The synchronization of growth and dormancy to local
climate is critical for trees to grow competitively yet avoid winter injury,
and can be also involved in adaptation to some insects, diseases and
drought. In a stable climate, the use of
local genotypes for reforestation and breeding base populations maintains the
synchronization between growth and dormancy cycles and local climate; however,
both forest health and predicted climate change will create a need to deploy
genotypes non-locally in the future.
Matching genotypes to a changing climate will be a challenge. It may require planting seedlings in environments
colder than those to which they are adapted, to optimize growth at later stages. Drought hardiness may be important in future
climates, but it is not our focus as it primarily affects initial seedling
establishment and is viewed in BC as a silvicultural rather than genetic
problem. Genomic investigations into shoot phenology and cold adaptation should
yield important information for the breeding and deployment of spruce in the
face of changing climates. Candidate genes for shoot phenology and cold
adaptation will also be investigated using the SNP pipeline above and association
studies conducted to verify adaptive variation.