Individual differentiation of Abies alba Mill. population from the Tisovik Reserve. Variability expressed in morphology and anatomy of needles

One-year-old needles from 20 silver fir trees in the Tisovik Reserve (Belarus) were characterized in respect to 12 morphological and anatomical traits, and the data were analyzed statistically to determine variability between trees. Individuals within the population generally were homogenous for those traits. Needle length was the most variable trait within the studied population. The width/height ratio of the hypodermic cell exerted the weakest differentiating effect between trees. The results indicated that the Tisovik Reserve population is weakly differentiated.