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Outcrossed mating systems play a very important role in the persistence of endangered, self-incompatible plants such as shrub birch, Betula humilis Schrk. The goal of this study was to estimate, for the first time, the effectiveness of sexual reproduction in threatened edge and sub-central populations of shrub birch. The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) method revealed that all of the individuals at each locality had different genotypes. The matrix incompatibility count (MIC) suggested that the effectiveness of recombination was similar among all the populations of shrub birch under study. However, taking into account the greater germination ability of seeds in sub-central populations, we conclude that sexual reproduction in those populations can be more efficient. The germination capacity of seeds depends on their mass, which was significantly lower in dry or more shaded sites compared to wet or more exposed sites. Non-significant results of multiple regression models suggest that chemical parameters of the habitat (pH, EC, NH4+, PO43−) had no influence on the reproductive output of B. humilis. The discrepancy between the still quite substantial genetic diversity and the poor sexual reproduction in shrub birch populations can be explained by the production of a few phosphorus-rich seeds, insufficient time for a decrease in genetic variation in the disappearing part of the range or hybridization with close congeners.

Sexual reproduction efficiency and genetic diversity of endangered Betula humilis Schrk. populations from edge and sub-central parts of its range