Summary• East Asia's temperate deciduous forests served as sanctuary for Tertiary relict trees, but their ages and response to past climate change remain largely unknown. To address this issue, we elucidated the evolutionary and population demographic history of Cercdiphyllum, comprising species in China ⁄ Japan (Cercdiphyllum japonicum) and central Japan (Cercdiphyllum magnificum).• Fifty-three populations were genotyped using chloroplast and ribosomal DNA sequences and microsatellite loci to assess molecular structure and diversity in relation to past (Last Glacial Maximum) and present distributions based on ecological niche modelling.• Late Tertiary climate cooling was reflected in a relatively recent speciation event, dated at the Mio-⁄ Pliocene boundary. During glacials, the warm-temperate C. japonicum experienced massive habitat losses in some areas (north-central China ⁄ north Japan) but increases in others (southwest ⁄ -east China, East China Sea landbridge, south Japan). In China, the Sichuan Basin and ⁄ or the middle-Yangtze were source areas of postglacial northward recolonization; in Japan, this may have been facilitated through introgressive hybridization with the cool-temperate C. magnificum.• Our findings challenge the notion of relative evolutionary and demographic stability of Tertiary relict trees, and may serve as a guideline for assessing the impact of Neogene climate change on the evolution and distribution of East Asian temperate plants.

Few studies have analyzed pollen and seed movements at local scale, and genetic differentiation among populations covering the geographic distribution range of a species. We carried out such a study on Cercidiphyllum japonicum; a dioecious broad-leaved tree of cool-temperate riparian forest in Japan. We made direct measurement of pollen and seed movements in a site, genetic structure at the local scale, and genetic differentiation between populations covering the Japanese Archipelago. Parentage analysis of seedlings within a 20-ha study site indicated that at least 28.8% of seedlings were fertilized by pollen from trees outside the study site. The average pollination distance within the study site was 129 m, with a maximum of 666 m. The genotypes of 30% of seedlings were incompatible with those of the nearest female tree, and the maximum seed dispersal distance within the study site was over 300 m. Thus, long-distance gene dispersal is common in this species. The correlation between genetic relatedness and spatial distance among adult trees within the population was not significant, indicating an absence of fine-scale genetic structure perhaps caused by high levels of pollen flow and overlapping seed shadows. Six populations sampled throughout the distribution of C. japonicum in Japan showed significant isolation-by-distance but low levels of genetic differentiation (F ST ¼ 0.043), also indicating long-distance gene flow in C. japonicum. Longdistance gene flow had a strong influence on the genetic structure at different spatial scales, and contributes to the maintenance of genetic diversity in C. japonicum. Heredity (2006) 96, 79-84.

This data paper reports tree census data collected in a network of 34 forest sites in Japan. This is the largest forest data set freely available in Japan to date. The network is a part of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project launched by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. It covers subarctic to subtropical climate zones and the four major forest types in Japan. Forty-two permanent plots, usually 1 ha in size, were established in old-growth or secondary natural forests. Censuses of woody species ‡15 cm girth at breast height were conducted every year or once during 2004 to 2009. The data provide species abundance, survivorship and stem girth growth of 52,534 individuals of 334 tree and liana species. The censuses adopted common census protocol, which provide good opportunities for meta-analyses and comparative studies among forests. The data have been used for ecological studies as well as for the biodiversity reports published by the Ministry of the Environment.

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Japanese horse chestnut (Aesculus turbinata: Hippocastanaceae) is one of the typical woody plants that grow in temperate riparian forests in the Japanese Archipelago. To analyze the phylogeography of this plant in the Japanese Archipelago, we determined cpDNA haplotypes for 337 samples from 55 populations covering the entire distribution range. Based on 1,313 bp of two spacers, we determined ten haplotypes that are distinguished from adjacent haplotypes by one or two steps. Most of the populations had a single haplotype, suggesting low diversity. Spatial analysis of molecular variance suggested three obvious phylogeographic structures in western Japan, where Japanese horse chestnut is scattered and isolated in mountainous areas. Conversely, no clear phylogeographic structure was observed from the northern to the southern limit of this species, including eastern Japan, where this plant is more common. Rare and private haplotypes were also found in southwestern Japan, where Japanese horse chestnuts are distributed sparsely. These findings imply that western Japan might have maintained a relatively large habitat for A. turbinata during the Quaternary climatic oscillations, while northerly regions could not.