Landscape approaches to historical and contemporary gene flow in plants

Growing interest in metapopulation dynamics and dispersal at a landscape level is promoting new approaches to the study of contemporary gene flow. These approaches have been fostered by the development of new genetic markers and statistical methods, as well as an awareness that contemporary gene flow cannot be reliably estimated by conventional methods based on genetic structure. Estimation of the spatial and temporal dynamics of pollen and seed movement with respect to extant landscape features can aid evolutionary and conservation biologists in predicting the demographic and genetic responses of species to naturally occurring or human-mediated population subdivision.