Dering, M, Baranowska, M, Beridze, B, Chybicki, IJ, Danelia, I, Iszkuło, G, Kvartskhava, G, Kosiński, P, Rączka, G, Thomas, PA, Tomaszewski, D, Walas, Ł and Sękiewicz, K (2021) The evolutionary heritage and ecological uniqueness of Scots pine in the Caucasus ecoregion is at risk of climate changes. Scientific Reports, 11 (1). 22845 - ?. ISSN 2045-2322

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Abstract

Scots pine is one of the most widely occurring pines, but future projections suggest a large reduction in its range, mostly at the southern European limits. A significant part of its range is located in the Caucasus, a global hot-spot of diversity. Pine forests are an important reservoir of biodiversity and endemism in this region. We explored demographic and biogeographical processes that shaped the genetic diversity of Scots pine in the Caucasus ecoregion and its probable future distribution under different climate scenarios. We found that the high genetic variability of the Caucasian populations mirrors a complex glacial and postglacial history that had a unique evolutionary trajectory compared to the main range in Europe. Scots pine currently grows under a broad spectrum of climatic conditions in the Caucasus, which implies high adaptive potential in the past. However, the current genetic resources of Scots pine are under high pressure from climate change. From our predictions, over 90% of the current distribution of Scots pine may be lost in this century. By threatening the stability of the forest ecosystems, this would dramatically affect the biodiversity of the Caucasus hot-spot.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Subjects: Q Science > Q Science (General)
S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Divisions: Faculty of Natural Sciences > School of Life Sciences
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 15 Dec 2021 15:57
Last Modified: 15 Dec 2021 15:57
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/10396

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