Differentiation of Pinus sylvestris populations of the Tatra Mts and the Tuchola forest expressed in the needle anatomical traits

The differentiation among three populations of Pinus sylvestris of the Tatra National Park (TNP); Łysa Skała, Siwarowe Pańskie and Wielkie Koryciska has been investigated with regard to eight anatomical traits of needles. These populations were compared to a lowland population of Tuchola Forests. Five analyzed traits: the thickness of epidermis with cuticle, the mean of width of three epidermis cells, the width of needle cross-section, the height of a needle cross-section and the ratio of height to the width of a needle are characterized by a variation coefficient not exceeding 10%. Variation coefficients for the remaining traits: the number of resin canals, the distance between vascular bundles and a Marcet coefficient, range between 15.04 – 24.95%. The needles of the lowland population (Rzepiczna) turned out to be the widest as well as the thickest and with the biggest distance between vascular bundles. The Tatra populations of P. sylvestris have a considerably thicker cuticle together with epidermis compared with the lowland population of Tuchola Forests. None of the individual traits differentiate the populations which have already been regarded as distinct – Łysa Skała, found in the eastern part of the TNP and Wielkie Koryciska, from its western part. However, having carried out a discriminant analysis and Mahalanobis distances, the differentiation of the Tatra Scots pine in relation to its geographical location was reported. The individual character of P. sylvestris found in the eastern and western parts of the Tatra National Park might be a result of their different origin in the last glacial period.