Origin of the central European steppe flora: insights from palaeodistribution modelling and migration simulations

0568230 - BÚ 2023 RIV DK eng J - Journal Article
Divíšek, J. - Večeřa, M. - Welk, E. - Danihelka, Jiří - Chytrý, K. - Douda, J. - Chytrý, M.
Origin of the central European steppe flora: insights from palaeodistribution modelling and migration simulations.
Ecography. Roč. 12, December (2022), č. článku e06293. ISSN 0906-7590. E-ISSN 1600-0587
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : range expansion * refugium * steppe
OECD category: Plant sciences, botany
Impact factor: 5.9, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.06293

The central European macroclimate during the cold phases of the Late Pleistocene was suitable for species now typical of Asian desert steppes, whereas the warmer Bølling–Allerød and Holocene macroclimates supported the occurrence of present-day central European steppe flora. The models suggest that the LGM source areas of these species ranged from south-eastern France through the Adriatic region and the Balkan Peninsula to the Black-Sea region but extended to central Europe in the mid-Holocene. Their locations differed considerably among ecological and chorological groups in both periods. Therefore, our models support the hypothesis that during the Pleistocene cold periods, the largest populations of these species occurred in southern and south-eastern Europe and some of them may have later colonised central Europe. If some populations occurred in central Europe during the LGM, as suggested by recent genetic analyses, they were likely restricted to microrefugia embedded in the landscape matrix of species-poor cold steppe. The precipitation-rich mid-Holocene climate had no direct negative impact on the central European steppe flora.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0339561