Genetic engineering of forest tree species is regarded as a strategy to reduce worldwide pressure on natural forests, to conserve genetic resources and ameliorate stress on global climate, and to meet growing demand for forest wood and timber products. Genetic engineering approaches toward the control or management of fungal pathogens, arthropod herbivores, bacterial and viral diseases, the use of pest resistance genes, and weed competitors are being studied. Although the production of transgenic trees is relatively recent and only a few species have been successfully genetically engineered in forest tree species, very useful and valuable information is available on the application of transgenic trees. Genes involved in important agricultural traits such as herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and wood quality have been isolated and have been used to genetically engineer trees. New technologies of plant molecular biology and genomics now make it possible high-efficient genetic improvement of forest trees. Genetic engineering promises to expand greatly the potential for genetic manipulation as new genes of commercial interest are discovered and utilized. Lignification is a process essential to the nature and evolution of vascular plants that is still poorly understood, even though it has been studied for more than a century. Recent studies on mutant and transgenic plants indicate that lignification may be far more flexible than previously realized. Rines with a mutation affecting the biosynthesis of the major lignin precursor, coniferyl alcohol, show a high level of an unusual subunit, dihydroconiferyl alcohol. It is also unusual as a plant polymer in that there are no plant enzymes for its degradation. These results have significant implications regarding the tradiational definition of lignin, and highlight the need for a better understanding of the lignin precursor biosynthetic pathway. In this review, we describe the progress made recently in genetic engineering of forest tree species.

The fruit-bearing quantities of nut Korean pines (Pinus Koraiensis) of natural stands in Changbai Mountain, Xiaoxing'an Mountain, and Wanda Mountain and of artificial forest in Hegang area of Heilongjiang Province were investigated and measured by seed collection of singletree during 1988–1998. In order to evaluate the elite nut tree of fructification, the characteristics of fructification of Korena pine, including, the fruit-bearing quantity, output of seed, quantity of cone, cone size, seed size, the ratio of null seed by solid seed, seed percentage of cone, rate of the cones infested with pest, and fruit-bearing index, etc., were analyzed with the variance analysis, multiple comparison and stepwise regression to obtain the contribution ratio of each fruit-bearing factor to fruit-bearing quantity. The multiple correlation factors and the partial correlation factors for fruit-bearing quantities of Korean pine were determined for different geographical areas, and the cone length, thousand-grain-weight, and the seed percentage of cone were considered as important indices for selection of elite trees. The method of modified weighted coefficients was adopted to select the elite nut trees of Korean pine. Standards for selecting elite nut trees from the natural stands and artificial forest of Korean pine were established. This study could provde selection method and standard of elite nut trees for setting up seed orchard of Korean Pine.

Twenty plots were investigated on northern slope of Changbai Mountain at an attitude interval of 100 m (from 700 to 2 600 m). The species co-possession between plant communities at different altitudes was analyzed by Jaccard index. The analytical results showed that the co-possession calculated according to species in different layers or all species between adjacent communities was higher than that between disjunct communities. The co-possessions between adjacent communities calculated by species in different layers had comparability and dissimilarity. If the two adjacent communities belong to different types of vegetation, then their co-possession was lower. The peak values and valley values of species co-possession between communities along elevation gradient just matched vegetation gradient patterns, and species subrogation of shrubs had more obvious rule on northern slope of Changbai Mountain. Co-possessions between communities with same altitude difference were much similar, and it decreased as the increase of elevation difference, which showed that species compositions in different layers of the communities were highly related.

Daxing'an Mountains and Xiaoxing'an Mountains are the two regions of the highest latitudes in China. The temperature increase is most obvious there in the last hundred years, compared with other regions of China. The forest vegetation ecotone between Daxing'an Mountains and Xiaoxing'an Mountains is located between the latitude 48° and 53° N and longitude 123° and 128° E. This ecotone is of great importance in study of global climate change due to its transitional feature of broad-leaf-coniferous mixed forest and boreal forest. The location, geomorphology, climate, soil and vegetation types of the ecotone are introduced in this paper.

In order to decipher phenomenon of tree line changing with climate variety, the trend of tree line on the northern slope of Changbai Mountain was studied. Based on the meteorological data of Changbai Mountain, the January temperature (the limiting effect for tree line) and annual mean temperature were mainly investigated. In the ecotone betweenBetula emanii and alpine tundra, the number and diameter at ground level ofBetula ermanii in the plots were measured. According to the correlation between diameter at ground level (DGL) and age, the diameter at ground level can represent age directly. The results showed that the distribution age ofBetula ermanii was in the trend of decreasing with elevation rising. In resent years, the annual mean temperature near Changbai Mountain is rising, which has led to the tree line ascending.

Based on the summed dominance ratios of species in sample plots, the first three dominant species (Litchi chinensis, Elaeocarpus sylvestris andCanarium album) of the secondary monsoon rain forest of Mt. Royal Shoe in Lianjiang City, western Guangdong, were chosen for analyzing their spatial distribution pattern with the analysis methods such as frequency models of Poisson Distribution, Two Negative Items Distribution, Neyman Distribution, aggregate indexes, Taylor exponential equation and Iwao's equation modeling. The results showed that these three species distributed in the congregate spatial pattern.Litchi chinensis andElaeocarpus sylvestris had the characteristic of basic congregate population and attractive characteristic between their plants. The patterns forCanarium album may change and become more evenly distributed with the increase of density. The overall species spatial pattern also depended on the conservation of the secondary monsoon rain forest besides it was affected by the species reproduction characteristics and its growing environment. The congregate spatial patterns of three dominant species showed that it is important to conserve forest urgent conservation of the forest.

From September 1999 to July 2000, N and P concentrations of fine roots were measured with the method of sequential soil core at bimonthly intervals in a mixed forest of Tsoong's tree (Tsoongiodendron odorum Chun) and Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) in Sanming, Fujian. The results showed that N, P concentration of Chinese fir and Tsoong's tree in fine roots were negatively related to root diameter size. The concentrations of N and P in living roots and dead roots were compared. The order of N concentration in fine roots in different samples was Tsoong's tree>undergrowth>Chinese fir, while that of P was undergrowth>Tsoong's tree>Chinese fir. For Chinese fir, the seasonal change of N, P concentrations in fine roots with various diameter classes showed a single-apex curve with a maximum in September. For Tsoong's tree, maximized concentration of N in fine roots appeared in July or September and maximized P concentration in May.

Jilin Province is one of major forest regions of China. This paper analyzed the existing conditions and tendency in forest ecological restoration of the province and revealed the confronting problems in ecology and economy. The authors divided Jilin Province into three ecological economic zones, including nid-west farming and stockbreeding area, east hilly diversified-operation area, and Changbai Mountain national forest area, and discussed the direction and tasks of forest ecological restoration of each zone. Some Countermeasures and suggestions were put forward for restoration of forest ecology of the province.

Tracheid characteristics ofPicea koraiensis from natural stand in Liangshui area and plantation in Mao'ershan area were studied. The results of variance analysis showed that the tracheid length, diameter, and thickness of tracheid wall were significant differences between the growth rings. All those characteristics tend to increase from heart-center to bark. In natural stand, it has positive correlation between the characteristics. In plantation, the tracheid length has positive correlation with the trachied diameter, while both the trachied length and the trachied diameter has negative correlation with the thickness of trachied wall. The tracheid length and diameter have no significant difference in growth between natural stand and plantations. The thickness of tracheid wall from the plantation is a little thicker than that from the natural stand before 15 years.

The leaves of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) transgenic poplar (Populus nigra L.) and CpTI (Cowpea trypsin inhibitor) transgenic poplar ((P. tomentosa×P. bolleana)×P. Tomentosa) were taken to feed the 4th-5th-instar larvae of American white moth (Hyphantria cunea (Drury)) for determination of the activities of the protective enzyme system inside larvae's body. The physiological and biochemical effects of the transgenic poplars on the larvae were studied. The results showed that the two kinds of transgenic poplars had similar effects on the protective enzyme system in the midgut of larvae. The activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase in midgut of the larvae increased gradually, reached the highest value at a certain time, and then decreased suddenly. For the larvae that were fed with the leaves of Bt transgenic poplar, the peak value of superoxide dismutase and catalase presented at the time of 24-h feeding, while the peak of peroxidase took place at the time of 12-h feeding. The activities of these protective enzymes for the larvae that were fed with leaves of CpTI transgenic poplar peaked 12 h later than that of those fed with leaves of Bt transgenic poplar. The comparison of activities of the protective enzymes was also carried out between the larvae with different levels of intoxication. It was found that the activities of protective enzyme of the seriously intoxicant larvae were higher than that of the lightly intoxicant larvae. This difference was more obvious in the group treated with CpTI transgenic poplar.

The phenotypic characteristics of the plus trees ofLarix principis-rupprechtii such as stem form, branch angle, branch/stem ratio, branch density, the crown width, crown length, number of short branch over 5-cm branch segment in length, and the leaf number of each short branch were investigated in seed orchard in the Changcheng Mountain, Shaanxi Province. According to the morphological characters, the plus tree clones ofLarix principis-rupprechtii were classified into 4 natural types: the narrow-dense-crown type, wide-dense-crown type, wide-sparse-crown type, and the narrow-sparse-crown type. The result of the cluster analysis showed there was a very significant difference in tree growth among the four natural types. While comparing the tree growth of four natural types for the last ten years, it was found that the performance order of various types from good to bad is as follows: the narrow-dense crown type > the wide-dense crown type > the wide-sparse crown type > the narrow-sparse crown type. The plus trees of narrow-dense-crown, as a fine type, should be paid great attention to production and prepared to popularize.

The site index lists of the artificialLarix gmelini andPinus sylvestris var.mongolica forests in Daxing'an Mountains region were analyzed by the principle of the two-point method. The standardized growth model of the artificial needle-leaved forest was set up. According to the model, the each growth-index class and theoretical values of each age-class were calculated, and the standardized site index list was constituted. The test of the theoretical values showed that the standardized site index list meet the demand of precision. This study resolved the conversions of site indexes between the same species in different site types and the different species in different site types for needle-leaved forests in Daxing'an Mountains region.

From viewpoint of chemical element and microstructure of wood, this paper makes a discussion on thermal diffusivity of wood and two theoretical expressions of thermal diffusivity for the choral and radial directions were derived. The thermal diffusivities of the choral and radial directions for about 20 species of trees were calculated with the derived theoretical expressions and compared with the experimental values. The average error of the theoretical values of thermal diffusivity was 7.5% for choral direction and 6.2% for radial direction.

Based on the investigation data about the species diversity in Daxing'an Mountains, the difference of species diversity indexes betweenLarix gmelini forest andLarix gmelini-Betula platyphylla forest was analyzed by the Simpson index (D), Shannon-Wiener index (H), Pielou index (J _sw &J _si), Alatalo index (E _a) and Species richness index (S). The result showed that the species diversity index ofLarix gmelini-Betula platyphylla forest was much higher than that ofLarix gmelini forest in this region. AndLarix gmelini-Betula platyphylla forest was beneficial to maintain the species diversity in Daxing'an Mountains region.

From April to December in 1997 at Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Science, the effect of predation risk on social behavior, feeding, reproduction and sexual hormones of the root voles (Microtus oeconomus) was studied when the root voles (Microtus oeconomus) were exposed to the odor of fitch (Mustila eversmanni). The results showed that the root voles delayed breeding period and the frequency of the copulation significantly lowered (P<0.01). Comparing with the control group, the accumulated time of amicable behavior in females, and general activity of both sexes increased significantly (P<0.01). The frequencies of general activity (P<0.01), investigating activity (females:P<0.05, males:P<0.01), and self-grooming (P<0.01) of both sexes were less significantly. At the same time, the amount of energy intake (P<0.05) and body weight (P<0.01) of the root voles decreased significantly. The litter weight and ovary index of females decreased (P<0.01). For males the sperm count in epididymides also decreased significantly (P<0.01). The progesterone in the blood serum of root voles females increased significantly under fitch odor (P<0.01).

The root segments selected from dominant trees ofPopulus davidiana Dode were taken as reproductive material and were buried in different depths to carry out the reproduction of root turion sprout. The affecting factors of gemination rate, survival rate, and height growth for cutting wood of root sprout were comparatively analyzed. The results showed that the best suitable substrate for burying root is pearlite, with a germination rate of 15.16%. 3–4-cm root segments has the highest rate of germination (12.4%). The mixture of sand and soil (2∶1) is the best cutting substrate, with a survival rate of 81.3%, while as to height growth of cutting wood, the mixture of turfy and soil (1∶1) is the best. The cutting woods selected from different positions of stem show difference in height growth. The cutting wood from top stem is higher obviously than those from middle or low stem.