ECOLOGICAL GENETICS IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS UNDER STRESS AS ANALYZED BY THE SIMULATION-MODEL ECO-GENE

Previous investigations revealed that air pollutants influence the gen etic structure of forest tree populations by affecting the genetic sys tem via various single population genetic processes. A holistic approa ch that allows the integration of these results and an estimation of t he importance of these affected processes including their interactions when operating together in the genetic system is missing. Therefore t he simulation model ECO-GENE was developed. The model integrates the m ost important processes. The model is generic, it can be used for diff erent research tasks (such as estimation of the effect of air pollutan ts, climate change, silviculture etc.) and serve as tool for decision making in different fields of application. One example for the model a pplication is demonstrated. Here a good agreement between the empirica lly observed and the pertinent simulations for parameter sets of the m ating system was found. These results indicate that the model assumpti ons on the components of the mating system and their interrelations ar e realistic. (C)1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.