Climate shapes the seed germination niche of temperate flowering plants: a meta-analysis of European seed conservation data.

This is the first quantitative meta-analysis of the germination niche at a continental scale. Our findings showed that the germination niches of European plants exhibit evolutionary convergence mediated by strong pressures at the macroclimatic level. In addition, our methodological approach highlighted how large datasets generated by conservation seed banking can be valuable sources to address questions in plant macroecology and evolution.