Cryptic or mystic? Glacial tree refugia in northern Europe

• Published in: Trends in Ecology & Evolution
• Main Authors: Tzedakis, P.C., Emerson, Brent C., Hewitt, Godfrey M
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2013
• Subjects: Fennoscandian; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/178483; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2013.09.001

Here, we examine the evidence for tree refugia in northern Europe during the Late Pleniglacial (LPG) interval of maximum tree-range contraction. Our review highlights the often equivocal nature of genetic data and a tendency to overestimate potential tree distributions due to warm climate-model bias, and also reveals a convergence of macrofossil and pollen evidence. What emerges is the absence of temperate trees north of 45-N and a west–east (W–E) asymmetry in boreal tree distribution, with a treeless Western Europe north of 46-N, while restricted boreal populations persisted in Eastern Europe up to 49-N, and higher latitudes east of the Fennoscandian ice-sheet. These results have implications for current thinking on European genetic diversity patterns, species migration capacity, and conservation strategies. Peer reviewed