• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.5
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• pp.531-538
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• 2009

We used enzyme electrophoresis to evaluate genetic diversity in five populations of endemic ash, Fraxinus chiisanensis in Korea. Of 15 putative allozyme loci examined 26.7% were polymorphic and expected heterozygosity for the species was low (0.082). Within the range, population were highly differentiated ($F_{ST}$=0.356) and little genetic variation was explained by geography. The pattern of distribution of variation showed low genetic variation within populations and pronounced divergence among populations, which was consistent with the prediction for the effects of limited gene flow and local genetic erosion. Although the frequencies of male plants were dominant ranging from 79.3% to 89.4%, most mating events seems to be inevitable mating between relatives in small populations based on heterozygote deficiency of this species. Small effective population size and the limited dispersal contributed to the low rates of gene flow within as well as between populations.