Challenges and opportunities for forest genetics in the 21st century

More than ever before the work of forest geneticists and tree breeders is needed to deal with major challenges of a changing world. Here the development and application of gene markers is very important. The advances in forest genomics, particularly with the new generation DNA sequencings enable forest geneticists to develop very useful gene markers. Important areas of gene marker applications are the use for selection in breeding programs, the genetic monitoring on the impact of climate change and tree adaptation, the measurement of important population genetic processes like gene flow, and the application in forensics and to control laws on forest reproductive material and timber trade. In the paper I give some examples of these applications and compare own results with observations of other groups.