Historical and contemporary mating patterns in remnant populations of the forest tree fraxinus excelsior L

Abstract

Genetic variation at microsatellite markers is used to quantify genetic structure and mating behavior in a severely fragmented population of the wind-pollinated, wind-dispersed temperate tree Fraxinus excelsior L. It is assessed whether habitat fragmentation leads to increased inbreeding, reduced gene flow, and reduced genetic diversity in the species.