Based on a media release by the University of Göttingen
Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study led by researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the University of Göttingen explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions of years. Analysing nearly 270,000 seed plant species worldwide, the research highlights the roles of environmental conditions and dispersal barriers in influencing global plant diversity. The results were published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Using advanced methods that integrate plant distributions with phylogenetic information – meaning data about the evolutionary relationships among plant species – researchers combined modern environmental data with historical reconstructions of Earth’s climate and geography spanning millions of years. The team examined how variations in climate, soil, and other environmental factors determine where plants can thrive and how physical barriers – such as oceans, mountain ranges, and areas with inhospitable climates – restrict plant dispersal.
The findings show that environmental conditions, particularly climate, are important factors in shaping plant distributions, with their influence remaining consistent across evolutionary timescales. Physical barriers like oceans and mountains played a significant role in limiting the spread of more recently evolved plant groups but had a much smaller effect on ancient plant groups, which have had longer periods to disperse widely. Past tectonic plate positions and movements, reconstructed from geological data, were found to have only a modest impact on plant diversity, with their strongest effects occurring between 20 and 50 million years ago.
“These findings reveal a fundamental process in nature,” says first author Dr Lirong Cai from iDiv and the University of Göttingen. “Given enough time, plants can overcome the barriers of vast distances and geography, but they often remain limited by the environments they encounter.”
Original publication
(Researchers with iDiv affiliation bolded)
Contact
Dr Lirong Cai
University of Göttingen
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Phone: +49 341 97 33176
E-mail: lirong.cai@idiv.de
Christine Coester
Media and Communications
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Phone: +49 341 97 33197
E-Mail: christine.coester@idiv.de
The interplay of environmental conditions and geographic barriers, such as mountains and lakes, determines where plants thrive—an international study reveals how these patterns have evolved over millions of years.
Please note: Use of the pictures provided by iDiv is permitted for reports related to this media release only, and under the condition that credit is given to the picture originator.