Effects of provenance on the survival, growth and stem form of European silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) in Britain

European silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) was the first true fir to be introduced to Britain in 1603. Despite early enthusiasm for the species, it has not been widely planted and work on the effects of silver fir woolly aphid (Adelges nordmannianae Eckstein) in the mid-twentieth century concluded that large scale use of the species could not be justified. This was interpreted as a research challenge and resulted in the establishment of a series of provenance experiments being established between 1966 and 1970. Results from these experiments after 46 years clearly show that European silver fir is a productive species and could be deployed in British forests as a component to diversify species composition and in the wider use of continuous cover forestry. In general, the trials show that good provenances survive and grow on a wide range of sites and it is not necessary to select different provenances depending on site location or climate. Provenances from Calabria in Italy performed very well and should be the first choice of origin for future planting in Britain. However, provenances from a wide range of the species natural distribution performed well demonstrating that European silver fir is a very adaptable species.