To learn more about the map elements, please download the "Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees"
This distribution map has been developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (partly based on the EUFORGEN map) and released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)
Caudullo, Giovanni; Welk, Erik; San-Miguel-Ayanz, Jesús (2017). Chorological maps and data for the main European woody species. figshare. Collection. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2918528
The following experts have contributed to the development of the EUFORGEN distribution maps:
Fazia Krouchi (Algeria), Hasmik Ghalachyan (Armenia), Thomas Geburek (Austria), Berthold Heinze (Austria), Rudi Litschauer (Austria), Rudolf Litschauer (Austria), Michael Mengl (Austria), Ferdinand Müller (Austria), Franz Starlinger (Austria), Valida Ali-zade (Azerbaijan), Vahid Djalal Hajiyev (Azerbaijan), Karen Cox (Belgium), Bart De Cuyper (Belgium), Olivier Desteucq (Belgium), Patrick Mertens (Belgium), Jos Van Slycken (Belgium), An Vanden Broeck (Belgium), Kristine Vander Mijnsbrugge (Belgium), Dalibor Ballian (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Alexander H. Alexandrov (Bulgaria), Alexander Delkov (Bulgaria), Ivanova Denitsa Pandeva (Bulgaria), Peter Zhelev Stoyanov (Bulgaria), Joso Gracan (Croatia), Marilena Idzojtic (Croatia), Mladen Ivankovic (Croatia), Željka Ivanović (Croatia), Davorin Kajba (Croatia), Hrvoje Marjanovic (Croatia), Sanja Peric (Croatia), Andreas Christou (Cyprus), Xenophon Hadjikyriacou (Cyprus), Václav Buriánek (Czech Republic), Jan Chládek (Czech Republic), Josef Frýdl (Czech Republic), Petr Novotný (Czech Republic), Martin Slovacek (Czech Republic), Zdenek Špišek (Czech Republic), Karel Vancura (Czech Republic), Ulrik Bräuner (Denmark), Bjerne Ditlevsen (Denmark), Jon Kehlet Hansen (Denmark), Jan Svejgaard Jensen (Denmark), Kalev Jðgiste (Estonia), Tiit Maaten (Estonia), Raul Pihu (Estonia), Ülo Tamm (Estonia), Arvo Tullus (Estonia), Aivo Vares (Estonia), Teijo Nikkanen (Finland), Sanna Paanukoski (Finland), Mari Rusanen (Finland), Pekka Vakkari (Finland), Leena Yrjänä (Finland), Daniel Cambon (France), Eric Collin (France), Alexis Ducousso (France), Bruno Fady (France), François Lefèvre (France), Brigitte Musch (France), Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio (France), Luc E. Pâques (France), Julien Saudubray (France), Marc Villar (France), Vlatko Andonovski (FYR Macedonia), Dragi Pop-Stojanov (FYR Macedonia), Merab Machavariani (Georgia), Irina Tvauri (Georgia), Alexander Urushadze (Georgia), Bernd Degen (Germany), Jochen Kleinschmit (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Volker Schneck (Germany), Richard Stephan (Germany), H. H. Kausch-Blecken Von Schmeling (Germany), Georg von Wühlisch (Germany), Iris Wagner (Germany), Heino Wolf (Germany), Paraskevi Alizoti (Greece), Filippos Aravanopoulos (Greece), Andreas Drouzas (Greece), Despina Paitaridou (Greece), Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou (Greece), Kostas Thanos (Greece), Sándor Bordács (Hungary), Csaba Mátyás (Hungary), László Nagy (Hungary), Thröstur Eysteinsson (Iceland), Adalsteinn Sigurgeirsson (Iceland), Halldór Sverrisson (Iceland), John Fennessy (Ireland), Ellen O'Connor (Ireland), Fulvio Ducci (Italy), Silvia Fineschi (Italy), Bartolomeo Schirone (Italy), Marco Cosimo Simeone (Italy), Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin (Italy), Lorenzo Vietto (Italy), Janis Birgelis (Latvia), Virgilijus Baliuckas (Lithuania), Kestutis Cesnavicius (Lithuania), Darius Danusevicius (Lithuania), Valmantas Kundrotas (Lithuania), Alfas Pliûra (Lithuania), Darius Raudonius (Lithuania), Robert du Fays (Luxembourg), Myriam Heuertz (Luxembourg), Claude Parini (Luxembourg), Fred Trossen (Luxembourg), Frank Wolter (Luxembourg), Joseph Buhagiar (Malta), Eman Calleja (Malta), Ion Palancean (Moldova), Dragos Postolache (Moldova), Gheorghe Postolache (Moldova), Hassan Sbay (Morocco), Tor Myking (Norway), Tore Skrøppa (Norway), Anna Gugala (Poland), Jan Kowalczyk (Poland), Czeslaw Koziol (Poland), Jan Matras (Poland), Zbigniew Sobierajski (Poland), Maria Helena Almeida (Portugal), Filipe Costa e Silva (Portugal), Luís Reis (Portugal), Maria Carolina Varela (Portugal), Ioan Blada (Romania), Alexandru-Lucian Curtu (Romania), Lucian Dinca (Romania), Georgeta Mihai (Romania), Mihai Olaru (Romania), Gheorghe Parnuta (Romania), Natalia Demidova (Russian Federation), Mikhail V. Pridnya (Russian Federation), Andrey Prokazin (Russian Federation), Srdjan Bojovic (Serbia) , Vasilije Isajev (Serbia), Saša Orlovic (Serbia), Rudolf Bruchánik (Slovakia), Roman Longauer (Slovakia), Ladislav Paule (Slovakia), Gregor Bozič (Slovenia), Robert Brus (Slovenia), Katarina Celič (Slovenia), Hojka Kraigher (Slovenia), Andrej Verlič (Slovenia), Marjana Westergren (Slovenia), Ricardo Alía (Spain), Josefa Fernández-López (Spain), Luis Gil Sanchez (Spain), Pablo Gonzalez Goicoechea (Spain), Santiago C. González-Martínez (Spain), Sonia Martin Albertos (Spain), Eduardo Notivol Paino (Spain), María Arantxa Prada (Spain), Alvaro Soto de Viana (Spain), Lennart Ackzell (Sweden), Jonas Bergquist (Sweden), Sanna Black-Samuelsson (Sweden), Jonas Cedergren (Sweden), Gösta Eriksson (Sweden), Markus Bolliger (Switzerland), Felix Gugerli (Switzerland), Rolf Holderegger (Switzerland), Peter Rotach (Switzerland), Marcus Ulber (Switzerland), Sven M.G. de Vries (The Netherlands), Khouja Mohamed Larbi (Tunisia), Murat Alan (Turkey), Gaye Kandemir (Turkey), Gursel Karagöz (Turkey), Zeki Kaya (Turkey), Hasan Özer (Turkey), Hacer Semerci (Turkey), Ferit Toplu (Turkey), Mykola M. Vedmid (Ukraine), Roman T. Volosyanchuk (Ukraine), Stuart A'Hara (United Kingdom), Joan Cottrell (United Kingdom), Colin Edwards (United Kingdom), Michael Frankis (United Kingdom), Jason Hubert (United Kingdom), Karen Russell (United Kingdom), C.J.A. Samuel (United Kingdom).
Status of Fraxinus ornus conservation in Europe
Research on manna ash is limited, but available studies show most genetic variation occurs within populations (≈87%), with only ≈13% between populations, consistent with other outcrossing species (Bojović et al., 2013). Population genetic differentiation is still high (Heuertz et al., 2006). Manna ash is genetically distinct from European ash and narrow-leaved ash, and even has some unique haplotypes recorded, such as in Sicily (Heuertz et al., 2006; Abbate et al., 2020).
Manna ash shows patterns of isolation by distance across Serbia and Montenegro, with genetic differentiation between populations increasing with geographic distance (Bojović et al., 2013). Populations in Italy, the Balkans, and Türkiye are genetically distinct, reflecting historical glacial refugia in these regions (Bojović et al., 2013). Low genetic differentiation between populations within regions but high genetic differentiation with regions from separate glacial refugia, as seen in manna ash, is common for species with large geographic ranges (Bojović et al., 2013). While high regional structuring has been found tied to historical refugia, few studies have sampled broadly, so finer-scale patterns remain under-resolved (Heuertz et al., 2006; Bojović et al., 2013; Abbate et al., 2020).
Manna ash is androdioecious (coexisting male and hermaphrodite plants), which promotes outcrossing and pollen-mediated gene flow across populations (Bojović et al., 2013; Abbate et al., 2020). However, a potential for inbreeding exists locally and can reduce within-population variability where mates are scarce (Bojović et al., 2013). Pollen and seeds are primarily wind-dispersed, but movement can be limited by mountainous terrain (Heuertz et al., 2006; Bojović et al., 2013). Manna ash shows a historical tendency to expand and maintain a wide distribution in the eastern Mediterranean, indicating that gene flow has been sufficient to support the spread of the species (Bojović et al., 2013).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.
Manna ash is genetically distinct from European ash and narrow-leaved ash; it does not share chloroplast haplotypes or introgression with these species, implying long-term genetic isolation (Heuertz et al., 2006). Chloroplast haplotype diversity is lower in manna ash than in European ash and narrow-leaved ash, despite the species being widespread. This suggests the evolutionary history of manna ash has been independent of other ash species (Heuertz et al., 2006).
Manna ash has a long history of human use and cultivation. It was brought to Sicily during the Arab period for manna production and is still grown in Sicily and Calabria for that purpose (Bojović et al., 2013; Abbate et al., 2020). Large-scale afforestation with manna ash was also undertaken in Serbia and Montenegro in the 1950s for erosion control (Bojović et al., 2013). Use of manna ash has reduced in the past 60 years since the introduction of synthetic mannitol (Abbate et al., 2020).
Cultivation and selection for manna favoured particular genotypes of manna ash. However, the species has suffered from some misidentification, and many “manna ash” cultivars in Sicily are actually narrow-leaved ash (Abbate et al., 2020). Afforestation and planting may have both introduced non-local material and altered local genetic structure, but the effects are poorly understood (Bojović et al., 2013; Abbate et al., 2020).
There is clear evidence of glacial refugia for manna ash in Italy, the Balkan Peninsula, Türkiye, and Sicily, allowing the species to survive within Europe during glacial periods and expand as glaciers retreated (Heuertz et al., 2006; Abbate et al., 2020).
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.
The genetic resources of manna ash are declining as germplasm of cultivated manna ash varieties has been lost; moreover, many “manna ash” cultivars in Sicily are actually narrow-leaved ash (Abbate et al., 2020). Manna ash is also threatened by habitat fragmentation, poor natural regeneration, and land-use change, all of which reduce population sizes and erode local genetic diversity (Bojović et al., 2013; Abbate et al., 2020).
There is a lack of research on the genetic diversity of manna ash in Europe. As such, further research is needed to understand how to manage the genetic resources of the species.
The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.
Genetic Characterisation of Fraxinus ornus and its GCUs
Availability of FRM
FOREMATIS
Noble Hardwoods Network: Report of the third meeting
Noble Hardwoods Network: Report of the sixth and seventh meeting
Noble Hardwood Network: Report on the fourth and fifth meeting
Further reading
Li, E., Wang, Y., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Xu, C., Dong, W., and Zhang, Z. 2024. Historical climate change and vicariance events contributed to the intercontinental disjunct distribution pattern of ash species (Fraxinus, Oleaceae). Communications Biology, 7: 603. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06296-1
Siljak-Yakovlev, S., Temunović, M., Robin, O., Raquin, C., and Frascaria-Lacoste, N. 2014. Molecular–cytogenetic studies of ribosomal RNA genes and heterochromatin in three European Fraxinus species. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 10: 231–239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-013-0654-4
References
Abbate, L., Mercati, F., Di Noto, G., Heuertz, M., Carimi, F., Fatta del Bosco, S., and Schicchi, R. 2020. Genetic distinctiveness highlights the conservation value of a Sicilian manna ash germplasm collection assigned to Fraxinus angustifolia (Oleaceae). Plants, 9(8): 1035. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9081035
Bojović, S., Heizmann, P., Dražić, D., Kovačević, D., Marin, P., Popović, Z., Matić, R., and Jurc, M. 2013. Diversity of Fraxinus ornus from Serbia and Montenegro as revealed by RAPDs. Genetika, 45(1): 51–62. https://doi.org/10.2298/GENSR1301051B
Heuertz, M., Carnevale, S., Fineschi, S., Sebastiani, F., Hausman, J.F., Paule, L., and Vendramin, G.G. 2006. Chloroplast DNA phylogeography of European ashes, Fraxinus sp. (Oleaceae): roles of hybridization and life history traits. Molecular Ecology, 15(8): 2131–2140. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02897.x
If you notice any error in the contents of this species page, please contact euforgen@efi.int
See details
Designed by Newtvision
