Tree endurance on the Tibetan Plateau marks the world’s highest known tree line of the Last Glacial Maximum

Opgenoorth, Lars; Vendramin, Giovanni G.; Mao, Kangshan; Miehe, Georg; Miehe, Sabine; Liepelt, Sascha; Liu, Jianquan; Ziegenhagen, Birgit

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03007.x

Cited by 150 publications

(185 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…40-43) support the idea that refugia occurred along the southeastern margin of the QTP as well as in areas further west and north, even at high elevation (e.g., refs. [44][45][46]. This aligns with geological evidence that ice-free areas were present across the QTP and adjacent mountains throughout the Quaternary (47).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Uplift-driven diversification in the Hengduan Mountains, a temperate biodiversity hotspot

Xing

Ree

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

470

473

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A common hypothesis for the rich biodiversity found in mountains is uplift-driven diversification-that orogeny creates conditions favoring rapid in situ speciation of resident lineages. We tested this hypothesis in the context of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and adjoining mountain ranges, using the phylogenetic and geographic histories of multiple groups of plants to infer the tempo (rate) and mode (colonization versus in situ diversification) of biotic assembly through time and across regions. We focused on the Hengduan Mountains region, which in comparison with the QTP and Himalayas was uplifted more recently (since the late Miocene) and is smaller in area and richer in species. Time-calibrated phylogenetic analyses show that about 8 million y ago the rate of in situ diversification increased in the Hengduan Mountains, significantly exceeding that in the geologically older QTP and Himalayas. By contrast, in the QTP and Himalayas during the same period the rate of in situ diversification remained relatively flat, with colonization dominating lineage accumulation. The Hengduan Mountains flora was thus assembled disproportionately by recent in situ diversification, temporally congruent with independent estimates of orogeny. This study shows quantitative evidence for uplift-driven diversification in this region, and more generally, tests the hypothesis by comparing the rate and mode of biotic assembly jointly across time and space. It thus complements the more prevalent method of examining endemic radiations individually and could be used as a template to augment such studies in other biodiversity hotspots.biogeography | vascular plants | molecular clocks | dispersal | speciation C entral to understanding global patterns of biodiversity are considerations of biotic assembly: For a given region, when and how did resident species accumulate? Of primary interest is tempo (the rate of accumulation) and mode (the process, whether by colonization via dispersal or in situ lineage diversification). We wish to know how and why these vary in time and space.For mountains, well-known for harboring a disproportionate fraction of terrestrial species, a common hypothesis is that of uplift-driven diversification-that orogeny creates conditions favoring in situ speciation of resident lineages (1-6). Among global biodiversity hotspots, the mountain ranges surrounding the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) are unusual and enigmatic: They harbor one of the world's richest temperate floras, and (unlike other hotspots) they are neither tropical nor Mediterranean in climate. Moreover, despite increasing interest from biogeographers, their biotic assembly remains poorly understood (3, 4, 7). The mountains form three distinct hotspots of biodiversity that respectively lie to the west, south, and east of the QTP's central high desert: the Central Asian mountains (Altai and Tianshan ranges), the Himalayas, and the Hengduan Mountains region (4) (Fig. 1). Of these, the richest in plant diversity is the Hengduan Mountains, with a vascular flor...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Uplift-driven diversification in the Hengduan Mountains, a temperate biodiversity hotspot

Xing

Ree

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

470

473

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“…In addition, based on mismatch distribution analysis and neutrality tests, we found no evidence of long-distance dispersal or population expansion. As some other ancient and drought-resistant species in southwest China (Opgenoorth et al 2010;Wang et al 2010), C. debaoensis may have been able to endure cold conditions during the glacial periods and may have remained in multiple microrefugia throughout its current range. The cpDNA haplotypes might represent ancient polymorphism rather than recent gene flow and expansion (Schaal et al 1998).…”

Section: Phylogeographic Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of chloroplast DNA variation in Cycas debaoensis (Cycadaceae): conservation implications

et al. 2011

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Climate changes during glacial periods have had significant effects on the current distribution of plant species. Palaeontologial data suggest that modern cycads originated in southwest China. Cycas debaoensis (Cycadaceae) is an endangered species restricted to a small area of southwest China. This species has been classified into two types: sand and karst, according to the soil matrix they grow on. To determine the locations of its glacial refugia and its genetic structure, we examined chloroplast sequence variation of the atpB-rbcL and psbA-trnH intergenic spacers. Four chloroplast DNA haplotypes were obtained from 120 individuals collected from 11 populations covering the entire extant distribution range of the species. Significant population subdivision was detected (G ST = 0.684 and F ST = 0.74160), suggesting low levels of gene flow between regions and populations. There was marked haplotype differentiation between populations in the sand and karst regions, with only one haplotype being present in both. The molecular phylogenetic data, together with the geographic distribution of the haplotypes, suggest that C. debaoensis experienced range contraction during glacial periods, and that the current populations are still confined to the areas of the original refugia. These results implied that isolated refugia might have maintained in both sand and karst regions during the last glacial maximum and even earlier glaciations. The low within-population diversity of C. debaoensis suggested that there were strong bottleneck events or founder effects within each separate region during the Quaternary climatic oscillations. These findings are important for the conservation of this endangered species.

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“…These studies indicated that in the East Asian temperate forests, phylogeographic patterns cannot be simply explained by southern glacial refugia (Qiu et al 2011). For example, Opgenoorth et al (2010) inferred that the Juniperus tibetica (Kom.) Kom.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Chloroplast View of the Population Genetics and Phylogeography of a Widely Distributed Shrub Species, <I>Rhododendron dauricum</I> (Ericaceae)

Jiang

Zhang

et al. 2016

Systematic Botany

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Tree endurance on the Tibetan Plateau marks the world’s highest known tree line of the Last Glacial Maximum

Cited by 150 publications

References 73 publications

Uplift-driven diversification in the Hengduan Mountains, a temperate biodiversity hotspot

Uplift-driven diversification in the Hengduan Mountains, a temperate biodiversity hotspot

Patterns of chloroplast DNA variation in Cycas debaoensis (Cycadaceae): conservation implications

Chloroplast View of the Population Genetics and Phylogeography of a Widely Distributed Shrub Species, <I>Rhododendron dauricum</I> (Ericaceae)

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