Climate driven tree mortality threatens the current performance and productivity of the temperate boreal forests. For economically important tree species, progeny trials provide an opportunity to assess variability in wood quality and growth traits and their associations with climatic stressors, such as water availability. Data from 3,152 34-year-old white spruce and lodgepole pine progeny, representing 120 half-sib families, were used to test the selective pressure of aridity on wood density and wood microfibril angle, two attributes that contribute to wood performance. Tree increment cores were further evaluated for correlations between time of transition out of juvenile wood production and the environment. Aridity at seed point of origin had minimal to no selective pressure on overall wood density or microfibril angle in the breeding populations represented in this study. Aridity at the progeny test sites had a greater effect on spruce wood density, however, similar effects on pine could not be assessed as sites were too climatically similar. Transition out of juvenile wood production was not found to be influenced by genetic differences across families in either species examined. These determinations are pivotal for breeding programs which seek to use heritable and economically important traits to select for adaptability in a changing climate.

气候驱动的树木死亡威胁着温带北方森林目前的表现和生产力。对于经济上重要的树种，后代试验提供了一个机会来评估木材质量和生长性状的变异性及其与气候压力因素（如可用水量）的关联。来自 3,152 株 34 岁白云杉和黑松后代（代表 120 个半同胞科）的数据用于测试干旱对木材密度和木材微纤维角的选择压力，这两个属性有助于木材性能。进一步评估树木增量核心的幼木生产过渡时间与环境之间的相关性。在本研究中代表的繁殖种群中，种子起源点的干旱对整体木材密度或微纤丝角度的选择压力很小甚至没有选择压力。后代测试地点的干旱对云杉木材密度的影响更大，但是，由于地点气候过于相似，无法评估对松树的类似影响。在所检查的任一物种中，未发现从幼木生产的过渡受到跨科的遗传差异的影响。这些决定对于试图利用可遗传和经济上重要的特征来选择在不断变化的气候中的适应性的育种计划至关重要。在所检查的任一物种中，未发现从幼木生产的过渡受到跨科的遗传差异的影响。这些决定对于试图利用可遗传和经济上重要的特征来选择在不断变化的气候中的适应性的育种计划至关重要。在所检查的任一物种中，未发现从幼木生产的过渡受到跨科的遗传差异的影响。这些决定对于试图利用可遗传和经济上重要的特征来选择在不断变化的气候中的适应性的育种计划至关重要。