Modelling of population structure through contemporary groups in genetic evaluation

Background Forest trees can occupy extensive geography and environmentally highly variable areas which result in high genetic variability in the direction of pressure from natural selection. At the same time, the majority of conifer species are wind-pollinated from both short and long distances, resulting in wide-spread gene flow, which can lead to maladaptation to local conditions. Quantitative analyses of provenance/progeny tests correct for genetic differences between populations to ensure unbiased genetic parameters are obtained. Commonly, the provenance effect is fitted as a fixed term or can be implemented as a contemporary group in the pedigree.