Originally published in 1984 and written by renowned authorities in the field, this detailed guide shows how to effectively organize, implement, and manage large scale tree-improvement programs. It describes the genetic and silvicultural principles and practical procedures that apply to beginning, established and advanced-generation tree improvement programs. Dr. Zobel is a renowned forester. He has received many awards and honors for his leadership role in advancing forest tree improvement. He arrived at North Carolina State University to lead the new Cooperative Tree Improvement Program in 1956 and retired from the program in 1979. More than two decades later, he keeps regular office hours on campus. Students from across the globe have traveled to study in the forestry department under Dr. Zobel. Dr. Zobel is a North Carolina State University distinguished Professor of Forestry and has published hundreds of articles pertaining to tree improvement and tropical forestry. After retiring as director of the cooperative, Dr. Zobel founded Zobel Forestry Associates, an international forestry consulting firm.

Forest tree improvement has mainly been implemented to enhance the productivity of artificial forests. However, given the drastically changing global environment, improvement of various traits related to environmental adaptability is more essential than ever. This book focuses on genetic information, including trait heritability and the physiological mechanisms thereof, which facilitate tree improvement. Nineteen papers are included, reporting genetic approaches to improving various species, including conifers, broad-leaf trees, and bamboo. All of the papers in this book provide cutting-edge genetic information on tree genetics and suggest research directions for future tree improvement.

It has become apparent, during discussions with students and colleagues in forest genetics, that a universal concern is the achievement of diverse goals of forestry from fiber production in industrial as well as farm forests to conserving forest ecosystems. Although we generally have several breeding methods available and several species to breed, we seek to satisfy multiple-use goals on diverse sites by management techniques that at best can only partially control edaphic environmental variation. The dominant approach, which was agriculturally motivated, has involved inten sive effort with complicated breeding plans on single species for uniform adaptability and single-product plantations. However, this is obviously neither the only, nor necessarily the best, solution for the genetic management of tree species, and thus our intent in this volume is to develop ways to achieve multiple objectives in tree breeding. We include an array of breeding plans from simple iterated designs to sets of multiple populations capable of using gene actions for different traits in different environments for uncertain futures. The presentation is organized around the development of breeding from single-to multiple-option plans, from single to multiple traits, from single to mUltiple environ ments, and from single to multiple populations. However, it is not a complete "How To" book, and includes neither exercises nor instructions on data handling. It also does not include discussion of all modes of reproduction and inheritance encountered in plants.