scholarly journals Plant diversity in sedimentary DNA obtained from high-latitude (Siberia) and high-elevation lakes (China)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring ◽  
Sisi Liu ◽  
Weihan Jia ◽  
Kai Li ◽  
Luidmila Pestryakova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Reference Database ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Diversity Assessment ◽  
Recent Climate

Plant diversity in the Arctic and at high altitudes strongly depends on and rebounds to climatic and environmental variability and is nowadays tremendously impacted by recent climate warming. Therefore, past changes in plant diversity in the high Arctic and high-altitude regions are used to infer climatic and environmental changes through time and allow future predictions. Sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) is an established proxy for the detection of local plant diversity in lake sediments, but still relationships between environmental conditions and preservation of the plant sedDNA proxy are far from being fully understood. Studying modern relationships between environmental conditions and plant sedDNA will improve our understanding under which conditions sedDNA is well-preserved helping to a.) evaluate suitable localities for sedDNA approaches, b.) provide analogues for preservation conditions and c.) conduct reconstruction of plant diversity and climate change. This study investigates modern plant diversity applying a plant-specific metabarcoding approach on sedimentary DNA of surface sediment samples from 262 lake localities covering a large geographical, climatic and ecological gradient. Latitude ranges between 25°N and 73°N and longitude between 81°E and 161°E, including lowland lakes and elevated lakes up to 5168 m a.s.l. Further, our sampling localities cover a climatic gradient ranging in mean annual temperature between -15°C and +18°C and in mean annual precipitation between 36­ and 935 mm. The localities in Siberia span over a large vegetational gradient including tundra, open woodland and boreal forest. Lake localities in China include alpine meadow, shrub, forest and steppe and also cultivated areas. The assessment of plant diversity in the underlying dataset was conducted by a specific plant metabarcoding approach. We provide a large dataset of genetic plant diversity retrieved from surface sedimentary DNA from lakes in Siberia and China spanning over a large environmental gradient. Our dataset encompasses sedDNA sequence data of 259 surface lake sediments and three soil samples originating from Siberian and Chinese lakes. We used the established chloroplastidal P6 loop trnL marker for plant diversity assessment. The merged, filtered and assigned dataset includes 15,692,944 read counts resulting in 623 unique plant DNA sequence types which have a 100% match to either the EMBL or to the specific Arctic plant reference database. The underlying dataset includes a taxonomic list of identified plants and results from PCR replicates, as well as extraction blanks (BLANKs) and PCR negative controls (NTCs), which were run along with the investigated lake samples. This collection of plant metabarcoding data from modern lake sediments is still ongoing and additional data will be released in the future.

scholarly journals Inferencias paleoclimáticas para el Mioceno tardío en la cuenca de Angastaco basadas en el análisis fisionómico foliar: Formación Palo Pintado, Salta, Argentina

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 418
Author(s):  
Juan M. Robledo ◽  
Maricel Y. Horn ◽  
Claudia I. Galli ◽  
Luisa M. Anzótegui
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Humid Environment ◽  
The Mean ◽  
La Rioja ◽  
Basin Region

The continental sedimentary rocks that constitute the Palo Pintado Formation of the late Miocene from Salta province, presents a great paleoclimatic interest due to the environmental conditions prevailing during this geochronologic interval. The geological and paleobotanical data suggest that during the sedimentary rocks accumulation of the Palo Pintado Formation (Angastaco Basin), wetter conditions would have existed comparing with other nearby and contemporary Formations, for example the Playa del Zorro Aloformation (late Miocene of Catamarca) and the Chiquimil (late Miocene of Tucumán), Salicas and the Toro Negro Formations (both from the late Miocene of La Rioja). In this study, the margin and the foliar area of the leaves contained on rocks from the Palo Pintado Formation are analyzed, in order to obtain the mean annual temperature (MAT) and the mean annual precipitation (MAP). The resulting values were: 23.98 °C and 330.8 mm. These results are coincident by the interpretation of different authors, who consider that the Palo Pintado Formation would have been deposited under a relatively humid environment, possibly as a consequence of the rains that affected locally the Angastaco basin región.

Macrofossil studies of Holocene lake sediments from Jameson Land, East Greenland

1997 ◽  
pp. 80-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Bennike ◽  
Svend Funder
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
The Last Glacial ◽  
Lake Basins

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Bennike, O., & Funder, S. (1997). Macrofossil studies of Holocene lake sediments from Jameson Land, East Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 176, 80-83. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v176.5070 _______________ Previous records of Holocene terrestrial and limnic environmental changes in East Greenland, mostly based on pollen analysis, have failed to extend beyond c. 9000 years BP (9 ka BP) because the lakes sampled were situated below the marine limit. The record obtained thus only goes back to the time when the lake basins became isolated from the sea (Funder, 1978; Björck et al., 1994; Funder & Hansen, 1996). In 1994, a lake near the coast of Jameson Land (Fig. 1) was cored with the aim of extending this record. This work was part of the ‘Arctic Terminations Project’, dealing with the timing and character of the last glacial maximum, the Flakkerhuk Stade, in the extensive Scoresby Sund fjord system (e.g. Hansen & Funder, 1995). By selecting a lake basin situated above the local marine limit and by applying macrofossil analysis instead of pollen analysis, the hope was that the sedimentary record could be extended further back in time and that far transported or reworked interglacial material could be avoided. Unfortunately, however, the minerogenic sediments were devoid of in situ organic remains, and thus could not be dated by radiometric methods; furthermore, the onset of organic sedimentation in this lake basin occurred later than in previously investigated lake basins at lower altitudes. In spite of these disappointing aspects, the results merit publication because they provide new evidence of post-glacial climate, environment and biogeography in the area and support the conclusions reached by pollen analysis.

Factor Analytic Models of Bioclimate for Canadian Forest Regions

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne S. Miller ◽  
Allan N. Auclair
Keyword(s):  
Computer Experiments ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Daily Maximum Temperature ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Coastal Forests ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Forest Regions

Relational models of bioclimate were formulated for 90 Canadian forest sections defined by J. S. Rowe in 1972. Models were based on component solutions for correlations among climatic attributes believed to be important in tree growth and reproduction. In addition, computer experiments were attempted to find remedial solutions to problems of model resolution and R/Q-mode equivalence.An attribute model based on physiographic and climatic variables was characterized by mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, and July average daily maximum temperature. These factors accounted for 57, 18, and 12% of the total variation on components I, II, and III, respectively.A station model based on weighted factor scores of climatic attributes alone gave a consistent and realistic separation of major forest regions. The first component distinguished Boreal forest from Pacific Coastal, Acadian, and to a lesser degree Great Lake – St. Lawrence forest regions. The second component differentiated Columbian, Grassland, and Montane regions from the Boreal maritime and Pacific Coastal forests. In addition to this generalized model, analysis of a qualitative dataset derived to help overcome problems of nonlinearity in the original data was able to identify the mean summer position of the arctic polar front and a regional low pressure locus over central Alberta.Cluster analysis of forest stations was employed to illustrate the utility of factor models. Limitations and forest applications of our results are discussed.

scholarly journals The spatial patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of seed plants with the climate factors across Ethiopia and Eritrea

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biyansa H. Boru ◽  
Shengwei Wang ◽  
Antony W. Njogu ◽  
Anne C. Ochola ◽  
Haiping Xin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Clustering Patterns ◽  
Evolutionary Perspectives

Abstract Back ground: Biodiversity is the basic units and measures of the health of ecosystems that provide diverse goods and services for the well-being of human societies and other life forms. However, in this era due to the threats from climatic change and other human-driven environmental changes the earth’s biodiversity is in a grave danger in the world wide. Here, we explored and mapped how the patterns of plant taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic diversity and structures vary across the geographical regions and with respect to environmental factors in Ethiopia and Eritrea in the horn of Africa by using different analyzing methods and diversity measuring indices for the same reasons.Results: Our analysis showed varied spatial distribution patterns of plant diversity across the region and with the gradients of climatic factors. While the central and southern highland parts of Ethiopia were found to be the primary centers of taxonomic diversity, the centers with higher phylogenetic diversity were found scattered in the region. The phylogenetic structures also vary greatly. About 70% of the floristic compositions in the region showed phylogenetically clustering patterns. Significant and different relationships were observed between the climatic variables and plant diversity and phylogenetic structures. Generally mean annual temperature were found to negatively and mean annual precipitation and elevational range have a positively impact the patterns of plant diversity in the region while variable patterns were observed among different plant growth forms. The phylogenetic structure patterns of woody and herbaceous plant groups in terms of NTI were found to be differently impacted by environmental factors.Conclusions: The patterns of plant diversity both from taxonomic and evolutionary perspectives vary greatly across the geographic and with climatic gradients in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Phylogenetic clustering patterns dominate the floristic compositions assembly in the region though considerable areas were found with floristics of phylogenetically overdispersing patterns. The patterns observed from evolutionary perspectives can provide more crucial information for conservation plans. It provide insights that enable the areas with high phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetically overdispersing assemblages to gain as much conservation attention as that of areas with high taxonomic diversity, given their species richness.

scholarly journals Vascular plant biodiversity of Dorset and Mallik islands, Nunavut, Canada: an annotated checklist of a middle Arctic flora in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 471 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-192
Author(s):  
JEFFERY M. SAARELA ◽  
PAUL C. SOKOLOFF ◽  
ROGER D. BULL
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Vascular Plant Diversity ◽  
Diapensia Lapponica ◽  
Circumpolar Arctic ◽  
Annotated Checklist

Establishing a baseline of current Arctic vascular plant diversity and distribution is critical, given the rapid and major environmental changes occurring in the Arctic ecozone in response to climate change. Here, we report the results of a floristic study of vascular plant diversity of Dorset and Mallik islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut, Canada. These two small islands lie off the coast of the Foxe Peninsula of southwestern Baffin Island, and they are part of the Circumpolar Arctic bioclimate Subzone C. The hamlet of Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) is located on Dorset Island, and Nunavut’s Mallikjuak Territorial Park encompasses all of Mallik Island. The study is based on a specimen-based dataset comprising 876 unique collections from the two islands gathered over the last century, including 268 new ones collected in 2015. Results are presented in an annotated checklist. The vascular plant flora of the study area comprises 26 families, 71 genera, 150 species and three infraspecific taxa; 139 species are recorded on Dorset Island and 102 on Mallik Island. Eleven taxa are newly recorded from the study area in six families: Carex rupestris, Eriophorum scheuchzeri subsp. scheuchzeri, E. triste (Cyperaceae); Diapensia lapponica (Diapensiaceae); Equisetum arvense subsp. alpestre (Equisetaceae); Oxytropis deflexa var. foliolosa (Fabaceae); Potentilla arenosa subsp. arenosa, P. hyparctica subsp. hyparctica (Rosaceae); Antennaria friesiana subsp. friesiana, Askellia pygmaea, and Taraxacum phymatocarpum (Asteraceae).

scholarly journals Elevational Patterns of Plant Richness in the Taibai Mountain, China

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Tang ◽  
Tanbao Li ◽  
Dengwu Li ◽  
Xiaxia Meng
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Taibai Mountain

The elevational distribution of plant diversity is a popular issue in ecology and biogeography, and several studies have examined the determinants behind plant diversity patterns. In this study, using published data of the local flora of Taibai Mountain, we explored the effects of spatial and climatic factors on plant species richness. We also evaluated Rapoport’s elevational rule by examining the relationship between elevational range size and midpoint. Species richness patterns were regressed against area, middle domain effect (MDE), mean annual temperature (MAT), and mean annual precipitation (MAP). The results showed that richness of overall plants, seed plants, bryophytes, and ferns all showed hump-shaped patterns along the elevational gradient, although the absolute elevation of richness peaks differed in different plant groups. Species richness of each plant group was all associated strongly with MAT and MAP. In addition to climatic factors, overall plants and seed plants were more related to area in linear regression models, while MDE was a powerful explanatory variable for bryophytes. Rapoport’s elevational rule on species richness was not supported. Our study suggests that a combined interaction of spatial and climatic factors influences the elevational patterns of plant species richness on Taibai Mountain, China.

scholarly journals Root Exudation Rates Decrease with Increasing Latitude in Some Tree Species

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1045
Author(s):  
Liu Yang ◽  
Xiuwei Wang ◽  
Zijun Mao ◽  
Zhiyan Jiang ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Root Exudation ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Pinus Koraiensis ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Coniferous Species

Research Highlights: Understanding of the spatial variation of root exudation on a regional scale can help understand the response of plant physiological activities to environmental changes. Background and Objectives: Although root exudation has become an important topic in belowground ecology, its relationship with root traits and environmental factors is poorly understood. Our objective was to explore how root traits and environmental factors influence root exudation. Materials and Methods: We used a multi-factorial design consisting of three tree species spanning across sites located at three latitudes to assess root exudation dynamics, which was measured using a syringe-basis incubation system. Results: The strongest and clearest effect observed in our study was a decrease in root exudation rates of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.) and larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Kuze.) at sites located in higher latitudes. Root exudation rates were positively related to mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, and negatively related to soil total organic carbon. Conclusions: Root exudation in coniferous species decreased at sites located in higher latitudes. Despite differences in root exudation rate among sites located at different latitudes and species with suitable variation in root morphological traits and environmental factors, we could not identify consistent influencing factors on root exudation rates.

scholarly journals Diversity and Distribution of Mites (Acari: Ixodida, Mesostigmata, Trombidiformes, Sarcoptiformes) in the Svalbard Archipelago

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 323
Author(s):  
Anna Seniczak ◽  
Stanisław Seniczak ◽  
Marla D. Schwarzfeld ◽  
Stephen J. Coulson ◽  
Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
New Species ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Future Study ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Svalbard Archipelago ◽  
Arctic Species

Svalbard is a singular region to study biodiversity. Located at a high latitude and geographically isolated, the archipelago possesses widely varying environmental conditions and unique flora and fauna communities. It is also here where particularly rapid environmental changes are occurring, having amongst the fastest increases in mean air temperature in the Arctic. One of the most common and species-rich invertebrate groups in Svalbard is the mites (Acari). We here describe the characteristics of the Svalbard acarofauna, and, as a baseline, an updated inventory of 178 species (one Ixodida, 36 Mesostigmata, 43 Trombidiformes, and 98 Sarcoptiformes) along with their occurrences. In contrast to the Trombidiformes and Sarcoptiformes, which are dominated in Svalbard by species with wide geographical distributions, the Mesostigmata include many Arctic species (39%); it would thus be an interesting future study to determine if mesostigmatid communities are more affected by global warming then other mite groups. A large number of new species (42 spp.) have been described from Svalbard, including 15 that have so far been found exclusively there. It is yet uncertain if any of these latter species are endemic: six are recent findings, the others are old records and, in most cases, impossible to verify. That the Arctic is still insufficiently sampled also limits conclusions concerning endemicity.

scholarly journals N2O dynamics in the western Arctic Ocean during the summer of 2017

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jang-Mu Heo ◽  
Seong-Su Kim ◽  
Sung-Ho Kang ◽  
Eun Jin Yang ◽  
Ki-Tae Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Chukchi Sea ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Western Arctic Ocean ◽  
Deep Layers ◽  
Western Arctic

AbstractThe western Arctic Ocean (WAO) has experienced increased heat transport into the region, sea-ice reduction, and changes to the WAO nitrous oxide (N2O) cycles from greenhouse gases. We investigated WAO N2O dynamics through an intensive and precise N2O survey during the open-water season of summer 2017. The effects of physical processes (i.e., solubility and advection) were dominant in both the surface (0–50 m) and deep layers (200–2200 m) of the northern Chukchi Sea with an under-saturation of N2O. By contrast, both the surface layer (0–50 m) of the southern Chukchi Sea and the intermediate (50–200 m) layer of the northern Chukchi Sea were significantly influenced by biogeochemically derived N2O production (i.e., through nitrification), with N2O over-saturation. During summer 2017, the southern region acted as a source of atmospheric N2O (mean: + 2.3 ± 2.7 μmol N2O m−2 day−1), whereas the northern region acted as a sink (mean − 1.3 ± 1.5 μmol N2O m−2 day−1). If Arctic environmental changes continue to accelerate and consequently drive the productivity of the Arctic Ocean, the WAO may become a N2O “hot spot”, and therefore, a key region requiring continued observations to both understand N2O dynamics and possibly predict their future changes.

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