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ŠUMARSKI LIST 5-6/2023 str. 18     <-- 18 -->        PDF

Schoettle and Rochelle 2000). The plant communities, plant physiology and morphology, gene ecology, life history characteristics are adversely affected by the altitude-related theory of biological phenomenon (Körner 2007; Klimes 2003; Hoch and Körner 2003; Reisch et al. 2005). Needle morphology is often affected by the ecosystem’s characteristics (Tiwari et al. 2013). However, Taleshi et al. (2013) reported that there are no significant differences based on leaf morphological properties among tree oak population distributed in Zagros (Iran) depending on altitudinal gradient. Change in leaf anatomy is another important mode of adaptation of plants (slow evolutionary process) and acclimation (shorter-term adjustment) to new environmental conditions (Kivimäenpää et al. 2017). Anatomical changes in pine needles have been observed in connection with changes in light conditions and the content of nutrients in the soil (Niinemets et al. 2001). Nikoliæ et al. (2016) reported that morpho-anatomical needle properties supported geographic delimitation of distant populations of Pinus heldreichii Christ distributed in Montenegro and Serbia. Boratyñska et al. (2008) investigated the effect of tree age (seedlings, saplings and adult trees) on needle morphology and anatomy of Pinus uliginosa Neumann. The results showed that needles of all three P. uliginosa generations differ significantly among each other.
Scots pine is an undemanding species and grows both on fertile and infertile soils (Mandre 2003). Ergül Bozkurt et al. (2021) reported that needle length, needle width and the ratio of needle length to needle width of Scots pine distributed in Turkiye showed variation in response to altitudinal gradients. However, there is no study on variabity of the needle anatomy depending on habitat zones and altitudinal gradients of Scots pine distributed in Turkiye. To fill this gap, the present study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the influence of habitat zones and altitudinal boundaries on the needle anatomical characteristics of Scots pine distributed in Turkiye.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Materijali i metode rada
Needle samples for anatomical analysis were collected from eight natural Scots pine populations (Figure 1) selected according to habitat zones of Kantarcı (2005) in the year of 2013 and 2014. All samples were fixed in FAA (5 parts stock formalin 5 parts glacial acetic acid, 90 parts 70% ethanol) for 24 h and stored in 70% ethanol as suggested by Özban and Özden (1991).
Five to 10 needles were sampled from six to 12 trees per population (Table 1). In total 496 needles belonging to 64 individuals from eight populations were used for anatomical investigation. In order to determine the anatomical needle variation within selected populations, all samples were firstly grouped in habitat zones according to Kantarcı (2005) and following altitudinal limits: 0-300 m, 300-600 m, 1000-1300 m, 1300-1600 m, 1600-1900 m, 1900-2100 m and 2100-2400 m (Table 1). The following anatomical traits were analysed: needle thickness (NT), needle width