Range‐wide genetic variation of the widespread cold‐temperate spruce Picea jezoensis was studied throughout northeast Asia using maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA and paternally inherited chloroplast DNA markers. This study assessed 33 natural populations including three varieties of the species in Japan, Russia, China, and South Korea. We depicted sharp suture zones in straits around Japan in the geographical distributio...

Pollen flow, seed dispersal and individual reproductive success can be simultaneously estimated from the genotypes of adults and offspring using stochastic models. Using four polymorphic microsatellite loci, gene flow of the wind‐pollinated and wind‐seed‐dispersed dioecious tree species, Fraxinus mandshurica var. japonica , was quantified in a riparian forest, in northern Japan. In a 10.5‐ha plot, 74 female adults, 76 male adu...

Since flowering often varies among years in wind‐pollinated woody species, the genetic composition of pollen pools accepted by seed parents can differ between years. The interannual heterogeneity of pollen flow may be important for maintaining genetic diversity within populations because it can increase genetic variation within populations and the effective sizes of the populations. In this study we examined heterogeneity, usi...

The spatial genetic structure of Camellia japonica was investigated, using microsatellite markers, in a 4‐ha permanent plot within an old‐growth forest. Spatial distribution of individuals was also assessed to obtain an insight into spatial relationships between individuals and alleles. Morisita’s index of dispersion showed that 518 C. japonica individuals in the plot were clumped, and Moran’s I spatial autocorrelation coeffic...