Fagus orientalis
Oriental beech

Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) is a medium-sized deciduous tree, fairly similar to, and sometimes found in crossbreeds with, the European beech (Fagus sylvatica). However, oriental beech is generally found in warmer and drier sites. The tree is native to the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern areas near the Caspian Sea and Black Sea.  

The wood is heavy, hard and strong and mainly used for fuelwood. Other uses include particleboard, furniture, flooring veneer, railway tiles and pulpwood. In Iran, the tree is commercially the most important species in the country.

Oriental beech is found in pure or mixed forest stands in altitudes from 200 m -2200 m. The tree is tolerant to shade and able to develop in the understorey. In terms of distribution, the tree is limited by its sensitivity to late frost.

in situ genetic conservation unit
ex situ genetic conservation unit
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EUFORGEN’s publications on Abies alba

Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use

Fagus orientalis - Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use for oriental beech

Publication Year: 2009
Author: Kandemir G.; Kaya, Z.

Conservation of oriental beech genetic resources is carried out mainly by setting up seed stands and gene conservation forests as part of in situ programmes. Seed collected from these areas can be used for reforestation following the seed transfer zones. Furthermore, there are other conservation programmes such as national parks and nature conservation areas which harbour oriental beech stands that can be used as seed sources. There is no information concerning ex situ conservation of oriental beech genetic resources. In reforestation programmes the minimum requirement should be that the origin of the reproductive material is known and its adaptive characters should be appropriate for the ecological conditions at the regeneration site. For this purpose, the “Guidelines for oriental beech seed transfer zones”, (Atalay, 1992) based on climate, soil and bedrock characteristics could be used until new seed transfer guidelines are prepared. These guidelines were prepared for the natural range of oriental beech in Turkey, but could be used as a reference by neighbouring countries.

A system for the control of reproductive material should be applied and recommendations for proper use of different reproductive material should be developed. The Council Directive 1999/105/EC on the marketing of forest reproductive material provides basic definitions of current categories of reproductive material. In years with abundant seed of oriental beech, seed lots should be harvested and stored in sufficient amounts, even though it is expensive and difficult to maintain the viability of seeds in storage.

Seed stands alone may not fulfil the actual requirements for the conservation of genetic resources of oriental beech, especially those populations located in extreme habitats and refuge areas. Therefore, there may be a need for gene conservation forests to be set up from natural stands and managed according to proper silvicultural plans, to ensure the potential for successful natural regeneration. The objective is to maintain the potential for continuous future evolution of the population. It has been suggested that gene conservation forests should cover certain minimum areas in order to maintain sufficient amounts of genetic variability. An approximate estimate would be 100 ha including core and buffer zones. However, the area could be smaller to conserve locally adapted populations. Such forests may also contain other tree species if they are admixed with oriental beech.

The establishment of ex situ conservation plantations of oriental beech may be necessary in order to conserve the genetic variation of threatened populations that cannot be maintained at the original site, such as relic populations. The objective will be to establish a new population that maintains as much as possible of the original genetic variability and allows long-term adaptation to the local conditions at the planting site. It can be established by planting seedlings, but also by direct sowing. Stands of 10 ha are generally recommended for this purpose.

Conservation of oriental beech genetic resources is carried out mainly by setting up seed stands and gene conservation forests as part of in situ programmes. Seed collected from these areas can be used for reforestation following the seed transfer zones. Furthermore, there are other conservation programmes such as national parks and nature conservation areas which harbour oriental beech...
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Acknowledgements

This distribution map has been developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (partly based on the EUFORGEN map) and released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)


Caudullo, G., Welk, E., San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., 2017. Chorological maps for the main European woody species. Data in Brief 12, 662-666. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2017.05.007

The following experts have contributed to the development of the EUFORGEN distribution maps:

Fazia Krouchi (Algeria), Hasmik Ghalachyan (Armenia), Thomas Geburek (Austria), Berthold Heinze (Austria), Rudi Litschauer (Austria), Rudolf Litschauer (Austria), Michael Mengl (Austria), Ferdinand Müller (Austria), Franz Starlinger (Austria), Valida Ali-zade (Azerbaijan), Vahid Djalal Hajiyev (Azerbaijan), Karen Cox (Belgium), Bart De Cuyper (Belgium), Olivier Desteucq (Belgium), Patrick Mertens (Belgium), Jos Van Slycken (Belgium), An Vanden Broeck (Belgium), Kristine Vander Mijnsbrugge (Belgium), Dalibor Ballian (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Alexander H. Alexandrov (Bulgaria), Alexander Delkov (Bulgaria), Ivanova Denitsa Pandeva (Bulgaria), Peter Zhelev Stoyanov (Bulgaria), Joso Gracan (Croatia), Marilena Idzojtic (Croatia), Mladen Ivankovic (Croatia), Željka Ivanović (Croatia), Davorin Kajba (Croatia), Hrvoje Marjanovic (Croatia), Sanja Peric (Croatia), Andreas Christou (Cyprus), Xenophon Hadjikyriacou (Cyprus), Václav Buriánek (Czech Republic), Jan Chládek (Czech Republic), Josef Frýdl (Czech Republic), Petr Novotný (Czech Republic), Martin Slovacek (Czech Republic), Zdenek Špišek (Czech Republic), Karel Vancura (Czech Republic), Ulrik Bräuner (Denmark), Bjerne Ditlevsen (Denmark), Jon Kehlet Hansen (Denmark), Jan Svejgaard Jensen (Denmark), Kalev Jðgiste (Estonia), Tiit Maaten (Estonia), Raul Pihu (Estonia), Ülo Tamm (Estonia), Arvo Tullus (Estonia), Aivo Vares (Estonia), Teijo Nikkanen (Finland), Sanna Paanukoski (Finland), Mari Rusanen (Finland), Pekka Vakkari (Finland), Leena Yrjänä (Finland), Daniel Cambon (France), Eric Collin (France), Alexis Ducousso (France), Bruno Fady (France), François Lefèvre (France), Brigitte Musch (France), Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio (France), Luc E. Pâques (France), Julien Saudubray (France), Marc Villar (France), Vlatko Andonovski (FYR Macedonia), Dragi Pop-Stojanov (FYR Macedonia), Merab Machavariani (Georgia), Irina Tvauri (Georgia), Alexander Urushadze (Georgia), Bernd Degen (Germany), Jochen Kleinschmit (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Volker Schneck (Germany), Richard Stephan (Germany), H. H. Kausch-Blecken Von Schmeling (Germany), Georg von Wühlisch (Germany), Iris Wagner (Germany), Heino Wolf (Germany), Paraskevi Alizoti (Greece), Filippos Aravanopoulos (Greece), Andreas Drouzas (Greece), Despina Paitaridou (Greece), Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou (Greece), Kostas Thanos (Greece), Sándor Bordács (Hungary), Csaba Mátyás (Hungary), László Nagy (Hungary), Thröstur Eysteinsson (Iceland), Adalsteinn Sigurgeirsson (Iceland), Halldór Sverrisson (Iceland), John Fennessy (Ireland), Ellen O'Connor (Ireland), Fulvio Ducci (Italy), Silvia Fineschi (Italy), Bartolomeo Schirone (Italy), Marco Cosimo Simeone (Italy), Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin (Italy), Lorenzo Vietto (Italy), Janis Birgelis (Latvia), Virgilijus Baliuckas (Lithuania), Kestutis Cesnavicius (Lithuania), Darius Danusevicius (Lithuania), Valmantas Kundrotas (Lithuania), Alfas Pliûra (Lithuania), Darius Raudonius (Lithuania), Robert du Fays (Luxembourg), Myriam Heuertz (Luxembourg), Claude Parini (Luxembourg), Fred Trossen (Luxembourg), Frank Wolter (Luxembourg), Joseph Buhagiar (Malta), Eman Calleja (Malta), Ion Palancean (Moldova), Dragos Postolache (Moldova), Gheorghe Postolache (Moldova), Hassan Sbay (Morocco), Tor Myking (Norway), Tore Skrøppa (Norway), Anna Gugala (Poland), Jan Kowalczyk (Poland), Czeslaw Koziol (Poland), Jan Matras (Poland), Zbigniew Sobierajski (Poland), Maria Helena Almeida (Portugal), Filipe Costa e Silva (Portugal), Luís Reis (Portugal), Maria Carolina Varela (Portugal), Ioan Blada (Romania), Alexandru-Lucian Curtu (Romania), Lucian Dinca (Romania), Georgeta Mihai (Romania), Mihai Olaru (Romania), Gheorghe Parnuta (Romania), Natalia Demidova (Russian Federation), Mikhail V. Pridnya (Russian Federation), Andrey Prokazin (Russian Federation), Srdjan Bojovic (Serbia) , Vasilije Isajev (Serbia), Saša Orlovic (Serbia), Rudolf Bruchánik (Slovakia), Roman Longauer (Slovakia), Ladislav Paule (Slovakia), Gregor Bozič (Slovenia), Robert Brus (Slovenia), Katarina Celič (Slovenia), Hojka Kraigher (Slovenia), Andrej Verlič (Slovenia), Marjana Westergren (Slovenia), Ricardo Alía (Spain), Josefa Fernández-López (Spain), Luis Gil Sanchez (Spain), Pablo Gonzalez Goicoechea (Spain), Santiago C. González-Martínez (Spain), Sonia Martin Albertos (Spain), Eduardo Notivol Paino (Spain), María Arantxa Prada (Spain), Alvaro Soto de Viana (Spain), Lennart Ackzell (Sweden), Jonas Bergquist (Sweden), Sanna Black-Samuelsson (Sweden), Jonas Cedergren (Sweden), Gösta Eriksson (Sweden), Markus Bolliger (Switzerland), Felix Gugerli (Switzerland), Rolf Holderegger (Switzerland), Peter Rotach (Switzerland), Marcus Ulber (Switzerland), Sven M.G. de Vries (The Netherlands), Khouja Mohamed Larbi (Tunisia), Murat Alan (Turkey), Gaye Kandemir (Turkey), Gursel Karagöz (Turkey), Zeki Kaya (Turkey), Hasan Özer (Turkey), Hacer Semerci (Turkey), Ferit Toplu (Turkey), Mykola M. Vedmid (Ukraine), Roman T. Volosyanchuk (Ukraine), Stuart A'Hara (United Kingdom), Joan Cottrell (United Kingdom), Colin Edwards (United Kingdom), Michael Frankis (United Kingdom), Jason Hubert (United Kingdom), Karen Russell (United Kingdom), C.J.A. Samuel (United Kingdom).
 

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