The Role of the Hercynian Mountains of Central Europe in Shaping Plant Migration Patterns in the Pleistocene—A Review

The climatic changes that took place in Europe during the Quaternary period influenced plant habitats as well as their species and vegetation composition. In this article, biogeographical studies on Hercynian mountain plants that include data for the Alps, Carpathians, and European lowlands are revi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants
Main Authors: Jacek Urbaniak, Paweł Kwiatkowski
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12183317
https://doaj.org/article/1e33216388a1484980884eb6e8e6b899
Description
Summary:The climatic changes that took place in Europe during the Quaternary period influenced plant habitats as well as their species and vegetation composition. In this article, biogeographical studies on Hercynian mountain plants that include data for the Alps, Carpathians, and European lowlands are reviewed in order to discuss the phylogeographical structure and divergence of the Hercynian populations from those in other European mountain ranges, Scandinavia, and lowlands. The analyzed studies show specific phylogeographical relations between the Hercynian mountains, Alps, Scandinavia, Carpathians, and European lowlands. The results also indicate that the genetic patterns of plant populations in the Hercynian Mountains may differ significantly in terms of origin. The main migration routes of species to the Hercynian ranges began in the Alps or Carpathians. Some species, such as Rubus chamaemorus L., Salix lapponum L., and Salix herbacea L., are glacial relics that may have arrived and settled in the Hercynian Mountains during the Ice Age and that survived in isolated habitats. The Hercynian Mountains are composed of various smaller mountain ranges and are a crossroads of migration routes from different parts of Europe; thus, intensive hybridization has occurred between the plant populations therein, which is indicated by the presence of several divergent genetic lines.