Metla Project 3437

Adaption to local climate and dispersion potential of some conifer pathogens in Europe

Duration: 2007-2012 Keywords: Lophodermium, Heterobasidion, Norway spruce, Scots pine, climate change, endophytes, fungal diseases, needle cast, pine stem rust, scleroderris canker
Research Programme: Functioning of forest ecosystems and use of forest resources in changing climate

Objectives

The predicted climate change may have a number of various effects on the coevolved relationships between hosts and their diseases in boreal forests. Most diseases found on conifer trees are caused by fungi. This project investigates to which extent fungal pathogen populations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) are adapted to local climate conditions and the extent of gene flow between geographically distant pathogen populations. The aim of our research is to evaluate what the probability is that foreign genotypes modify our present strains and that completely new pathogen species invade Finnish forests due to changes in climate. The fungal species to be investigated are Gremmeniella abietina, Heterobasidion parviporum, Lophodermium seditiosum and L. piceae. Additionally to genetic characterization and physiological tests of pure cultures, pathogenicity tests on various host proveniences of Scots pine will be conducted with one (L. seditiosum) of the studied pathogens. These tests will be carried out with fungal isolates obtained from different climatic regions. Moreover, a follow up study on the occurrence of pine stem rust (Cronartium flaccidum) on its alternate hosts, several Melampyrum species, will be started throughout Finland.

Seminars

Seminar web pages before year 2007 can be found from the pages of the project 3298.

Results

Montesclaros declaration

In the Montesclaros declaration, the international forest pathologist community condemns international, risky trade of plant material as it increases the risks to forest health worldwide. Montesclaros declaration at the IUFRO website

Mycosphaerella pini

First Observations of Mycosphaerella pini on Scots Pine in Finland Red band needle blight of pines caused by Mycosphaerella pini (anamorph Dothistroma septosporum) has been recorded in 2008 on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) at 14 rural districts in southern and central Finland. Detailed report is published in Plant Disease, March 2009, Volume 93 (Number 3) page 322 (available also in the Internet address: http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PDIS-93-3-0322B)

Project leader: Müller, Michael
The Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Unit, PO Box 18 (Jokiniemenkuja 1), FI-01301 VANTAA, FINLAND
Phone: +358 29 532 5451
E-mail: michael.mueller@metla.fi

Other researchers: Hantula, Jarkko, VA (2008), Kaitera, Juha, OU (2008-11), Vuorinen, Martti, SU (2008-12)

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Updated 02.02.2013
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