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Ex Situ Conservation of Abies alba: Bulgarian Case Study

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Forests of Southeast Europe Under a Changing Climate

Part of the book series: Advances in Global Change Research ((AGLO,volume 65))

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Abstract

Silver Fir (Abies alba) is important forest tree species across Europe and in Bulgaria, in particular. Ex situ gene conservation of the species has long-term history in Bulgaria dating back to 1970s, when many provenance and progeny trials have been established. Besides these experiments and ex situ collections, clonal seed orchard was established in 1980s, and 20 years later it served as a source of tested clones for establishment of a second-generation seed orchard – one of the first second-generation orchards for the species in Europe. Of more than 400 clones included in the first generation orchard, 25 were selected for the second-generation orchard, based on a number of criteria. The approach for conservation of genepool of the species could be used as a pilot guide for ex situ conservation of other conifers in Bulgaria.

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Acknowledgements

The financial support of the Executive Forest Agency – Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests of Bulgaria (Project No 334) for the establishment of second-generation seed orchard is very much appreciated. Authors express special thanks to Dr. Monika Konnert, Dr. Eva Cremer, Dr. Fitz Bergmann, and Dr. Bernhard Hosius for their fruitful cooperation in the course of years, and to numerous colleagues of the Forest Service that helped in the field studies and seed orchard establishment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Forestry, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Velichko Gagov, Petar Zhelev & Ivan Evtimov

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  1. Velichko Gagov
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  2. Petar Zhelev
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  3. Ivan Evtimov
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Correspondence to Velichko Gagov .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Mirjana Šijačić-Nikolić

  2. Faculty of Applied Ecology FUTURA, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia

    Jelena Milovanović

  3. Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Marina Nonić

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Gagov, V., Zhelev, P., Evtimov, I. (2019). Ex Situ Conservation of Abies alba: Bulgarian Case Study. In: Šijačić-Nikolić, M., Milovanović, J., Nonić, M. (eds) Forests of Southeast Europe Under a Changing Climate. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 65. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95267-3_27

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