A comparison of isozyme and morphological markers to assess the within population variation in small populations of European aspen (Populus tremula L.) in Spain

Abstract

European aspen (Populus tremula L.) has been traditionally thought to establish new stands by vegetative propagation through root suckers produced by very few individuals (often only one). Morphological traits and isozyme patterns were studied in five small stands in northern Spain. Both isozyme and morphological approaches showed variation within and between stands. Estimated intrapopulational variation was higher than the expected, and clusters of individuals with the same isozyme multilocus patterns within each population have been identified. In order to check to what extent morphological markers are affected by the genotypes or clones, comparisons between leaf parameters and isozyme patterns were performed by hierarchical ANOVA and tests of hypothesis were constructed from the components of variance. Leaf shape parameters show a good correlation with the isozyme multilocus patterns. On the other hand, leaf size parameters, were more influenced by environmental factors. These traits may be useful as tools for the definition of in situ conservation units in endangered European aspen stands.