The differences among hairy and typical European black poplars and the possible role of the hairy type in relation to climatic changes

The hairy type of black poplar (Populus nigra ssp. caudina) growing along the Neretva river (Bosnia and Herzegovina) differs considerably from the black poplar in the riparian populations along the rivers Danube, Drava and Sava in Croatia. This rare hairy type of P. nigra, considered to be a tertiary relict and a xeromorphic form in the sub-Mediterranean region, was compared to the typical European black poplar with the discriminant analysis. The analysed species differ significantly in all five investigated morphological traits. The possible role of the hairy black poplar in the conservation of forest genetic resources of black poplar in relation to climatic changes was discussed.