A provenance test of red spruce in nine environments in eastern Canada

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Abstract
Survival and total height of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) at ages 15 and 22 years from seed are reported. Twelve provenances distributed from North Carolina to Quebec were grown in three experiments each in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick; seven additional provenances were only partially represented. Variance, correlation, and regression analyses were made. Results at both ages were very similar. Provenance differences in survival were small at individual sites and significant only when the results from all nine sites were combined. Provenance differences in height were well expressed and significant in each of the three groups of tests, with northern provenances growing best. Several provenances were also relatively stable and performed well from site to site. Correlation and regression analyses showed that variation in height was more closely related to the degree of introgressive hybridization with black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) than to latitude, elevation, or precipitation at the place of seed origin. These results were conditioned by development on open sites which are not typical red spruce sites.In contrast with expectations when the study was initiated, it is now apparent that provenances from the southern Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and North Carolina are less variable than expected and not suitable for reforestation in Canada.

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