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Data from: The limited legacy of post-glacial recolonization in the floristic patterns of the European Alps

Wootton, Lara1; Boucher, Florian1; Renaud, Julien1; Valla, Pierre1; Midolo, Gabriele2; Lososová, Zdeňka3; Lavergne, Sébastien1

Published Feb 25, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w9ghx3g12

Data files

Feb 25, 2025 version files 6.71 MB

Abstract

Past glacial periods were highly disruptive to plant species distributions in mid-latitude mountain belts, such as the European Alps, and drove many species to survive in peripheral or nunatak refugia. Progressive glacial retreat during the late Pleistocene and Holocene is thought to have triggered a mass recolonization event in the European Alps. Here, we asked whether this recolonization event has left a spatial legacy in the floristic patterns of the extant Alpine flora, and if so, how strongly this determines floristic patterns in comparison to present-day landscape and climatic drivers. We built on approximately 6 million data points sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and herbaria to build plant species ranges within a 10 x 10 km grid system laid across the European Alps, and then calculated species assemblage turnover across the grid. Additionally, we used a recent species-level molecular phylogeny encompassing over 80% of the Alpine flora to calculate standardized phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic endemism and phylogenetic turnover between grid cells. Using spatial autoregressive and generalised dissimilarity modelling, we showed that all floristic measures vary significantly, albeit weakly, with three key post-glacial variables: climate change velocity, time since deglaciation, and distance from the nearest refugium. Unexpectedly, differences in species’ dispersal ability did not explain these patterns. The post-glacial variables have little explanatory power relative to contemporary climate and landscape drivers. We conclude that postglacial recolonization of the Alps is largely complete for the flora as a whole, and that the spatial structure of the extant flora is primarily driven by the contemporary environmental conditions.