Fossil history and modern distribution of the genus Abies (Pinaceae)

Abstract

The plants of the genus Abies are dominant and key species in the dark coniferous forest in the Northern Hemisphere. There are 52 species, one subspecies and 12 varieties in the genus Abies in the world. The history and modern distribution of Abies were discussed. The genus has three modern distribution centers: South Europe, North America and East Asia. These areas are also rich in fossil records. The vertical distribution regions of Abies are from sea level to an elevation of 4,700 m, concentrated in 1,000-2,000 m (15 species). In China, the genus distributes in 20 provinces, especially abundant in the Hengduan Mountains. Meanwhile, endemic and relic phenomena are obvious in this genus. There are seven relic species with both limited individuals and limited distributed regions. Based on the fossil records and the latest phylogenetic data, the following hypothesis was proposed: Abies originated from the middle and high altitudes of the Northern Hemisphere in the middle Cretaceous and it was dispersed southward in the Eocene due to global climate cooling down. The distribution of Abies was deeply influenced by geological events such as the uplift of Himalaya, the Alps, the Rocky Mountains, the occurrence of the Asian Monsoon as well as the Quaternary glaciers. Finally, the current distribution pattern appeared in the Quaternary. The genus Abies has a fossil history and modern distribution pattern similar to that of Cathaya and Pseudolarix.

Combined LM and SEM study of the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) palynoflora from the Lavanttal Basin, Austria: Part II. Pinophyta (Cupressaceae, Pinaceae and Sciadopityaceae)

“…The pollen record of Abies dates back to the Cretaceous with reports from the middle to Late Cretaceous of Russia (Bratseva, 1962;Pokrovskaya & Stel'mak, 1964;Xiang et al, 2007). From the Eocene and onwards, the pollen of Abies becomes more frequent and grains referred to the genus are found in many palynofloras of the Northern Hemisphere.…”

“…-Abies macrofossils and pollen records have been summarised, by Ferguson (1967), Xiang et al, (2007) and Blokhina (2010), amongst others, suggesting that the earliest reliable macrofossils date back to the Eocene of the Northern Hemisphere. Abies macrofossils, including wood, cones, cone scales, vegetative shoots, leaves and seeds have been described from the Eocene of western USA.…”

“…They have a more or less continuous fossil record from the Oligocene until the Pleistocene in both western and eastern USA (Axelrod, 1990;Graham, 1999) and from the Miocene to Pliocene of Arctic Canada (Roy & Hills, 1972). Various Abies macrofossils have also been described from the Eocene to Pliocene of the Russian Far East (Blokhina, 2010), and from the Oligocene-Pleistocene of East Asia (Tanai & Suzuki, 1965;Liu, 1971;Xiang et al, 2007). According to Mai (1995), Abies macrofossils occur in Europe for the first time in the late Eocene and are common from the Oligocene to the Pliocene.…”

“…From the Eocene and onwards, the pollen of Abies becomes more frequent and grains referred to the genus are found in many palynofloras of the Northern Hemisphere. Abies pollen has been identified from the Eocene of China and Russia (Song et al, 1964;Kong et al, 1976;Xiang et al, 2007), Central Europe (Ferguson, 1967) and North America (Graham, 1999). In the Miocene of Europe, Abies pollen has among others been recorded from sediments in Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine (Ferguson, 1967), Austria (Kovar-Eder et al, 1998), France (Philippe et al, 2002), Poland (Stuchlik et al, 2002), Spain (Jiménez-Moreno & Suc, 2007) and Iceland (Denk et al, 2011).…”

Genetic diversity of relictual and endangered plant Abies ziyuanensis (Pinaceae) revealed by AFLP and SSR markers

“…There are 23 species of Abies in China, most of which are distributed in areas characterized by cold climates in NE China or Hengduan Mountains (usually in alpine habitats above 2,500 m) (Xiang et al 2006). In contrast, A. ziyuanensis is restricted to the subtropical alpine habitats (less than 2,000 m) with cold microclimates in South China (Liu et al 2002).…”