Persistence of arctic-alpine flora during 24,000 years of environmental change in the Polar Urals

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Clarke, C. L., Edwards, M. E., Gielly, L., Ehrich, D., Hughes, P. D. M., Morozova, L. M., Haflidason, H., Mangerud, J., Svendsen, J. I., Alsos, I. G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2019
• Subjects: Multidisciplinary; Arctic; Climate change
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55989-9; http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-55989-9.pdf; http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-55989-9

Abstract 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 ( sed aDNA) 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.