The JIP-test as a tool for forestry in times of climate change

Replicate common gardens of Italian and Greek provenances of Quercus ilex, Q. pubescens, and Q. frainetto seedlings were established in 2017 in Italy, Greece, and Germany (here: also Q. robur) to assess their potential for plantations for future climate scenarios. The JIP-test was applied on saplings (2016) and in the summers of 2017-2019 to assess the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus. Seedlings from the nurseries differed in the tested JIP parameters from older plants in the field. Further, considerable inter-annual and between-sites variability of the parameters occurred. Q. pubescens revealed the most stable behavior across time and site, with the Greek provenance usually showing higher values of performance index and the probability of electron transport beyond QA- than the Italian provenance. In the German sites, Greek Q. pubescens revealed higher values of most of the tested JIP parameters than the local species, Q. robur.