Quaternary Refugia and Persistence of Biodiversity

In order to preserve biodiversity, we need to understand the mechanisms that sustain it. In their perspective, Taberlet and Cheddadi describe work (Tzedakis et al.) that illustrates the importance of southern refugia for the persistence of some temperate tree species during the last glacial-interglacial cycles. Interdisciplinary efforts to identify other putative refugia, could be important in long-term conservation planning.