Variation in phenology traits in a common garden trial of Prunus avium L. seed sources in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany

Prunus avium (wild cherry) is considered as one of the candidate tree species to diversify forest stands. Due to climate change there is also more interest in using seed sources from warmer or dryer areas. The objective of the study is to investigate differences in budburst and senescence with a focus on seed orchard material.

For this, we established a P. avium common garden trial with sites in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. We planted material from 14 seed orchards, 3 seed stands and 1 source-identified seed source from five Western European countries. The repeated assessments of budburst and senescence were analysed for differences between seed sources by modelling spatial trends using the ‘SpATS’ R-package and using a multi-site approach.

We found small but significant differences between seed sources in both budburst and senescence. The largest difference between the average time of the appearance of first visible leaves between seed sources was approximately eight days. There was no clear geographical trend in budburst timing. Calculations of Finley-Wilkinson measures and Wricke’s ecovalence W² indicate that most seed sources are stable over the different environments.

We therefore conclude, when only considering budburst and senescence, that the forest reproductive material from these seed sources show potential for future reforestation in the Netherlands, Belgium and northern Germany. Nevertheless, the small differences in budburst and senescence may be taken into account when selecting forest reproductive material for specific sites with higher risk of damage by late or early frost events.