Observations on bud burst phenology in a field trial established with Poplar (Populus spp.)

Bud flushing is very important for the survival and growth of trees, a phenomenon matched each year with the annual course of temperature and the timing of bud flushing in the spring. Essentially it represents a serious ecological and evolutionary tradeoff between survival and growth. The most suitable timing of bud burst permits trees to begin growth sufficiently early to take advantage of favorable spring conditions, but late enough to decrease the risks of tissue damage from late frost. In the present study bud burst spring phenology of poplar (Populus tremula and P. tremuloides) from eight different provenances, originating from Europe and the USA, was observed during March and April, 2009. The experimental plot was located at Solling, Germany (51°44'0" N, 9°36'0" E). A six stage subjective scoring system of bud burst phenology was used to identify the phenological stages of the seedlings, where each plant was observed twice a week. The aim of the study was to predict phenotypic variation in poplar, originating from regions between 42° and 60° N latitude, growing in similar environments. Timing of bud flushing of poplar was recorded. It was found that seedlings of provenance 3, which originated from 42.35° N latitude, started and completed flushing significantly earlier than those of other provenances, while seedlings of provenance 5, originating from 54.29° N latitude, started flushing very late and only a few plants reached top scoring at the end of the experimental period. Analysis of variance showed statistically highly significant differences (p<0.05) in bud flushing among the provenances. The correlation between scoring and flushing periods was very strong within provenances although the flushing pattern differed among provenances (origin of the planted seedlings). Bud flushing showed a negative correlation with the origin of the planted seedlings. Given the field experience gained with this experiment, it is recommended that seedlings from provenances 5 and 8 could be used for future plantations where late frost may be a problem for the young shoots of seedlings.