Modelling the location of interglacial microrefugia for cold-adapted species: insights from the terrain-mediated distribution of Rhododendron tomentosum in a temperate region in central Europe

0573922 - BÚ 2024 RIV CZ eng J - Journal Article
Radoměřský, T. - Bobek, Přemysl - Man, Matěj - Svitavská Svobodová, Helena - Kuneš, P.
Modelling the location of interglacial microrefugia for cold-adapted species: insights from the terrain-mediated distribution of Rhododendron tomentosum in a temperate region in central Europe.
Preslia. Roč. 95, č. 2 (2023), s. 267-296. ISSN 0032-7786. E-ISSN 0032-7786
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-07851S
EU Projects: European Commission INTERREG-100154765
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : environmental changes * glacial relict * palaeoecological data
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 3.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.23855/preslia.2023.267

Rhododendron tomentosum is a vascular plant common in northern regions ofEurope, Asia and North America. In central Europe, this species is considered a glacial relict. Inrecent years, systematic floristic mapping of the distribution of this species in the BohemianSwitzerland National Park has revealed that this rare and highly sensitive species is stronglyassociated with a specific type of habitat. Based on data from intensive field sampling and a set of environmental variablesfor the whole area of the National Park, habitat suitability maps for R. tomentosum weredeveloped. These maps were then combined with the palaeoecological data and used to identifysources of pollen with greater precision and extend the knowledge of the potential distributionof R. tomentosum outside the intensively sampled areas. Palaeoecological data was particularlyuseful for reconstructing the past population dynamics of R. tomentosum. The results indicate thelong-term stability of sites suitable for this species, supported by locally diversified vegetationdevelopment in sandstone areas. This research could therefore provide the first direct evidenceof the persistence of R. tomentosum micropopulations throughout a large part of the Holocene.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0348718