Diversification of East Asian subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests over the last 8 million years

The evolution of subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLFs) in East Asia is interesting while complicated. Genus-level phylogenies indicate that the origins of EBLFs could trace back to the Oligocene-Miocene boundary or even the Eocene, while population-level phylogeographic evidence suggests that they diversified after the Miocene, particularly in the Pleistocene. Here, we review the origins of dominant plant species to better understand the evolution of EBLFs. We compiled published estimates of the timing of origin of dominant species and diversification of evergreen relict genera from East Asian EBLFs. We also traced and visualized the evolution of EBLFs in the region using dated phylogenies and geographic distributions of the reviewed taxa. Most (76.1%) of the dominant species originated after the late Miocene, ca. 8 million years ago. Of the 10 evergreen relict genera, eight diverged near the late Miocene-Pliocene boundary or during the late Pliocene, and the remaining two diverged during the Pleistocene. Over the past 8 million years, geo-climatic changes have triggered origins of most of the dominant EBLF species and provided refugia for evergreen relict genera. Three pulsed phases of evolution are suggested by genetic studies at the genus, species, and population levels. Fossil evidence and spatiotemporal investigations should be integrated to fully understand the evolution of EBLFs in East Asia.