Genetic diversity of the Salix lapponum L. population intended as a source of material for reintroduction

Salix lapponum is a relict species that occurs in peat bogs. The most numerous population in Poland, which is located on Lake Bikcze, was selected as a source of plant material for genetic analysis to check if it could be used to translocate and establish new populations in the future. For this purpose, the genetic variability of five groups of plants, which were located 50 to 130 m away from one another, was assessed using the AFLP method. GenoType software did not indicate clonal individuals in the studied population. Although the groups were located at short distances from one another, the genetic differentiation between them, expressed as ΦPT and GST coefficients, was very high and the clustering methods adopted showed the presence of genetic structure. The lack of correlation between geographic distance and pair-wise ΦPT indicated that at least in the past the gene flow was fluent, but nowadays seedling recruitment is barely visible. These results can be explained by the fact that from the beginning of the 21st century the Lake Bikcze population has dramatically decreased in size. On the other hand, the expected heterozygosity in each group is quite high. If we want to use this population as a donor of reproductive material, action should be taken as quickly as possible.