The major distribution area covers the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, followed by the areas of the High and Middle Atlas Mountains, with a separate subpopulation in the Anti-Atlas in Morocco 14, 18, 19, 20. (thuriferous juniper) occurs in Europe and North Africa but the species range is greatly fragmented 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Such a pattern would assume an east-west split among North African biota, implying a common historical process in action. Phylogeographic parallels among plants are accompanied by numerous examples among animal species 9, 10, 11, 12, and both advocate for a more general hypothesis of the phylogeographic convergence among North African biota. glutinosa also included differences in ploidy level, such as Moroccan species displaying tetraploidy in comparison to the diploidy displayed by Algerian and European populations. Furthermore, Moroccan stands of Cedrus atlantica and Alnus glutinosa are also genetically distinct from the Algerian populations 7, 8. ilex 4 and mtDNA diversity of Pinus pinaster 5, the Algerian populations were shown to have different haplotypes from those occurring in Morocco a similar conclusion was drawn for Olea europea 6. In investigations on the cpDNA variability of Quercus canariensis 3 and Q. However, in some studies that were focused on the evolutionary history of the North African tree species, the distinctiveness between Moroccan and Algerian/Tunisian populations emerges recurrently. Reduction of species occurrence, especially in the European domain, is likely according to the future projections of the species distribution.Ĭompared to the northern Mediterranean, the genetic diversity and differentiation patterns of woody species in the southern part of the region that comprises North Africa is rather poorly explored 1, 2. Additionally, modelling of the distribution allowed us to identify possible glacial refugia and their impact on the modern pattern of differentiation in J. thurifera reflects the east-west genetic splits reported among some North African plant and animal taxa and suggests an impact of shared historical processes. We revealed the significant genetic distinctiveness of the Algerian populations from the Moroccan and European stands that may have important taxonomic and conservation implications. Species-specific microsatellites were used in the analysis of 11 populations from Algeria, Morocco and Europe. We also modelled species distributions since the Eemian to recognise the impact of past climatic changes on the current pattern of diversity and predict possible changes in species distribution in the future. thurifera to verify the distinct character of the Algerian population in terms of the genetic breaks reported among several North African taxa. We aimed to investigate the spatial genetic structure in J. Previous genetic and morphological investigations suggested that Algerian populations are genetically more similar to European than to Moroccan populations and advocated their recognition at the variety rank. government work and is not subject to copyright in the United States.Juniperus thurifera is a key element of the forest communities in arid and semi-arid areas of the western Mediterranean.
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