Seed transfer and introduction risks can be reduced by setting up provenance tests and studying the elements of genotypic, phenotypic, physiological, and anatomical structure. Forest tree increment and productivity depend on photosynthesis and the concentrations of nitrogen and carbon in the needles. With the aim of introducing Douglas-fir into Serbia, the Institute of Forestry in Belgrade established several experimental provenance tests to assess the genetic ability of Douglas-fir to adapt to new environmental conditions in Serbia. The provenance tests included fourteen different Douglas-fir provenances originating from Canada. All the trees of the study provenances were of the same age and grown in the same conditions, but on two different soil types: eutric cambisol and vertisol. There was considerable variability of nitrogen and carbon contents in the needles of all tested provenances on both locations. This variability was used as the basis for the study of the intensity and dynamics of the physiological processes of Douglas-fir mineral nutrition as indicators of its capacity to adapt to the sites in Serbia. All Douglas-fir provenances planted on eutric cambisol had higher contents of nitrogen and lower contents of carbon, i.e. narrower C/N ratios than the provenances planted on vertisol. The differences resulted from different conditions for Douglas-fir physiological activity and nutrition in the two types of soil.

Keywords: Douglas-fir, provenance, nitrogen, carbon, eutric cambisol, vertisol