Recent evidence supports that, prior to the impact of modern humans, the temperate zone of Europe was not dominated by a closed continuous forest, but consisted of heterogeneous landscapes with grasslands, light woodlands and forests. Until the late Pleistocene, this region held a diverse community of megaherbivores that maintained the open and semi‐open vegetation through grazing and browsing. This new baseline is congruent with the fact that many European woody species are light‐demanding and fail to regenerate in the shaded interiors of temperate forests. Notably, most of these species are dispersed by frugivorous and seed‐caching animals, mostly birds. Nowadays, avian seed dispersers play a key role for the connectivity and expansion of woodland patches in fragmented anthropogenic landscapes. Indeed, avian seed dispersal within and across the deforested matrix is the norm rather than the exception. Here, I reflect on the current patterns of avian seed dispersal in the fragmented anthropogenic landscapes of Europe from a Pleistocene perspective. The aim of this exercise is to discuss linkages between past and present landscapes, seeking an historical understanding of the high spatial complementarity of avian seed dispersal in and out of the forests. Synthesis: I conclude that the spatial patterns of avian seed dispersal in anthropogenic landscapes are congruent with an ecological and evolutionary history with open and semi‐open habitats created and maintained by megaherbivores (ecological memory). By shaping the environmental conditions for millions of years, megaherbivores would have created selective pressures on animals and plants for life in landscape mosaics with forests and open habitats (niche construction). Finally, I discuss differences in landscape patterns today and in the Pleistocene, as well as the generality of these ideas to other biogeographical regions.

中文翻译：

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鸟类种子从森林中传播：更新世景观的视角


最近的证据表明，在现代人类的影响之前，欧洲的温带地区并不是由封闭的连续森林主导的，而是由草原、浅色林地和森林等异质景观组成。直到更新世晚期，该地区还拥有多元化的大型食草动物群落，它们通过放牧和浏览来维持开阔和半开阔的植被。这个新的基线与许多欧洲木本物种对光照的要求很高，并且无法在温带森林的阴凉处再生的事实相一致。值得注意的是，这些物种中的大多数是由食果和种子缓存的动物传播的，主要是鸟类。如今，鸟类种子传播器在支离破碎的人为景观中林地斑块的连通性和扩展中发挥着关键作用。事实上，鸟类种子在森林砍伐基质内部和之间传播是常态，而不是例外。在这里，我从更新世的角度反思了欧洲支离破碎的人为景观中鸟类种子传播的当前模式。本练习的目的是讨论过去和现在景观之间的联系，寻求对鸟类种子在森林内外传播的高度空间互补性的历史理解。综合：我得出的结论是，人为景观中鸟类种子传播的空间模式与生态和进化历史一致，由大型食草动物创造和维护开放和半开放的栖息地（生态记忆）。通过塑造数百万年的环境条件，巨型食草动物将在具有森林和开放栖息地的景观马赛克（生态位构建）中对动植物的生命产生选择性压力。 最后，我讨论了当今和更新世景观模式的差异，以及这些想法对其他生物地理区域的普遍性。