RT Journal Article
T1 Morphometric Analyses of Leaf Shapes in Four Sympatric Mediterranean Oaks and Hybrids in the Algerian Kabylie Forest
A1 Akli, Amel
A1 Lorenzo, Zaida
A1 Alía, Ricardo
A1 Rabhi, Khellaf
A1 Torres Álvarez, Enrique
AB Background: local morphological variation can provide useful information to clarify therole of hybridization in Mediterranean oaks. Accordingly, we have characterized putative hybridsand oak species coexisting in a highly diversified oak forest in Algeria with four native oak species(Quercus suber L., Q. ilex L., Q. canariensis Willd., and Q. afares Pomel). (2) Methods: sixteen plots,including 89 trees from the four native species and their putative hybrids were sampled. Leaves werescanned and their geometric morphometry analyzed by using 11 landmarks on the right side ontheir abaxial surface. Variation within and among species, and the relationship among oak speciesand their hybrids were analyzed, utilizing an ANOVA and a canonical analysis using morphoJsoftware. (3) Results: using the geometric morphometry analysis, we observed that Q. afares shape isintermediate between Q. suber and Q. canariensis, being Q. ilex very different from the others, and thatthere is no overlap among them. Putative hybrids are morphologically close to Q. afares and, to alesser extent, to Q. suber and, finally, to Q. ilex and Q. canariensis. (4) Conclusions: the study opensthe field for future molecular characterization of hybrids, and for determining their role in termsof adaptation to actual and predicted future climatic conditions. The morphological proximity ofhybrids to Q. afares demonstrate this species advantage in the area of study and its importance for the future evolution of the species in the Mediterranean
PB MDPI
SN 1999-4907 (electrónico)
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/20795
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/20795
LA eng
NO Akli A, Lorenzo Z, Alía R, Rabhi K, Torres E. Morphometric Analyses of Leaf Shapes in Four Sympatric Mediterranean Oaks and Hybrids in the Algerian Kabylie Forest. Forests. 2022; 13(4):508. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13040508
NO Amel Akli was financed by a grant (Pne2019/2020) from the Algerian Ministry of HigherEducation and Scientific Research (MESRS) for co-supervision agreement between the MouloudMammeri University (Algeria) and the Huelva University (Spain) for PhD studies. Ricardo Alíawas funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grantagreement No 773383 (B4EST project), and the Ministry of Science (RTI2018-094691-B-C32)
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026