Abstract
Fossil evidence from Metasequoia-dominated forests continue to inform us as to how forests have responded to past climate change. As such, these Metasequoia findings and those of other high-latitude Northern Hemisphere forest tree species set rigorous standards for considering the case study of a Southern Hemisphere conifer, Fitzroya cupressoides. Tree ring analyses, fossils, glacial geology, and molecular evidence together piece together a remarkable case study. Fitzroya cupressoides, a site-specific endemic, persisted within its current range in Chile throughout the Late Pleistocene, surviving glaciers, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Here, we present a review for this Fitzroya case study, which is followed by a synthesis of research questions which could elucidate how forest species persisted locally over the course of Quaternary climate change.
