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Historical distribution of Sundaland’s Dipterocarp rainforests at Quaternary glacial maxima

2014; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 111; Issue: 47 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.1403053111

1091-6490

Niels Raes, Charles H. Cannon, Robert J. Hijmans, Thomas Piessens, L. G. Saw, Peter C. van Welzen, Ferry Slik,

Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions

Significance The effect of glacial cycles on Southeast Asian (SEA) rainforest during the Quaternary is unresolved. Some historical evidence suggests rainforests were confined to small refugia during glacial maxima, but dynamic vegetation models suggest evergreen rainforests were widespread. Because Dipterocarpaceae dominate current SEA rainforests, their distributions closely reflect general rainforest extent. Here, we use an extensive georeferenced database of collection records for 317 Dipterocarpaceae species to model their climatic niches, based on current climatic conditions. These distribution models were then hindcast onto historical climatic conditions of the last glacial maximum. The results indicate that central Sundaland, exposed because of lower sea levels at glacial maxima, harbored suitable environmental conditions for Dipterocarpaceae and was probably covered by rainforest.