10.5061/DRYAD.JDFN2Z378
Clarke, Charlotte
0000-0002-1296-2229
University of Southampton
Edwards, Mary
University of Southampton
Gielly, Ludovic
0000-0001-5164-6512
Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine
Ehrich, Dorothee
The Arctic University of Norway
Hughes, Paul
University of Southampton
Morozova, Liudmila
Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Haflidason, Haflidi
University of Bergen
Mangerud, Jan
University of Bergen
Svendsen, John Inge
University of Bergen
Alsos, Inger
0000-0002-8610-1085
The Arctic University of Norway
Persistence of arctic-alpine flora during 24,000 years of environmental
change in the Polar Urals
Dryad
dataset
2019
2019-12-17T00:00:00Z
2019-12-17T00:00:00Z
en
6768200622 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Plants adapted to extreme conditions can be at high risk from climate
change; arctic-alpine plants, in particular, could “run out of space” as
they are out-competed by expansion of woody vegetation. Mountain regions
could potentially provide safe sites for arctic-alpine plants in a warmer
climate, but empirical evidence is fragmentary. Here we present a
24,000-year record of species persistence based on sedimentary ancient DNA
(sedaDNA) from Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye (Polar Urals). We provide robust
evidence of long-term persistence of arctic-alpine plants through
large-magnitude climate changes but document a decline in their diversity
during a past expansion of woody vegetation. Nevertheless, most of the
plants that were present during the last glacial interval, including all
of the arctic-alpines, are still found in the region today. This
underlines the conservation significance of mountain landscapes via their
provision of a range of habitats that confer resilience to climate change,
particularly for arctic-alpine taxa.