f i r s t s t e p

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THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT O F THE PROGRAMME

In cons ide r ing t he p re sen t p lus t r ee s e l ec t ion p rog ramme. it is worth recording the events which led to the interest in t ree improve- ment in the province and to the ini t ia t ion of th i s work .

T h e p r o g r a m m e as a whole owes its or igin largely to Dr A. L O r r - E w i n g ' s r e p o r t o n a vis i t to the Inst i tute of Forest G e n e t ~ c s a t Placervi l le , Cal i fornia . in 1952 ( 3 ) . W o r k being carr ied out in pine species was descr ibed and suggest ions made as to how a breeding p r o - gramme might be s ta r ted in Br i t i sh Columbia . In 1954 a comprehensive a s s e s s m e n t of t he Fo res t Se rv ice p l an ta t ions was made and t he r epor t ( 4 ) again emphasized the need for a t r ee improvemen t p rog ramme I t was not unti l 1956 that the opportunity came for some of these suggest ions to be put into practice. However between 1952 and 1956. work o n inbreeding of Douglas-f i r . as well as on the variation within the species, had been s tar ted. Select ion had been made in 1954 for t rees showing good and poor c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of stem and crown and this study paved the way to the eventual selection of p lus t rees ( 7 ) . I t was a t th is t ime, too. that , real iz ing the importance of vegetative propagation in any t ree-breeding programme, g raf t ing methods were deve loped for Douglas- f i r ( 8 ) .

In 1956 the shortage of high elevation Douglas-fir seed w a s causing the Reforestat ion Divis ion some concern. and i t was decided that a c lona l s eed o rcha rd on a product ion scale should be es tabl ished. This need was se r ious and . in o rder to b r ing the seed orchard i n t o production as quickly as poss ib le . c r i te r ia for se lec t ing p l u s t rees had t o be drawn up a t once and f ie ld work s ta r ted .

At tha t t ime, the in tens ive p lus t ree se lec t ion programmes be ing car r ied ou t on Scots P ine and Norway Spruce in Sweden provlded the best es tabl ished model on which to develop a p r o g r a m m e f o r coastal Douglas-fir in Brit ish Columbia. I t mus t be emphasized how- ever . tha t the p rogrammes were qu i te d i f fe ren t i n many ways and the Swedish exper ience mere ly se rved as a f r a m e w o r k fo r t he Br i t i sh Columbia work. For example, in Sweden a detailed study of geographic variation had been undertaken before any attempt was made to select p lus t r ee s or es tab l i sh seed orchards . Rela t ive ly firm seed t r ans fe r ru les and seed zone maps had been deve loped for bo th spec ies Such information was a lmost completely lacking in Douglas-f i r Differences in objectives, as well as d i f fe rences inherent in the spec ies themselves , meant that the Scandinavian programme could not be fol lowed in all i ts

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U

deta i l s . Access p roblems and f inanc ia l cons idera t ions d i f fe red s t rongly be tween the two programmes , For example p lans were made wi th jus t the s ing le seed orchard in mind . and the se lec t lon was r e s t r i c t ed t o fou r ca re fu l ly chosen s t ands f rom each of which the bes t f i ve t r ee s were t o be u sed .

SCOPE

The or iginal scope of the t ree se lec t ion phase was therefore l imited to providing 20 clones for graf t ing in the f i rs t B . C . F o r e s t Se rv ice s eed . o rcha rd . I t was , however , soon r ea l i zed t ha t t he number of t r e e s w a s t o o small even for a s i n g l e o r c h a r d s ~ n c e . a l t h o u g h s e l e c t e d . these trees had not been tested and their performance was unknown Apar t f rom the poss ib l e l ack of genetic superiority which can only be determined through progeny tes t ing. many factors can make a clone unsui table for inclusion in an orchard. Amongst these are graf t incompatibi l i ty . low reproduct ive capaci ty , and extreme phenology. The addition of new c r i t e r i a of select ion. such as in t e rna l cha rac t e r - istics, would a l so g rea t ly increase the number of ini t ia l se lect ions r e q u i r e d . T h e r e f o r e , as the p rogramme advanced . the need for g rea te r n u m b e r s of trees per orchard became evident but these points have been cons idered in g rea te r de ta i l e l sewhere (6).

There a l so were o the r r ea sons fo r en l a rgemen t of the scope of t h e t r e e s e l e c t i o n p r o g r a m m e . T h e s e e d r e q u i r e m e n t s w e r e n o t l i m i t e d to the eas t coas t of Vancouver Island provenance. Additional orchards had to be planned to provide seed for other parts of the coas ta l range . Seed orchard p lans for the B. C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e ( 1 0 ) a t present point to the need to es tabl ish at least four seed o r c h a r d s whose pr ior i t ies are given below:

( 1) Vancouver Island (above 1 , 500 feet e levat ion)

( 2 ) Lower Coastal Mainland (above 1. 500 feet e levat ion)

(3 ) Lower Coastal Mainland (below 1 . 500 feet elevation)

(4) Vancouver Island (below 1. 500 feet e levat ion)

In addition. a breeding populat ion was required to permit a pro- g r a m m e of wider in t raspec i f ic c ross ing and fur ther en la rgement of the scope was needed when the fores t indus t ry en te red the p rogramme in 1959.

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T h e s e r e q u i r e m e n t s m a d e it necessa ry t o ob ta in material f r o m t h e whole coastal range of the species and the scope was enlarged f rom the modes t 20 t r e e s of the o r ig ina l working p lan (5) to severa l hundred

THE FORMATION OF THE PLUS T R E E BOARD AND PLUS TREE WEEK

It was c lear that progress in select ion would be too s low if the Fores t Serv ice e f for t was no t augmented in some way and tha t it would be difficult to build up an adequate breeding population for the programme especially when the widespread distribution of Douglas-fir (shown in F igure 1 ) was cons idered However , by 1959 the fores t indus t ry showed an increas ing in te res t in t ree improvement work and the P lus Tree Board (or the Tree Improvement Subcommit tee as it was subsequently named) was formed. This is a subcommit tee of t h e T r e e Farm F o r e s t r y Commit tee , which is an organization of companies ho ld ing Tree Farm Licences on the coas t . and members of t he Fede ra l and P rov inc ia l Fo res t Services and the Universi ty of Bri t ish Columbia. The object ives of the s u b - commit tee were to encourage in te res t in the work of t r e e i m p r o v e m e n t and to bring about co-operative participation by interested companies through cru is ing for plus t rees on the i r own holdings.

In o rder to g ive un i formi ty to the e f for t s , company fores te rs had to be taught the methods of select ion and the s tandards which had been developed by the B . C . Fores t Serv ice c rews . Accord ingly . in 1959 an ins t ruc t iona l c ru ise was o rganized . Companies par t ic ipa t ing in t h e t r e e i m p r o v e m e n t p r o g r a m m e s e n t m e m b e r s of their f ie ld staff to combine €or one week in cruis ing a s u i t a b l e a r e a of second growth . The candida tes were discussed by those experienced in plus t ree cruis ing and the aims of the whole t ree improvement p rogramme were expla ined . I t was then in tended tha t the company fores te rs re turn to the i r own areas and f ind p l u s t r e e s independent ly . This instruct ional course became an annual event . known as P lus Tree Week. and was he ld each year f rom 1959 to 1965. A s m o r e fo re s t e r s became conve r san t w i th t he s t anda rds and p rocedures of select ion. these special weeks fulfi l led a secondary purpose . Concent ra ted c ru is ing by up to 30 m e n m a d e it possible to cover s tands which were too extensive to be tackled by a s ingle c rew. The weeks became impor tan t for the i r contribution to the P l u s T r e e R e g i s t e r , as well as for an interchange of ideas on t ree improvement and o ther fores t ry top ics .

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129' 127" 123'

APPROXIMATE DISTRIBUTION OF DOUGLAS-FI IN COASTAL BRITISH COLUMBIA

[ After R L Schmldt 1 - Areas In whlch there IS

conttnuity between Coastal and Interlor Douglas-Flr.

P A C I F I C

O C E A N

Scale of Mlles

123"

F i g . 1 . Map showing the approximate dis t r ibut ion of \ Douglas- f i r in coas ta l Br i t i sh Columbia .

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A s i n t e re s t i n t r ee improvemen t i nc reased , t he member - sh ip of the board expanded and s o did the scope of the par t ic ipat ion In .1961 , fo r example , t he f i r s t i ndus t r i a l c lone bank of p lus t r ee mater ia l was s tar ted and by 1962, fol lowing a graf t ing course organized by t he Fo res t Se rv ice . fou r more compan ies e s t ab l i shed c lone banks . The indus t r ia l co-opera tors now have well advanced clone bank and seed or chard developments .

During the selection phases of the programme. the ob jec t ives of the B. C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e a n d of industry were pract ical ly ident ical and the whole effort was devoted to the single end- -the registration of a reasonable number of p lus t r ee s as quickly as possible. The individual m e m b e r s w e r e p r i m a r i l y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e i r own locali t ies but there was no conflict over the distribution of the cruising to obtain the basic popula- t ion. When the stage of seed orchard es tabl ishment and progeny tes t ing was r eached , however , t he members d ive rged acco rd ing to their own par t icu lar needs . Thei r p rogrammes now a re car r ied ou t independent ly with the advice of the technical advisor to the subcommit tee .

METHODS O F TREE SELECTION

Select ion of t h e G e n e r a l A r e a f o r a C r u i s e

The choice of a reas in which se lec t ion has t aken p lace . has been governed by the overall aim of the p rog ramme and by t he occu r rence of su i tab le s tands . The pr ior i ty of seed orchards has had to be kept i n m i n d . using the best avai lable information on provenance as a guide. At the same t ime . t he need t o cove r t he spec ie s r ange has had t o be i n t e rwoven . E a s e of access p layed an impor tan t par t . espec ia l ly in the ear ly s tages of t he p rog ramme and a r eas r equ i r ing boa t access had t o be cove red when the fac i l i t i es were ava i lab le . On severa l occas ions s tands th rea tened by t imber sa les o r se lec t ive logging . were c ru ised spec ia l ly in o rder tha t ma te r i a l f rom them shou ld be p re se rved wh i l e i t was s t i l l ava i l ab le

Selection of the Stands

Select ion can c lear ly be carr ied out most eff ic ient ly in pure or . near ly pure . even-aged . s tands of Douglas-f i r . These s tands should \ t heo re t i ca l ly be as near the expected rotat ion age as poss ib le This i s

considered to be 70-80 y e a r s on m o d e r a t e t o good s i t e s .

In p rac t i ce . s e l ec t ions were made i n s t ands f rom 40 to 1 5 0 y e a r s of age because of the shor tage of those in the ideal age c lass In s tands

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of l e s s t h a n 40 y e a r s , l a c k of natural pruning m a y make i t ha rd to s e e t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e s t e m a n d t h e r e is always the chance tha t the t ree wi l l be se lec ted tha t possesses super ior v igour a t a n ear ly s tage but which may not sustain this unt i l matur i ty . In s tands over 100 y e a r s it is somet imes d i f f icu l t to separa te the e f fec ts of envi ronment f rom those of genetic origin. and past faults may be covered up by subsequent growth. Moderate to high s i tes are pre- f e r r e d as the phenotypic d i f fe rences a re more c lear ly expressed on these: selection of outstanding individuals on low si tes proves difficult , again due to the greater influence of the environment . S t ands o r ig ina t ing f rom f i r e s a r e p r e f e r r e d as these have a m o r e even-aged s t ruc ture and have no t come under the in f luence of m a n . A cer ta in amount of negat ive select ion took place in the ear ly days of logging when non-commerc ia l t rees were o f ten l e f t to p roduce seed for the next c rop .

Information on the location of su i tab le s tands somet imes c a m e f r o m f o r e s t e r s familiar wi th them. However . more f requent ly . a reas showing des i rab le spec ies composi t ion . age , he ight . and s tock- ing c l a s s were f i r s t l oca t ed on the bes t ava i l ab le fo re s t cove r maps . The a reas then were examined on aerial photographs and if the i r appearance conf i rmed tha t they might be su i tab le . they were v i s i ted by the f ield crew. The type maps giving good information for inventory could not be expected to have the precision required for selection work and the area covered by the c rew was dec ided by t h e m on the ground. Ranger s . Fo res t D i s t r i c t s t a f f and . i n pa r t i cu la r . c r ews engaged i n growth and yield studies. were a grea t he lp , whi le company fores te rs had an intimate knowledge of their own lands. Several logging com- panies a l so made av i lab le the i r mos t recent inventory maps .

Select ion of Trees within the Stands

The su i t ab le a r eas were t hen cove red by a 100 per cent v i s u a l c ru ise us ing a two-man , o r , l a t t e r ly . a th ree -man f i e ld pa r ty . A com- passmanran the l i ne wh i l e t he two c ru i se r s cove red a s t r i p t h r e e c h a i n s wide, examining all po ten t ia l candida te t rees . The l ines were marked with coloured f lagging tape at f requent intervals and the f u l l chainage points were given double f lagging. The chain l ine provided a m e a n s of ensur ing tha t the a rea was comple te ly covered by a g r i d s y s t e m s o that the candidates could be identified, recorded. and relocated.

A s t r ees showing t he des i r ed cha rac t e r i s t i c s were me t , t hey were recorded on the c ru ise-shee t and marked wi th t ape . The whole s tand

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was c ru ised in th i s way. At the end of the c ru ise the candida tes were c r i t i ca l ly re - eva lua ted . The age , he ight , and d iameter at breast height i n s ide ba rk of the candida te were compared wi th those of t h e t h r e e n e a r e s t dominant t rees cons idered to be g rowing on the same s i te . As a ru l e t hese compara t ive t r ee s were l e s s t han 100 fee t f rom the candida te , The dec is ion to accep t o r r e j ec t t he t r ee was t hen based on its numer ica l super ior i ty and on i t s form and appearance .

In the ea r ly s t ages of t he p rog ramme. all candidates found by companies were checked and measured by the B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e c r e w . After 1962. however . t he company fo re s t e r s ca r r i ed ou t t he f i rs t culling of the candida tes and took the measurements themselves . The Research Div is ion fores te r respons ib le for reg is te r ing p lus t rees inspec ts all candi- da tes before reg is t ra t ion in an a t tempt to g ive some un i formi ty of s t a n d a r d , Th i s p rocess enab le s t he fo re s t e r t o fo rm h i s own opinion of every t ree in the regis ter and sat isfy himself on i ts s t rong and weak points .

Once accepted. the t ree was ass igned a r e g i s t e r e d n u m b e r . T h e tape bands were replaced by a permanent paint identification and an access trail painted. Understory trees which would catch twigs fall ing f r o m the crown of t he s e l ec t ed t r ee , were r emoved t o f ac i l i t a t e s c ion co l l ec t ions . wh ich a r e made at the f i r s t oppor tuni ty a f te r reg is t ra t ion .

Regis t ra t ion and Records "_ T h e t r e e r e g i s t e r f o r D o u g l a s - f i r w a s s e t u p by the B C F o r e s t

S e r v i c e In 1956 and is maintained by i t to identify and record relevant detai ls of a l l se lec ted p lus t rees . A c a r d is made up fo r each t r ee g iv ing detai ls of l oca t ion . measu remen t s and fo rma l i sed comment s An example is shown in Figure 2. A duplicate copy of each p lus t r ee ca rd is p r e p a r e d for the t echnica l advisor to the Tree Improvement Subcommit tee

In addi t ion to the selected plus t rees a l l those specimens of Douglas-fir that have been grafted into the B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e c l o n e bank for use in the b reed ing p rog ramme as a whole are included In the r e g i s t e r , T h e m a j o r i t y of t h e s e " r e s e a r c h " t r e e s h a v e b e e n c h o s e n f r o m outs ide the range of the species in coastal Bri t ish Columbia with differ ing c r i t e r i a of se lec t ion . and the remainder have unusua l charac te r i s t lcs which m a y b e of u s e t o t h e b r e e d e r o r a r e v e t e r a n s r e p r e s e n t i n g a popula- tion no longer in ex is tence and to which normal se lec t ion c r i te r ia cannot be applied. A second r eg i s t r a t ion ca rd is u s e d f o r t h e s e t r e e s a n d a n example is shown in Figure 3 .

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Y Regi s t e red numbers a r e a s s igned t o t he t r ee s as soon as

they have been accepted for use in the p rogramme and a re g iven consecut ively to prevent any possibi l i ty of dupl icat ion. The name of the loca l i ty has been added to the reg is te red number for convenience

Deta i led maps showing the a reas c ru ised and the loca t ion of all p lus t r ee s and t he i r access t r a i l s , as well as re jec ted candida tes a r e also main ta ined in Vic tor ia . F igure 4 shows an example of such a c r u i s e m a p .

Photographic records of the plus t rees have been obtained in some instances but i t was found to be difficult to take worthwhile photographs showing the whole t rees and i t s charac te r i s t ics wi thout extensive c lear ing.

Table 1 gives a s u m m a r y of t he t r ee s con ta ined i n t he T ree Regis te r on January 1 . 1967.

Tab le 1 . Summary of t r ee c l a s ses con ta ined i n t he T ree Regis te r , January . 1967

C las s Number of t r e e s

Se lec ted p lus t rees I R e s e a r c h a n d s a m p l e t r e e s (Coas t a l B. C . )

R e s e a r c h t r e e s f r o m p l a c e s other than coastal B . C .

414

75

125

Tota l 614

-

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Date of selection ........ ~l%s ........................... Land District ...... -&E.OX ............................. Cover Map ....... %?rFr.kE .. Selected by^^^^ .... &c- F . s ~ , ~ ......................... Block, Ew8&KLln ~..1.??!?8 .......................... Air photo .... 8.,.~.~...2.3~1.7.7.;.28~.2.~ .............

Latitude ............................................................. 4 9 5 ; - l ~ ~ ~ ~ Longitude ....... 4.2-5 ...... 38.. ........................... elevation^ ......... 1.7.0.0 .............................. feet. Ownership~..El.k..!l.V.er..~Timbe~ ........... Origin of stand: Ixq, b u r n , m t ................. Measurement date ...... ....1 45.9 ........................ Felled ...............................................................

0 1

Measure I Plus I Dam. 1 I Dom.2 1 Dom. 3

................................................. i ................................................... I~ ...................

....................................................... , ............................................................ ...................................... ................ I ............... .....................................

I ~ I Total .................................................................. I .................. I....... .

Stem form: Straight. 0 Slight sweep. @ Sweep. 0 Damage. 0 Crown form: Sharply acute. Acute. 0 Medium. 0 Obtuse. 0 Branching: Short. Medium. 0 Long. 0 Light. a Medium. 0 Heavy. 0

Horizontal. D Acute. 0 Prunidg: Good. Moderate. 0 Poor. 0 Taper: Good. Moderate. 0 Poor. 0 Cone production: Heavy. Light. 0 None seen. Pollen production: Heavy. 0 Light. 0 None seen. 0

Negative No ....... ...............

Date ..... ..s.e.p t.: .... 1~9.5.9 .....................

Feet

F i g . 2 . Example of a plus t r e e r e g i s t r a t i o n c a r d .

- 1 1 -

Local No. 2 4 (593 1 Regi s t r a t ion GOLD 78

Date found 1960 Country Canada Province o r S t a t e B .C.

Ownership Tahsis Company Lat i tude 49' 5 2 ' Longitude 126" 06 '

Elevat ion 7 00 f t . Age 6 2 0 y r s . D.B.H. 110.5 i n s .

Height 2 6 3 f t . S t a n d i n g L y e s ; - no Checked X y e s ; no

Land d i s t r i c t Nootka Block Lot 6 Sec t ion

Township Range Sect ion

D i s t r i c t Wood d a t a y e s ; X no F i l e 0211198

Form : The tree is free of limbs f o r 138 f e e t .

Comments :

Scale 1" : 2 miles

F i g . 3 . Example of a research tree registration card.

- 12 -

” E o m

” ,o - - m m u v)

m I- ?!

v) 3 a -

m -0 7J .-

V m

.- m a

C 9 m V

.-

0

H

- 13 -

THE SELECTION CRITERIA "_ General Considerat ions

Init ial selection in natural stands m u s t . of necess i ty . be based on ex terna l phenotypic charac te r i s t ics . More sophis t ica ted se lec t ion and considerat ion of i n t e rna l cha rac t e r i s t i c s . if r equi red . wi l l have to b e m a d e at a la ter s tage. The genet ic gain obtained by using selected material will depend upon the intensity of select ion and on the her i ta- bil i ty of the character concerned. Some modif icat ion wil l a lso be brought about by the breeding system used. I t would therefore be desir- able to have some knowledge of t he na r row sense he r i t ab i l i t i e s of the c lear ly def ined charac te r i s t ics of the phenotype before deciding which of these should be s t ressed mos t s t rongly in the se lec t ion programme. Such information is meager and only now beginning to appear in the l i t e r a tu re (1 ) and ( 7 ) . I t mus t be remembered tha t . however des i rab le improvement in a g iven cha rac t e r i s t i c may be economica l ly . t he t r ee breeder wil l only be able to a t tempt improvement if a good proportion of t he p re fe r r ed p rope r t i e s a r e pas sed on t o t he succeed ing gene ra t ion . That is to say . the nar row sense her i tab i l i ty m u s t be high enough to make select ion worthwhile . Simultaneous select ion for more than a very few charac te r i s t ics reduces the poss ib le ga ins in a geometr ic manner bu t . at the start of any programme. the selected populat ion must contain suff ic ient var ia t ion to permit a slight change of emphasis should re l iable informat ion come la te r . These a re p roblems which cannot be avoided at t h e s t a r t of work on a species whose genetic consti tution is pract ical ly unknown.

If the se lec t ion programme should be he ld in abeyance un t i l such information becomes avai lable . precious t ime wil l be lost and many sources of potentially va luable genetic material m a y be destroyed through logging and f i r e . In th i s reg ion there a re a t p resent even-aged . undis turbed s t ands r e su l t i ng f rom old fires in which selection can take place and this gives an advantage over t ree breeders in other par ts of the world where such natural populat ions no longer exis t . The cr i ter ia used in select ion therefore had to be weighted according to general pr inciples and a cons idera- tion of resu l t s ava i lab le of work on other species .

Not only is it impor tan t to cons ider the number of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s used in the p rogramme but a l so the bas i s of their inf luence. Such c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as overa l l g rowth or vo lume product ion in fores t t rees will be under the control of many different factors and. as such . a r e no t l ikely to have a usefully high heritabil i ty. On the other hand. when volume is simplified into its components such as height growth. higher heritabil i ty

- 14 -

can be ant ic ipated. I t i s by control l ing the select ion intensi ty that the b reeder should be ab le to in f luence the gene t ic ga in mos t eas l ly . The decis ion to select one individual in ten or one in ten thousand is to some ex ten t an adminis t ra t ive one However . s ince t rees a re g rowing under natural condi t ions where compet i t ion has a l ready played a con- s iderable par t . the in tens i ty of select ion cannot be absolutely def ined. Assessment has to be re la t ive and what i s requi red i s the t a l les t t ree In the s tand when the fac tors of envi ronment . s i te . s tocking , and s o for th a re t aken in to account . I t i s perhaps suf f ic ien t to say tha t the programme developed in Bri t ish Columbia must be c lassed as one involving intensive selection.

The Cr i t e r i a Deve loped fo r t h i s P rogramme

Even a t an ear ly s tage in a select ion programme. i t i s not too diff icul t to descr ibe the type of t r ee t ha t i s des i r ed . Wha t i s r equ i r ed above a l l i s a more e f f i c i en t t r ee , a t ree which wi l l reach a g iven s ize on a given si te in a sho r t e r t ime t han a normal seedl ing and a t r ee wh ich h a s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s better sui ted to i ts eventual ut i l izat ion. Greater uniformity of product a lone i s f requent ly h ighly des i rab le in in tens ive ly m a n a g e d f o r e s t s ,

When the working plan for the programme was drawn up in 1956 (5 ) t he s e l ec t ion c r i t e r i a of t he Swed i sh p rog ramme was u sed as a guide and seven points were l is ted for the assessment of phenotypes.

( 1 ) The t ree should have rap id he ight and d iameter g rowth These va lues should be super ior t o t h r e e t r e e s of the same age g rowing on the same s i te . ( In Sweden the t ree was expec ted to have 50 per cen t more volume than i ts neighbours but no such exact l imitat ion was placed on Doug3 as - f i r . )

( 2 ) The t r ee shou ld be r e s i s t an t t o d i sease and pes t s and shou ld no t show repea ted non-paras i t ic in jur ies such as top damage .

( 3 ) The t ree should have a narrow wedge-shaped crown and no tendency to form double l eaders

(4) The s tem should be s t ra ight . wi th min imum taper . and be r easonab ly c l ea r of b r a n c h e s .

(5) The branches should be l igh t and shor t and a t , o r nea r ly a t . r ight angles to the stem. Trees wi th in te rnodal b ranches were t o be avoided.

- 1 5 -

( 6 ) Thin bark was desirable .

( 7 ) The t r ee has t o be a good cone producer.

These s tandards were es tabl ished on the assumption that t r e e s m e e t i n g t h e m all would be reasonably easy to f ind. In fact . when cruis ing s tar ted. the diff icul ty of finding such a t r ee became ev iden t and. a l though these cr i ter ia have served as a b a s i s f o r the whole se lec t ion programme, emphas is has had to be modi f ied s l igh t ly wi th the ci rcumstances and in the l ight of f ie ld experience.

Emphas is has been p laced mos t s t rongly on s tem form and he ight . Measured vo lume was at one t ime used as a s e c o n d a r y c r i t e r i a but . apar t f rom theoret ical considerat ions. the diff icul ty of obtaining a re l iab le f igure for t aper dur ing the in i t ia l se lec t ion per iod of t h e c r u i s e r e s t r i c t e d its value, Height growth has been shown to be relatively independent of s tocking, while diameter growth is c losely re la ted to compet i t ion fac tors and for these reasons g rea tes t weight has been p laced on height superiority. It is not denied that superior i ty in diameter growth is highly desirable but detai led considerat ions of compet i t ion a re essent ia l if d i a m e t e r s a r e t o be compared. Straightness of s t e m is c l e a r l y advantageous and crookedness of s tem has been shown to be genet ical ly control led in Douglas-fir ( 7 ) . Environmental influences can lead to sweep in s tems bu t se lec t ion aga ins t repea ted sweep was car r ied ou t where s t ra ight s tems could no t be found.

Rega rd ing f ac to r s of s ize in selected individuals . the f i rs t aim of the s e l ec to r mus t be t o d i scove r a t ree which i s ou ts tanding in th i s r e s p e c t . H e m u s t t h e n t r y t o d e t e r m i n e why the t ree shows these c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . F o r e x a m p l e , if the t ree in an even-aged s tand has a l a rge d i ame te r he w i l l u se his exper ience t o assess the effects of com- pet i t ion and s i te . This wil l , necessar i ly , be an es t imate but wil l remove g ross e f f ec t s . If he can accoun t fo r t he cha rac t e r i s t i c by the environ- ment . the apparent super ior i ty wi l l d i sappear . In another example it is f a i r ly ea sy t o f i nd a l a rge t r ee wh ich has a large crown. but what is d e s i r e d is a la rge t ree wi th an unexpec ted ly small crown. Such a t r e e should be the more eff ic ient wood-producing organism. However . it m u s t be s t ressed that , in any select ion in wild s tands, a balance m u s t b e reached s ince suff ic ient uniformity of envi ronment for d i rec t compar ison between individuals is unlikely to be found.

This br ings in the subject of how many measurements should be t aken i n s e l ec t ing t hese t r ee s . Accura t e measu remen t s a r e t ime-consuming

r - 16 -

and at a n e a r l y stage the dec i s ion was made t o r e s t r i c t t he measu re - ments . Douglas- f i r is a pioneer species es tabl ishing i tself readi ly on mine ra l so i l . Thus . i n s t ands of f i r e o r i g i n . t h e r e is f requent ly l i t t le age var ia t ion However . af ter working in such s tands, i t became c l ea r t ha t t he ea r l i e s t e s t ab l i shed t r ees d id have a considerable advantage Therefore , even in so-cal led even-aged s tands. i t is necessa ry t o check the age of the se lec ted and compara t ive t rees and make some ad jus tments . Height . d iameter outs ide and inside bark. and age were chosen as s imple parameters and i t was on these f igures . and cons idera t ion of the o ther fea tures of t he t r ee . t ha t t he dec i s ion t o r e t a in t he t r ee was made .

The densi ty of selection in a s ingle s tand has not been ment ioned. While the undesirabil i ty of s e l e c t i n g c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t r e e s is rea l ized . no l imi t s have been p laced on the min imum d is tance be tween t rees accepted f o r reg is t ra t ion . In cer ta in except iona l ins tances , two ad jacent t r ees . bo th of which show some ou ts tanding charac te r i s t ics . have been reg is te red . Care wi l l ce r ta in ly have to be used in se lec t ing ind iv idua ls for use in seed orchards and it would be p referab le for such t rees to be separa ted by a m i l e o r m o r e . b u t t h i s is not reason in i tself for re ject ing c lose ly l oca t ed t r ee s fo r r eg i s t r a t ion . P rogeny t e s t ing and o the r f ac to r s , such as graftability. could well lead to the elimination of one of such select ions a t a l a t e r s t a g e .

I t has been s ta ted tha t o r ig ina l ly it was planned to select f ive t r e e s f r o m e a c h of fou r s t ands . In l a t e r c ru i s ing no such p rede te rmined number was a imed at. I t was fe l t that the s tandards were suff ic ient ly defined so that the number of trees found in any stand would be automatically de te rmined . This was found to be t rue in many s tands bu t . where on ly a s ingle t ree was found. an a t tempt was o f ten made to re ta in a second individual which showed at least some of t h e d e s i r e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Automatic el imination of t rees . due to graf t ing incompatabi l i ty . pheno- logy and perhaps wood characterist ics at a la ter date . would then mean tha t ma te r i a l f rom tha t a r ea was l o s t By r e t a in ing t he s econd t r ee a safety margin was introduced. This was especial ly s o where c ru is ing was on the edge of the s p e c i e s r a n g e .

At this s tage little weight has been given to the considerat ion of d i sease and pes t res i s tance . By se lec t ing for v igorous , unusua l ly l a rge t r ees such cons ide ra t ion is brought in automatical ly . Trees showing f i r e - o r m e c h a n i c a l - d a m a g e s c a r s a r e not eliminated on these counts Se lec t ion i s s t rong aga ins t any repea ted defec ts bu t . in some s tands tha t were v i s i ted , widespread damage had occur red f rom wind and snow. as indicated by lcinlcs at a common he ight on many t rees . Here there has been l i t t l e hes i ta t ion in se lec t ing t rees which have suf fe red s imi la r ly .

- 17 - ,

w‘

As long as a s t rong . s ing le l eader has deve loped immedia te ly a f te r the injury, it is fe l t that there is l i t t le l ikel ihood of picking a suscept ible genotype.

T h e c r i t e r i a c o v e r i n g c r o w n a n d s t e m f o r m , b r a n c h c h a r a c t e r - is t ics and bark. have been unchanged but obviously there is s o m e varia- tion in the type of t r ee s e l ec t ed acco rd ing t o t he s t and . L i t t l e o r no weight has as yet been given to the cone production cri terion. All the t r ees shou ld have some s ign of a cone crop but as ye t no t ree has been rejected on this coun t a lone . F rom gene ra l obse rva t ion i t s eems t ha t the l ikelihood of select ing a complete non-producer is ra re . Informa- tion is accumulated on cone production of t h e t r e e s a n d t h e i r r a m e t s fo r fu tu re r e f e rence .

The Cr i t e r i a fo r Subseauen t Se l ec t ion

F ie ld se lec t ion mus t , th rough force of c i r cums tances . p rov ide ma te r i a l fo r bo th immedia t e u s e in the init ial seed orchards and for the.’ es tabl ishment of a breeding populat ion in which re- se lect ion may take place as informat ion becomes ava i lab le . The c r i te r ia for in i t ia l select ion given above do not represent a complete list of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which might be considered. Volume is one of s u c h u n a s s e s s e d c r i t e r i a . I t was or iginal ly hoped to include measurement of volume in the f ield select ion but the need to c l imb the t rees to obtain an accurate measure of taper meant that the f igure could only be obtained by considerable addi t iona l work . This measurement was car r ied ou t o r ig ina l ly and s o m e 40 t r ees were a s ses sed w i th vo lume f igu res ava i l ab le These f igures showed tha t the se lec t ion methods d id l ead to t rees possess ing super ior vo lume. It was therefore fe l t that the t ime could be bet ter spent on select ion, while a check was made t o ensu re t ha t no t r e e s which appeared to have infer ior volumes were accepted

/

In t e rna l cha rac t e r i s t i c s a l so have no t been cons ide red in the in i t ia l se lec t ion process . As ide f rom uni formi ty of product . there i s at present l i t t l e genera l agreement on spec i f ic wood qua l i ty charac te r - i s t ics des i red in Douglas- f i r because of the var ie ty of u s e s s e r v e d by this species . However . it is probable tha t these c r i te r ia wi l l assume impor tance in the fu ture when more in format ion is available and will have to be included. Co-operat ive effor ts in this f ie ld are descr ibed l a t e r . bu t i t appea r s t ha t , as wi th vo lume. in te rna l charac te r i s t ics of candidates cannot be determined with suff ic ient ease for u s e in the in i t ia l se lec t ion process .

- 18 -

Once a t ree has been reg is te red and propagated , its possible inclusion in a seed o rcha rd mus t be cons ide red . The s e l ec t ion of c lones for these in i t ia l o rchards poses a problem when s o l i t t le is known of the behaviour of the material However . s ince the re la t ively l a r g e n u m b e r s of such un tes ted c lones a re requi red for any orchard and t he re a r e bu t a f ew t r ees ava i l ab le f rom any one geograph ic a r ea . the choice is inevi tably l imited, The c lones for the B. C . F o r e s t Serv ice seed orchard a t Campbel l River , fo r example were se lec ted f rom the p lus t r ee r eg i s t e r on t he bas i s of their distribution and after considerat ion of the numer ica l compar isons be tween p lus trees and its dominants, aided by a subjective evaluation of the t ree in the f ie ld , Greatest weight was given to obtaining a widespread geographic distribution within the provenance area

SUMMARY OF CRUISING FOR PLUS TREES

Cru i s ing fo r p lus t r ee s is a laborious and t ime-consuming process . Stands show great var ia t ion and one or many days ' work may be n e c e s s a r y to locate even a single candidate t ree tha t meets the es tab l i shed s tandards , Access and topography also affect t h e r a t e of p r o g r e s s Frequent ly s tands can only be reached by boat or by foo t , t r ave r s ing over cons iderable d i s tances th rough fores t and cu t -over l and . Another r eason fo r t he r e l a t ive ly s low p rogres s is the t ime r equ i r ed fo r map- ping and marking in the f ie ld candidate t rees . s o that i t is possible to r e t u r n t o t h e m at later d a t e s f o r f i n a l a s s e s s m e n t a n d f o r scion collec- t ion.

During 1957 and 1958, stands at high elevations in the south- eas t por t ion of Vancouver I s land were c ru ised to p rovide mater ia l for t he f i r s t s eed o rcha rd . By 1959 t he dec i s ion had been made t o i nc lude t r e e s f r o m a wider a rea and s tands near Campbel l River . Parksvi l le . and i n t he San Juan d ra inage nea r Po r t Renf rew were v i s i t ed . In 1960 , cruis ing in low e levat ion s tands was s tar ted a t Elk Bay. near Campbel l R i v e r . C r u i s i n g w a s s t i l l r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e e a s t e r n s i d e of Vancouver I s land .

The developmental aspect of th i s ear ly c ru is ing and the l a te r confirmation of s tandards as e x p e r i e n c e i n c r e a s e d m u s t b e s t r e s s e d . Af t e r c ru i s ing had s t a r t ed . a bet ter idea was obtained of the type of t r e e that could be expected. It is good t o have a c lear . p reconce ived idea l at which to aim. but how closely it may be approached can only be found through experience. A r e a p p r a i s a l of the ear ly se lec t ions was made in 1961 and some t rees . which had been accepted in i t ia l ly . were re jec ted

- 19 -

Y In 1961, both high and low elevation stands were examined

in the Cowichan Valley. A l a rge por t ion of t he summer ' s work was devoted to the a rea at Powe l l R ive r where t he co -ope ra t ive c ru i se with industry had talcen place, and a joint cruise was carr ied out with the company fo re s t e r s at Nimplcish.

In 1962. selections for the f irst t i m e w e r e m a d e on the west c o a s t of Vancouver Island in and around the Kyuquot Public Working C i r c l e .

In 1963, work s tar ted on the ma in land , an a r ea f rom wh ich trees had previously only been found during P l u s T ree Weeks o r by the Universi ty of Br i t i sh Columbia c rew in Haney Fores t . However . as select ion of c lones for the Vancouver Is land seed orchard had not been comple ted . the main emphas is was p laced on a thorough coverage of t he bes t of the remaining stands on the island. Selections were m a d e at Melsey Bay. Campbel l River . Courtenay. and Ladysmith. By 1964 it was poss ib le to sh i f t the emphas is to p rovid ing mater ia l for a mainland orchard, and two crews devoted a lmost the whole season to th i s end . S tands f rom Sechel t . Squamish . Vancouver . Chi l l iwack . Harr ison, and Hope were vis i ted. I n addition. two outlying areas a t Sar i ta River on Vancouver I s land and at the head of Knight Inlet were c ru ised . Enough se lec ted t rees were then ava i lab le to es tab l i sh a high elevat ion mainland c lonal seed orchard.

However . coverage of the coastal range was s t i l l lacking and. with the exception of those at Knight Inlet . the selected t rees came f rom the lower main land and Vancouver I s land .

In 1965. a co-operat ive boat survey was organized with f i v e c o m p a n y m e m b e r s of the Tree Improvement Board f inanc ing one c rew and t he B . C . Fo res t Se rv ice t he o the r . Three i so l a t ed a r eas a t Ruper t In le t . Kelsey Bay , and Je rv is In le t were examined . as well as s tands of Douglas-fir at Dean River and Sechel t .

Even wi th th ree months ' work th i s was an enormous task and i t was agreed tha t some se lec t ions d i s t r ibu ted as widely as possible over the range were des i rab le . even if in a few instances s tandards had to be re laxed. In general , however , it was poss ib le to main ta in the same high s tandards of select ion that were used on the lower mainland coast and Vancouver Island.

- 20 -

Thus, by the end of 1965, se lec t ions were ava i lab le for the seed orchards p lanned and a t l eas t some a t tempt had been made to cover the range of the spec ies on the coast of Br i t i sh Columbia . I t was therefore dec ided tha t , fo r the t ime be ing . the p lus t ree object ive had been reached and that the B. C . Fo res t Se rv ice shou ld now devote more t ime to the consol idat ion of the c lone banks and to t ree breeding and progeny tes t ing.

A s u m m a r y of p lus t ree se lec t ion by the B . C . Fores t Serv ice . by the forest industry. and by co-operat ive effor t is given in Table 2 . The dis t r ibut ion of se lec ted p lus t rees i s shown in F igure 5 .

c Li

n

n

aJ a r c

de: 3 .2

a3 N

r4 rl

h Ln d

h h rl

m rl

a cn Q

rl I h

cn v, 4

C 0

a,& 0 g.3 P c k 2

c U a,

k 5 0 0

m

cON N

W 0

* k

E 3 rn

I m a rl

cnQ a 4 N

!-I al ? 3 0 u C

3 a

W 0

w m rl

s a c u ( d rnd

W H a m

k a,

5 8 0 u

3

LI 5 b C ? O o a 3 u c

Li al ?

W 0

0 u a

C

0 m

D a3 a3 m

co cn m d

0

cn a rl

m rn Q

rl

- 2 2 -

O C E A N

F i g . 5. Distr ibut ion of s e l ec t ed p lus t r ee s .

- 23 -

COLLECTION O F SCION MATERIAL AND PROPAGATION

Once the t rees have been loca ted and reg is te red , they m u s t be propagated . This represents the second s tage in the p rogramme and i t i s t he a im of the B. C . Fo res t Se rv ice t o p ropaga te a l l t he t r ee s included in the Regis ter a t the Forest Experimental Stat ion a t Cowichan Lake. This c lone bank wil l serve the double purpose of p re se rv ing the genet ic mater ia l and providing a b reed ing a rbo re tum where t he e s sen t i a l s t ages of progeny tes t ing th rough cont ro l led c ross ing exper i - ments may be car r ied ou t convenient ly . In addi t ion . some of the untes ted mater ia l mus t be used in the f i r s t p roduct ion seed orchards . I t i s for th i s reason tha t the co l lec t ion of s c i o n m a t e r i a l f r o m t h e se l ec t ed t r ee s has been t he r e spons ib i l i t y of t h e B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e . Sc ions gene ra l ly a r e co l l ec t ed f rom the uppe r c rown by means of a . 22 r i f l e . a l t hough some t r ees have been c l imbed .

Indus t r i a l co -ope ra to r s i n t he T ree Improvemen t Boa rd have a l so p ropagated the se lec t ions in c lone banks and seed orchards . Wi th ammuni t ion and , in some ins tances . ass i s tance suppl ied by company fo res t e r s , co l l ec t ions have been made fo r t hese banks by the Research Divis ion s taff . The f i rs t col lect ion for company programmes was made in 1961 bu t many more reques ts for mater ia l were submi t ted in 1962. After 1962 the B. C . Fo res t Se rv ice ob ta ined s c ion ma te r i a l on ly f rom newly reg is te red se lec t ions for all t h o s e m e m b e r s of the board who indicated a d e s i r e t o p r o p a g a t e t h e t r e e s . T h o s e r e q u i r i n g m a t e r i a l f rom t rees a l ready propagated were expec ted to make the i r own a r range- men t s . As t he c lone banks became e s t ab l i shed , an i n t e rchange of ma te r i a l became poss ib l e , wh i l e ma te r i a l f rom the new se l ec t ions i s s t i l l suppl ied on request to interested companies . In addi t ion to the industr ia l par t ic ipat ion, the Universi ty of Br i t i sh Columbia has a l so been provided mater ia l for a clone bank. Table 3 shows the c lonal ma te r i a l d i s t r ibu ted by t he B . C . Fo res t Se rv ice s ince 1961. The members t hemse lves s e l ec t ed t he t r ee s t hey w i shed t o p ropaga te and the number of bags of s c i o n m a t e r i a l d i s t r i b u t e d f r o m e a c h t r e e v a r i e d accordingly.

- 24 -

Table 3. Collection of scion material by B . C . Fo res t Se rv ice for d i s t r ibu t ion to co- opera tors , 196 1 - 1966

Year P l u s T rees V i s i t ed

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

14

70

77

63

5 9:::

61

Bags of Mater ia l Dis t r ibu ted

14

138

Number of M e m b e r s Receiving; Mater ia l

~ ~~

1

4

120 5

118 7

101 9

145

:K Material f rom clone banks included

WOOD QUALITY

9

In addi t ion to the ini t ia l se lect ion process , work in the special ized f ie ld of wood qual i ty has required the co-operat ive approach and the work has been car r ied on in th ree phases .

The first phase was s tar ted in 1957 when a study was developed by t he Fo res t P roduc t s Resea rch Labora to ry i n Vancouver and t he B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e . C o r e s w e r e r e m o v e d f r o m t h e s e l e c t e d t r e e s a n d s u b - mi t ted to the l abora tory for measurement of s e v e r a l i n t e r n a l c h a r a c t e r - i s t ics , inc luding spec i f ic g rav i ty . f ib re l ength . and a m e a s u r e of wood product ion. Within- t ree var ia t ion had to be invest igated and sampling procedures d rawn up . Cores of f ive, twelve. and nineteen mil l imetre d iameter were co l lec ted for ana lys i s a t d i f fe ren t times in t he p rog ramme, The 19 -mi l l ime t re co res were ex t r ac t ed w i th a power borer developed by the l abora tory ( 9 ) . Some d i f f icu l t ies were met bu t a r e p o r t w a s p r e p a r e d in 1964 (2) .

In 1961 , a r r angmen t s were made by t he T ree Improvemen t Board for ana lyses to be car r ied ou t a t the Facul ty of F o r e s t r y at the Universi ty of Br i t i sh Columbia , where t echnica l ass i s tance was p rovided by the Pulp and Paper Research Ins t i tu te of C a n a d a . F i v e - m i l l i m e t r e

1.ll.. . I . ,

MINIS i'8V OF FORESTS PARttAMENT 8UILDINGS

VICKM?M, B.C. - 25 - V8W 3E7

cores were submi t t ed by member compan ies and t he B . C . Fo res t Se rv ice . Some r e su l t s were fo r thcoming and a list of spec i f ic g rav i t ies and wood production values was circulated.

In a third phase, faci l i t ies were obtained at the Univers i ty of Br i t i sh Co lumbia fo r pos t -doc to ra t e r e sea rch work on this topic . Some new cores were ob ta ined and a l l the p rev ious core mater ia l was made avai lable for the s tudy. This work is now progressing.

Table 4 gives a s u m m a r y of t he co res co l l ec t ed by the B. C . Fores t Se rv ice f rom p lus t r ee s and t he i r compara t ive dominan t s and sub - mi t t ed fo r ana lys i s . The r e su l t s of t hese ana lyses a r e no t ye t a l l ava i l - ab le .

Table 4. S u m m a r y of wood cores submitted for wood quali ty analysis by the B. C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e .

Phase 19 mm. C o r e s 12 mm. C o r e s 5 mm. C o r e s Agency to Whom Sent

I

- - 446 Universi ty of B . C . I11

- - 129 Univers i ty of B. C . I1

102 74 54 F. P. R . Labora to ry , Vancouver

- Total 102 74 629

PRESENT STATUS

P lus t r ee s have been s e l ec t ed f rom th roughou t t he coas t a l r ange of Douglas- f i r in Br i t i sh Columbia bu t coverage i s ex t remely sparse in s o m e a r e a s a n d good s tands remain for fu ture examinat ion . Concent ra t ion has been on the higher e levat ion s tands for i t i s in these zones that seed shor tage i s mos t acu te , due to the in f requent cone c rops . Some lower e l eva t ion t r ee s have been s e l ec t ed bu t a r eas wh ich even tua l ly shou ld be examined remain a t Vancouver , Squamish . and Sechel t , to name bu t a few. The dis t r ibut ion of se lec t ions has also been influenced by the availability of s tands with sui table age and site qua l i ty for c ru is ing . Table 5 s u m m a r i z e s

- 26 -

the dis t r ibut ion of the se lec t ions by e leva t ion c lasses .

Table 5 . S u m m a r y of p lus t ree reg is te r by e leva t ion c l a s s e s

Elevation Class (F-ee t )

0-750

751-1250

1251-1750

1751-2250

2 2 5 0 t

Vancouver Island

104

36

39

29

17

Mainland (Including North Coast)

50

49

40

38

12

189

Although selection of m a t e r i a l f o r a base population is not a process which can reach a finite conclusion, the collection of p lus t r ee s is bu t t he f i r s t s t age i n t he t r ee improvemen t p rog ramme. The s econd s tage of propagation and preservation of material is well advanced, and the t ime has now come when the Fores t Serv ice m u s t concent ra te on the th i rd requi rement , namely the deve lopment of production seed o rcha rds r equ i r ed fo r t he i r own needs and the processes of testing and eva lua t ion . Fo r t h i s r ea son . fu l l - t ime c ru i s ing on a l a r g e s c a l e w i l l be discontinued. although new selections will be examined and added to t h e r e g i s t e r as and when they are found. Although, too, the selection phases of t he p rog ramme a re t hose bes t su i t ed t o c lo se co -ope ra t ion be tween in te res ted members of the fores t indus t ry and the government s e r v i c e , p r o b l e m s of mutual concern wil l cont inual ly ar ise and the co-opera t ive approach . f rom which the p rogramme has benef i t ted much in the past , wi l l still f u l f i l l an e s sen t i a l pu rpose .

- 27 -

REFERENCES

1 , C a m p b e l l , R . K . , 1964. Recommended t ra i t s t o be improved in a b reed ing p rog ram fo r Doug las - f i r . Weyerhaeuse r F o r e s t r y R e s e a r c h N o t e 5 7 .

2 . Northcot t , P . L . ; Hancock . W. V. . and Kozak . A. , 1964, The ana tomica l cha rac t e r i s t i c s of wood f r o m s e l e c t e d t rees . M.S. Canada Depar tment of F o r e s t r y . F o r e s t P r o d u c t s R e s e a r c h B r a n c h . V a n c o u v e r . B . C ,

3 . Or r -Ewing . A . L., 1952. The breeding program a t the Ins t i tu te of Fores t Genet ics and some poss ib le appl ica t ions to Br i t i sh Co lumbia . M . S . . B, C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e . V ic to r i a . B . C .

4 . 1954. Seed Provenance and Reforestat ion. M . S . . B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e . V i c t o r i a , B. C . Fi le 0224006,

5 . 1956. Select ion of P l u s Trees for Douglas- f i r seed o r c h a r d s , M . S . B. C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e , V i c t o r i a , B . C . ( E . P . 479) .

6 . 1962. An ana lys i s of t he b reed ing p rog ram fo r coas t a l Douglas-f i r . M. S . B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e . V i c t o r i a , B . C . ( E . P . 600) .

7. 1967. A progeny t e s t of Douglas- f i r to demonst ra te the impor tance of s e l ec t ion i n fo re s t p rac t i ce . B . C F o r e s t S e r v i c e R e s e a r c h N o t e . No. 43.

8 . and Pr ideaux, D. c . , 1959. Graf t ing methods for the Douglas- f i r . For . Chron . 35 No. 3 p. 192-202.

9 . Y e l f . J . T. , 1962. The development of a power i nc remen t bo re r . F o r . C h r o n . 3 8 . No. 3 . p. 313-317.

10. Fi le Note 1966. M . S . , B . C . F o r e s t S e r v i c e f i le 0247855