Sap sugar parameters of silver maple provenances and clones grown on upland and bottomland sites

Sap sugar concentration (SSC), sap volume, and stem diameter were measured for 49 different silver maple clones representing a range-wide collection of 13 provenances within replicated upland and bottomland plantations in southern Illinois during the winter of 2001. For comparison, 42 sugar maple trees were sampled in a local sugarbush. Silver maple SSC averaged 1.51 percent and did not differ among sites. Differences existed among silver maple provenances and clones in SSC and sap volume but performance was site dependent. Selected silver maple clones compared favorably with local sugar maple trees which averaged 1.87 percent SSC.