Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870
Understanding patterns of colonisation is important for explaining both the distribution of single species and anticipating how ecosystems may respond to global warming. Insular flora may be especially vulnerable because oceans represent severe dispersal barriers. Here we analyse two lake sediment c...
Published in: | Quaternary Science Reviews |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/20915 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/20915 |
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openpolar |
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Open Polar |
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University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Vegetation history: 495 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Vegetasjonshistorie: 495 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450::Sedimentology: 456 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450::Sedimentologi: 456 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Vegetation history: 495 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Vegetasjonshistorie: 495 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450::Sedimentology: 456 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450::Sedimentologi: 456 Alsos, Inger Greve Lammers, Youri Kjellman, Sofia Elisabeth Merkel, Marie Føreid Bender, Emma Marie Rouillard, Alexandra Erlendsson, Egill Gudmundsdottir, Esther Ruth Benediktsson, Ívar Örn Farnsworth, Wesley Randall Brynjólfsson, Skafti Gísladóttir, Guðrún Eddudóttir, Sigrún Dögg Schomacker, Anders Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870 |
topic_facet |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Vegetation history: 495 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Vegetasjonshistorie: 495 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450::Sedimentology: 456 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450::Sedimentologi: 456 |
description |
Understanding patterns of colonisation is important for explaining both the distribution of single species and anticipating how ecosystems may respond to global warming. Insular flora may be especially vulnerable because oceans represent severe dispersal barriers. Here we analyse two lake sediment cores from Iceland for ancient sedimentary DNA to infer patterns of colonisation and Holocene vegetation development. Our cores from lakes Torfdalsvatn and Nykurvatn span the last c. 12,000 cal yr BP and c. 8600 cal yr BP, respectively. With near-centennial resolution, we identified a total of 191 plant taxa, with 152 taxa identified in the sedimentary record of Torfdalsvatn and 172 plant taxa in the sedimentary record of Nykurvatn. The terrestrial vegetation at Torfdalsvatn was initially dominated by bryophytes, arctic herbs such as Saxifraga spp. and grasses. Around 10,100 cal yr BP, a massive immigration of new taxa was observed, and shrubs and dwarf shrubs became common whereas aquatic macrophytes became dominant. At Nykurvatn, the dominant taxa were all present in the earliest samples; shrubs and dwarf shrubs were more abundant at this site than at Torfdalsvatn. There was an overall steep increase both in the local accumulated richness and regional species pool until 8000 cal yr BP, by which time ¾ of all taxa identified had arrived. The period 4500-1000 cal yr BP witnessed the appearance of a a small number of bryophytes, graminoids and forbs that were not recorded in earlier samples. The last millennium, after human settlement of the island (Landnám), is characterised by a sudden disappearance of Juniperus communis , but also reappearance of some high arctic forbs and dwarf shrubs. Notable immigration during the Holocene coincides with periods of increased incidence of sea ice, and we hypothesise that this may have acted as a dispersal vector. Thus, although ongoing climate change might provide a suitable habitat in Iceland for a large range of species only found in the neighbouring regions today, the reduction of sea ice may in fact limit the natural colonisation of new plant species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alsos, Inger Greve Lammers, Youri Kjellman, Sofia Elisabeth Merkel, Marie Føreid Bender, Emma Marie Rouillard, Alexandra Erlendsson, Egill Gudmundsdottir, Esther Ruth Benediktsson, Ívar Örn Farnsworth, Wesley Randall Brynjólfsson, Skafti Gísladóttir, Guðrún Eddudóttir, Sigrún Dögg Schomacker, Anders |
author_facet |
Alsos, Inger Greve Lammers, Youri Kjellman, Sofia Elisabeth Merkel, Marie Føreid Bender, Emma Marie Rouillard, Alexandra Erlendsson, Egill Gudmundsdottir, Esther Ruth Benediktsson, Ívar Örn Farnsworth, Wesley Randall Brynjólfsson, Skafti Gísladóttir, Guðrún Eddudóttir, Sigrún Dögg Schomacker, Anders |
author_sort |
Alsos, Inger Greve |
title |
Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870 |
title_short |
Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870 |
title_full |
Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870 |
title_fullStr |
Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870 |
title_sort |
ancient sedimentary dna shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the norse settlement (landnám) ad 870 |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/20915 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Iceland Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Iceland Sea ice |
op_relation |
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 . Quaternary Science Reviews info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/819192/EU/Ice Age Genomic Tracking of Refugia and Postglacial Dispersal/IceAGenT/ Alsos, Lammers, Kjellman, Merkel, Bender, Rouillard, Erlendsson, Gudmundsdottir, Benediktsson, Farnsworth, Brynjólfsson, Gísladóttir, Eddudóttir, Schomacker. Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2021;259 FRIDAID 1903091 doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 0277-3791 1873-457X https://hdl.handle.net/10037/20915 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2021 The Author(s) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 |
container_title |
Quaternary Science Reviews |
container_volume |
259 |
container_start_page |
106903 |
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1766336644126867456 |
spelling |
ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/20915 2023-05-15T15:04:54+02:00 Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870 Alsos, Inger Greve Lammers, Youri Kjellman, Sofia Elisabeth Merkel, Marie Føreid Bender, Emma Marie Rouillard, Alexandra Erlendsson, Egill Gudmundsdottir, Esther Ruth Benediktsson, Ívar Örn Farnsworth, Wesley Randall Brynjólfsson, Skafti Gísladóttir, Guðrún Eddudóttir, Sigrún Dögg Schomacker, Anders 2021-04-08 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/20915 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 eng eng Elsevier Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 . Quaternary Science Reviews info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/819192/EU/Ice Age Genomic Tracking of Refugia and Postglacial Dispersal/IceAGenT/ Alsos, Lammers, Kjellman, Merkel, Bender, Rouillard, Erlendsson, Gudmundsdottir, Benediktsson, Farnsworth, Brynjólfsson, Gísladóttir, Eddudóttir, Schomacker. Ancient sedimentary DNA shows rapid post-glacial colonisation of Iceland followed by relatively stable vegetation until the Norse settlement (Landnám) AD 870. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2021;259 FRIDAID 1903091 doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 0277-3791 1873-457X https://hdl.handle.net/10037/20915 openAccess Copyright 2021 The Author(s) VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Vegetation history: 495 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Vegetasjonshistorie: 495 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450::Sedimentology: 456 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450::Sedimentologi: 456 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2021 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106903 2021-06-25T17:58:09Z Understanding patterns of colonisation is important for explaining both the distribution of single species and anticipating how ecosystems may respond to global warming. Insular flora may be especially vulnerable because oceans represent severe dispersal barriers. Here we analyse two lake sediment cores from Iceland for ancient sedimentary DNA to infer patterns of colonisation and Holocene vegetation development. Our cores from lakes Torfdalsvatn and Nykurvatn span the last c. 12,000 cal yr BP and c. 8600 cal yr BP, respectively. With near-centennial resolution, we identified a total of 191 plant taxa, with 152 taxa identified in the sedimentary record of Torfdalsvatn and 172 plant taxa in the sedimentary record of Nykurvatn. The terrestrial vegetation at Torfdalsvatn was initially dominated by bryophytes, arctic herbs such as Saxifraga spp. and grasses. Around 10,100 cal yr BP, a massive immigration of new taxa was observed, and shrubs and dwarf shrubs became common whereas aquatic macrophytes became dominant. At Nykurvatn, the dominant taxa were all present in the earliest samples; shrubs and dwarf shrubs were more abundant at this site than at Torfdalsvatn. There was an overall steep increase both in the local accumulated richness and regional species pool until 8000 cal yr BP, by which time ¾ of all taxa identified had arrived. The period 4500-1000 cal yr BP witnessed the appearance of a a small number of bryophytes, graminoids and forbs that were not recorded in earlier samples. The last millennium, after human settlement of the island (Landnám), is characterised by a sudden disappearance of Juniperus communis , but also reappearance of some high arctic forbs and dwarf shrubs. Notable immigration during the Holocene coincides with periods of increased incidence of sea ice, and we hypothesise that this may have acted as a dispersal vector. Thus, although ongoing climate change might provide a suitable habitat in Iceland for a large range of species only found in the neighbouring regions today, the reduction of sea ice may in fact limit the natural colonisation of new plant species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Global warming Iceland Sea ice University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic Quaternary Science Reviews 259 106903 |