The ice-age history of West Patagonian (Chile) peat bog vegetation

我们的项目旨在澄清智利海峡地区的第四纪植被历史。这一大片地区很难进入，以前很少用地理学方法进行研究，尽管它是南半球最大的冰川区。我们将首先检验以下假设：冰盾完全消灭了该地区的植物（白板Rasa），或者冰盾内或沿着其边缘可能存在许多未知的避难所。来自孢粉学和地质学的已发表数据既不精确也不具有决定性，我们希望分子数据将产生更清晰的结果。我们将分析垫泥炭沼泽，这是一个特有的，在这个地区的优势植被单位的三个物种的种群结构和生态地理。我们将应用DNA序列和微卫星标记对c.每个物种有40个种群分布在假定的冰盾内外。我们将分析现在和过去的分布范围与环境生态位模型，以确定潜在的避难所。我们的研究结果将与两个研究小组的研究结果进行整合，他们用相同的方法研究相邻地区，可能会更完整地了解南美洲南部的第四纪植被历史。

Our project aims to clarify the Quaternary vegetation history of the Chilean Channel region. This large region is difficult to access and has rarely been studied with phylogeographic methods before, although it was the largest glaciated area in the southern hemisphere during the last glacial maximum. We will first test the hypotheses that the ice-shield completely wiped out plant life from this area (tabula rasa scenario) or that many yet unkown refugia may have existed within the ice shield or along its margin. Published data from palynology and geology are neither precise nor decisive yet and we expect that molecular data will generate much clearer results. We will analyse the population structure and the phylogeography of three species from cushion peat bogs, which is an endemic, dominant vegetation unit in this area. We will apply DNA sequence and microsatellite markers on c. 40 populations per species from within and outside the presumed ice shield. We will analyse present and past distribution ranges with environmental niche modelling to ascertain potential refugial areas. Our results will be integrated with results of two research groups who study adjacent regions with the same methodology, potentially allowing for a much more complete understanding of Quaternary vegetation history in southern South America.