Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics
Glacier and permafrost shrinkage and land-use intensification threaten mountain wildlife and affect nature conservation strategies. Here, we present paleometagenomic records of terrestrial and aquatic taxa from the southeastern Tibetan Plateau covering the last 18,000 years to help understand the co...
Published in: | Science Advances |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2024
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 |
id |
craaas:10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
craaas:10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 2024-09-15T18:30:03+00:00 Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics Liu, Sisi Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen R. Harms, Lars Schulte, Luise Mischke, Steffen Kruse, Stefan Zhang, Chengjun Herzschuh, Ulrike 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 en eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Advances volume 10, issue 21 ISSN 2375-2548 journal-article 2024 craaas https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 2024-08-01T04:00:50Z Glacier and permafrost shrinkage and land-use intensification threaten mountain wildlife and affect nature conservation strategies. Here, we present paleometagenomic records of terrestrial and aquatic taxa from the southeastern Tibetan Plateau covering the last 18,000 years to help understand the complex alpine ecosystem dynamics. We infer that steppe-meadow became woodland at 14 ka (cal BP) controlled by cryosphere loss, further driving a herbivore change from wild yak to deer. These findings weaken the hypothesis of top-down control by large herbivores in the terrestrial ecosystem. We find a turnover in the aquatic communities at 14 ka, transitioning from glacier-related (blue-green) algae to abundant nonglacier-preferring picocyanobacteria, macrophytes, fish, and otters. There is no evidence for substantial effects of livestock herding in either ecosystem. Using network analysis, we assess the stress-gradient hypothesis and reveal that root hemiparasitic and cushion plants are keystone taxa. With ongoing cryosphere loss, the protection of their habitats is likely to be of conservation benefit on the Tibetan Plateau. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Science Advances 10 21 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) |
op_collection_id |
craaas |
language |
English |
description |
Glacier and permafrost shrinkage and land-use intensification threaten mountain wildlife and affect nature conservation strategies. Here, we present paleometagenomic records of terrestrial and aquatic taxa from the southeastern Tibetan Plateau covering the last 18,000 years to help understand the complex alpine ecosystem dynamics. We infer that steppe-meadow became woodland at 14 ka (cal BP) controlled by cryosphere loss, further driving a herbivore change from wild yak to deer. These findings weaken the hypothesis of top-down control by large herbivores in the terrestrial ecosystem. We find a turnover in the aquatic communities at 14 ka, transitioning from glacier-related (blue-green) algae to abundant nonglacier-preferring picocyanobacteria, macrophytes, fish, and otters. There is no evidence for substantial effects of livestock herding in either ecosystem. Using network analysis, we assess the stress-gradient hypothesis and reveal that root hemiparasitic and cushion plants are keystone taxa. With ongoing cryosphere loss, the protection of their habitats is likely to be of conservation benefit on the Tibetan Plateau. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Liu, Sisi Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen R. Harms, Lars Schulte, Luise Mischke, Steffen Kruse, Stefan Zhang, Chengjun Herzschuh, Ulrike |
spellingShingle |
Liu, Sisi Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen R. Harms, Lars Schulte, Luise Mischke, Steffen Kruse, Stefan Zhang, Chengjun Herzschuh, Ulrike Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics |
author_facet |
Liu, Sisi Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen R. Harms, Lars Schulte, Luise Mischke, Steffen Kruse, Stefan Zhang, Chengjun Herzschuh, Ulrike |
author_sort |
Liu, Sisi |
title |
Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics |
title_short |
Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics |
title_full |
Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics |
title_fullStr |
Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics |
title_sort |
tibetan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems collapsed with cryosphere loss inferred from sedimentary ancient metagenomics |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_source |
Science Advances volume 10, issue 21 ISSN 2375-2548 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn8490 |
container_title |
Science Advances |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
21 |
_version_ |
1810471533781450752 |