Ecophysiological Responses of Larix sibiricaLedeb. and Pinus sibiricaDu Tour Undergrowth to Climate Change

The effects of probable climate change—an increase in atmospheric CO₂(by two times), air temperature, precipitation—on CO₂exchange and temperature dependence of net photosynthesis in the larch and Siberian stone pine undergrowth formed in the light larch forests of West Siberia were studied in chambers with an artificial climate. The change of the aforementioned ecological factors caused an increase in the temperature optima of photosynthesis and the range of optimum temperatures (in the case of Siberian stone pine, to a slightly greater degree). Therefore, the ranges of both species may broaden, and the Siberian stone pine can expand to the north, displacing larch tree stands.     

Elevation-dependent genetic variation of plants and seed embryos in the Crimea Mountain population of Pinus pallasiana D. Don

In the Crimea Mountain population of Pinus pallasiana D. Don, the genetic structure of adult plants and embryos was studied along an elevation gradient (150, 400, 600, and 900 m a.s.l.). Ten polymorphic loci of six enzyme systems were examined. The degree of differentiation of plants from different elevations and their progeny with respect to genetic structure proved to be low, indicating the absence of strict isolation barriers that would interfere with gene flow along the elevation gradient.