INFLUENCE OF NEIGHBOURING TREE SPECIES ON AFLP VARIANTS OF ENDANGERED PICEA CHIHUAHUANA MARTINEZ POPULATIONS ON THE SIERRA MADRE OCCIDENTAL, NORTH-WESTERN MEXICO

摘要

Plant-plant interactions, which are defined as the effect of one plant on another of the same or different species, are inherently local in nature. Plants interact in both positive and negative ways, which are governed by the same underlying ecological dynamic processes. The Mexican endemic Picea chihuahuana Martinez is a largely untouched tree species and it is therefore an excellent model for estimating genetic potential of plant-plant interactions under natural conditions. Because of the scarce research examining plant-plant interactions at the genetic level, we tested the hypothesis that specific genetic variants of P chihuahuana are associated with (and likely selected by) the presence of particular neighbouring tree species. To explore this question, we applied AFLP genotyping to five P chihuahuana populations in the State of Durango, North-western Mexico.