Flow cytometry, microsatellites and niche models reveal the origins and geographical structure of<i>Alnus glutinosa</i>populations in Europe

Abstract

Newly discovered tetraploid populations are situated in the putative main glacial refugia, and neither of them was likely to have been involved in the colonization of central and northern Europe after glacial withdrawal. This could mean that neither the Iberian Peninsula nor the western part of the Balkan Peninsula served as effective refugial areas for northward post-glacial expansion of A. glutinosa.