Description: Das Projekt "FP5-EESD, Dynamics of Forest Trees Biodiversity: Linking Genetic, Palaeogenetic and Plant Historical Approaches" wird/wurde gefördert durch: Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften Brüssel. Es wird/wurde ausgeführt durch: Universität Bern, Departement Biologie, Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften.Objective: Problem to be solved: When and how did forest trees have come to occupy their present range in Europe, after the last ice-age, when re-immigrating from their refugia? And what have been the consequences of these huge population movements on their levels of genetic diversity and their potential to cope to new climatic challenges? Since several decades, paleobotanists have attempted to understand the origin and migrations of our forest trees, using mostly fossil pollen remains. However, it is not always possible to distinguish the pollen of related tree species, and most of the migration routes inferred from these records remain hypothetical. Recently, the development of DNA techniques has shed new light on the re-immigration of trees. So far, these studies have been based on the sampling of existing tree populations only. But more direct historical evidence could be provided by molecular investigations of ancient tree remains excavated by the paleobotanists, provided that appropriate laboratory methods could be developed. Scientific objectives and approaches: FOSSILVA aims at improving our understanding of the origin of the major European tree species. It associates geneticists and palaeoecologists in order to confront both approaches and to develop a new one, the palaeogenetic exploration of tree remains. Different types of plant remains (such as wood, macrofossils, pollen) are being tested for their ability to yield DNA suitable for genetic investigations. Fossil samples are studied in parallel with DNA isolated from living trees, to identify the relationships between modern tree populations and their putative ancestors, and check for possible human disturbances. The study area of the project is restricted to south western and western Europe, and focuses on six tree species. These include two broad-leaved species (beech and oaks) and four conifers (two species of pines, fir and spruce). These trees were selected for several reasons: their present day genetic diversity has already been explored, hypotheses on their history exist but need to be validated, and they are of major economical and ecological importance. Part of the project consists in the production of a molecular atlas for the taxonomic identification of European woody plants; it should allow the identification of wood remains from minute amounts of material. Another major goal is the development of 'clean' strategies that allow to analyse very small amounts of DNA, while avoiding contamination in the field and in the lab. New migration maps of these species are also being constructed or updated based on the traditional fossil pollen data, complemented by the more scattered information provided by larger fossils (leaves, fruits, wood...). Prime Contractor: Universite de droit d'economie et des sciences d'aix Marseille, institut mediterraneen d'ecologie et de paleoecologie; Marseille.
SupportProgram
Origin: /Bund/UBA/UFORDAT
Tags: Buche ? Eiche ? Fichte ? Kiefer ? Populationsdynamik ? Tannen ? Paläoökologie ? Waldbaum ? Genetische Variation ? Baum ? DNA ? Genetik ? Kartierung ? Meteorologie ? Karte ? Paläobotanik ? Europa ? Bestimmungsmethode ? Daten ? Frucht ? Terrestrisches Ökosystem ? Studie ? Taxonomie ? Genetische Vielfalt ? Wald ? Anthropogener Einfluss ? Pollen ? Population ? Umweltschutz ? Fischerei ? Biodiversität ? Migration ? Immigration ? forecasting ? Fossilien ? resources of the sea ?
License: cc-by-nc-nd/4.0
Language: Englisch/English
Time ranges: 2000-01-03 - 2003-02-28
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