TERPENE COMPOSITION VARIATIONS IN DIVERSE PROVENANCES OF CEDRUS-LIBANI (A.) RICH. AND CEDRUS-ATLANTICA MANET

Mono-and sesquiterpenes are good markers for distinguishing conifer sp ecies one from another, and provenances of the same species. In the ge nus Cedrus, the identification of C. libani requires C. libani to be d istinguished from the main provenances of C. atlantica; two provenance s of C. libani were recognized. Consequently it was decided to look fo r terpene markers among samples from six provenances of these two spec ies. Longifolene appears as a specific marker of C. libani Pozanti; C. libani Barouk is less easy to identify by the presence of bornyl acet ate, because one out of three analysed individuals does not contain it . Factorial Discriminant Analysis underlines the differences between C . atlantica and C. libani, according to one axis (beta-myrcene/alpha- and beta-pinene). The second axis allows Barouk and Pozanti provenance s of C. libani to be distinguished by their limonene and beta-pinene c ontents. In C. atlantica, the same procedure allows Algerian and Moroc can provenances to be separated. The Mann-Whitney test confirms that C . libani Pozanti is always specified by the lowest values of beta-myrc ene. Similarly, C. libani Barouk's high beta-pinene content differenti ates it from various provenances of C. atlantica, except in the case o f some individuals (Talassentane provenance). So, C. libani Pozanti is always easier to identify than C. libani Barouk.