Dinâmica climática e biogeográfica do Brasil no Último Máximo Glacial: o estado da arte

abstract

From the mid-20^th century onwards, there has been significant growing interest in understanding the dynamics of vegetation in response to the climatic changes of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 18 thousand years ago). In this context, landscapes may be the result of recent environmental changes or relics from even more remote times, and this may even determine the degree of their complexity and diversification. Since the 1960s, several researchers have proposed models to explain the coverage of Brazil’s vegetation under the LGM, but the recent advance of global climate models has provided new perspectives for a more faithful reconstruction of the past conditions. We also discuss biogeographic theories formulated and modified over the last 60 years of studies on the reconstruction of Brazilian vegetation of the LGM.

keywords:
Phytogeography; Amazon refuge hypothesis; Pleistocene arc hypothesis; Climate changes; Last glaciation