Ice Age Scottish Pine Trees

[IMG=1]The Scottish pine tree is carrying the traces of its continental ancestors, from the last Ice Age period, found out an international team of scientists from the Center for Ecology & Hydrology, the Polish Academy of Sciences, the University of Edinburgh and the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute.

They studied the genes of Scots Pine trees of the emblematic forests of Highland Scotland, and found traces of the ancestors that colonized Britain after the end of the last Ice Age.

This is a very good news as it means that they have a genetic variation large enough to help regenerate future populations.

At the end of the last ice age, Caledonian forests covered the northern parts of Britain, and even if most trees were lost because of agriculture and over-exploitation, some 400 years ago, today's Scots Pine forests have kept the characteristics of the ancient.

Until now, scientists thought that because the trees were lost, so was their genetic variety and without enough genetic diversity the remaining pine trees will not adapt and survive the ever changing conditions of global warming.

Once the study was finished, the researchers were relieved that the remaining pine populations still have significant genetic variations, comparable to the intact Scots Pine forests of continental Europe and Asia.

They are at least as genetically diverse as their continental cousins and despite the immense losses they have suffered, they are capable of repopulating what was once the Caledonian Pine forest.

Dr Stephen Cavers, an ecologist based at the Center for Ecology & Hydrology's Edinburgh site and co-author of the study says that “despite its Scottish image, the Scots Pine owes much to its European roots.

“By looking at the trees' DNA we have learned much about how the forests grew up after the Ice Age.
“Given the severe fragmentation of the current population, our results are key to understanding how these forests will cope with future change,” he added.

This genetic variation is easily explainable because of the great age that these trees can reach – up to 700 years.

This means that today's forests are only a few tens of generations away from the first migrants that reached these shores once the ice retreated.

DNA tests show that there were two waves of pine tree arrivals: one to the far north-western Highlands, maybe via Ireland and the other in eastern Highlands, coming from central Europe.

There will be further studies on the Scots Pine trees to see “if there are particular genes which let the Highland trees tolerate the harsh Scottish climate,” said Dr Cavers.