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Raposeiro PM, Hernández A, Pla-Rabes S, Gonçalves V, Bao R, Sáez A, Shanahan T, Benavente M, de Boer EJ, Richter N, Gordon V, Marques H, Sousa PM, Souto M, Matias MG, Aguiar N, Pereira C, Ritter C, Rubio MJ, Salcedo M, Vázquez-Loureiro D, Margalef O, Amaral-Zettler LA, Costa AC, Huang Y, van Leeuwen JFN, Masqué P, Prego R, Ruiz-Fernández AC, Sanchez-Cabeza JA, Trigo R, Giralt S. Reply to Elias et al.: Multiproxy evidence of widespread landscape disturbance in multiple Azorean lakes before the Portuguese arrival. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2120107119. [PMID: 35046052 PMCID: PMC8794883 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120107119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M Raposeiro
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Rede de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Biologia Evolutiva - Laboratório Associado, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal;
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - Armand Hernández
- Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Sergi Pla-Rabes
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Cerdanyola del Valles 08193, Spain
- Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia (BAVBE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vítor Gonçalves
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Rede de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Biologia Evolutiva - Laboratório Associado, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - Roberto Bao
- Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Alberto Sáez
- Department de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Timothy Shanahan
- Department of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
| | - Mario Benavente
- Geosciences Barcelona (Geo3BCN-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Erik J de Boer
- Department de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nora Richter
- Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
| | - Verónica Gordon
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
| | - Helena Marques
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Rede de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Biologia Evolutiva - Laboratório Associado, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - Pedro M Sousa
- Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, 1749-077 Lisboa, Portugal
- Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Martín Souto
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Rede de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Biologia Evolutiva - Laboratório Associado, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - Miguel G Matias
- Departmento of Biogegrafía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 28006 Madrid, Spain
- Biodiversity Research Chair, Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Universidade de Évora, 7000-890 Évora, Portugal
| | - Nicole Aguiar
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - Cátia Pereira
- Departmento of Biogegrafía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 28006 Madrid, Spain
- Biodiversity Research Chair, Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Universidade de Évora, 7000-890 Évora, Portugal
| | - Catarina Ritter
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Rede de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Biologia Evolutiva - Laboratório Associado, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - María Jesús Rubio
- Geosciences Barcelona (Geo3BCN-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marina Salcedo
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - David Vázquez-Loureiro
- Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Olga Margalef
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Cerdanyola del Valles 08193, Spain
- Department de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Global Ecology Unit Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Catalonia, Spain
| | - Linda A Amaral-Zettler
- Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
- Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1090 GE, The Netherlands
| | - Ana Cristina Costa
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Rede de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Biologia Evolutiva - Laboratório Associado, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - Yongsong Huang
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
| | - Jacqueline F N van Leeuwen
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Pere Masqué
- International Atomic Energy Agency 98000 Principality of Monaco, Monaco
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
- Physics Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
- School of Natural Sciences, Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
| | - Ricardo Prego
- Department of Oceanography, Marine Research Institute, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 36208 Vigo, Spain
| | - Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández
- Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán 82040, Mexico
| | - Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza
- Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán 82040, Mexico
| | - Ricardo Trigo
- Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-919, Brazil
| | - Santiago Giralt
- Geosciences Barcelona (Geo3BCN-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Schwörer C, Gobet E, van Leeuwen JFN, Bögli S, Imboden R, van der Knaap WO, Kotova N, Makhortykh S, Tinner W. Holocene vegetation, fire and land use dynamics at Lake Svityaz, an agriculturally marginal site in northwestern Ukraine. Veg Hist Archaeobot 2021; 31:155-170. [PMID: 35273429 PMCID: PMC8897337 DOI: 10.1007/s00334-021-00844-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Observing natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, due to pervasive and increasing human disturbance since the Neolithic. One strategy to minimize this limitation is to select a study site in an area that is marginal for agricultural activity. Here, we present a new sediment record from Lake Svityaz in northwestern Ukraine. We have reconstructed regional and local vegetation and fire dynamics since the Late Glacial using pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal. Boreal forest composed of Pinus sylvestris and Betula with continental Larix decidua and Pinus cembra established in the region around 13,450 cal bp, replacing an open, steppic landscape. The first temperate tree to expand was Ulmus at 11,800 cal bp, followed by Quercus, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia and Corylus ca. 1,000 years later. Fire activity was highest during the Early Holocene, when summer solar insolation reached its maximum. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica established at ca. 6,000 cal bp, coinciding with the first indicators of agricultural activity in the region and a transient climatic shift to cooler and moister conditions. Human impact on the vegetation remained initially very low, only increasing during the Bronze Age, at ca. 3,400 cal bp. Large-scale forest openings and the establishment of the present-day cultural landscape occurred only during the past 500 years. The persistence of highly diverse mixed forest under absent or low anthropogenic disturbance until the Early Middle Ages corroborates the role of human impact in the impoverishment of temperate forests elsewhere in Central Europe. The preservation or reestablishment of such diverse forests may mitigate future climate change impacts, specifically by lowering fire risk under warmer and drier conditions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00334-021-00844-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Schwörer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstraße 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Erika Gobet
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstraße 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Sarah Bögli
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rachel Imboden
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - W. O. van der Knaap
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nadezhda Kotova
- Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 12 Geroiv Stalingrada prospekt, Kyiv, 04210 Ukraine
| | - Sergej Makhortykh
- Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 12 Geroiv Stalingrada prospekt, Kyiv, 04210 Ukraine
| | - Willy Tinner
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstraße 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Pedrotta T, Gobet E, Schwörer C, Beffa G, Butz C, Henne PD, Morales-Molino C, Pasta S, van Leeuwen JFN, Vogel H, Zwimpfer E, Anselmetti FS, Grosjean M, Tinner W. 8,000 years of climate, vegetation, fire and land-use dynamics in the thermo-mediterranean vegetation belt of northern Sardinia (Italy). Veg Hist Archaeobot 2021; 30:789-813. [PMID: 34720442 PMCID: PMC8550162 DOI: 10.1007/s00334-021-00832-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge about the vegetation history of Sardinia, the second largest island of the Mediterranean, is scanty. Here, we present a new sedimentary record covering the past ~ 8,000 years from Lago di Baratz, north-west Sardinia. Vegetation and fire history are reconstructed by pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal analyses and environmental dynamics by high-resolution element geochemistry together with pigment analyses. During the period 8,100-7,500 cal bp, when seasonality was high and fire and erosion were frequent, Erica arborea and E. scoparia woodlands dominated the coastal landscape. Subsequently, between 7,500 and 5,500 cal bp, seasonality gradually declined and thermo-mediterranean woodlands with Pistacia and Quercus ilex partially replaced Erica communities under diminished incidence of fire. After 5,500 cal bp, evergreen oak forests expanded markedly, erosion declined and lake levels increased, likely in response to increasing (summer) moisture availability. Increased anthropogenic fire disturbance triggered shrubland expansions (e.g. Tamarix and Pistacia) around 5,000-4,500 cal bp. Subsequently around 4,000-3,500 cal bp evergreen oak-olive forests expanded massively when fire activity declined and lake productivity and anoxia reached Holocene maxima. Land-use activities during the past 4,000 years (since the Bronze Age) gradually disrupted coastal forests, but relict stands persisted under rather stable environmental conditions until ca. 200 cal bp, when agricultural activities intensified and Pinus and Eucalyptus were planted to stabilize the sand dunes. Pervasive prehistoric land-use activities since at least the Bronze Age Nuraghi period included the cultivation of Prunus, Olea europaea and Juglans regia after 3,500-3,300 cal bp, and Quercus suber after 2,500 cal bp. We conclude that restoring less flammable native Q. ilex and O. europaea forest communities would markedly reduce fire risk and erodibility compared to recent forest plantations with flammable non-native trees (e.g. Pinus, Eucalyptus) and xerophytic shrubland (e.g. Cistus, Erica).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiziana Pedrotta
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Erika Gobet
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Schwörer
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Giorgia Beffa
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Butz
- Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hallerstraße 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Paul D. Henne
- U.S. Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver Federal Center, MS 980, P.O. Box 25046, Denver, CO 80225 USA
| | - César Morales-Molino
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Salvatore Pasta
- Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), Division of Palermo, National Research Council (CNR), Corso Calatafimi, 414, 90129 Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hendrik Vogel
- Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Baltzerstraße 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Elias Zwimpfer
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Flavio S. Anselmetti
- Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Baltzerstraße 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Martin Grosjean
- Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hallerstraße 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Willy Tinner
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
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Giesecke T, Wolters S, van Leeuwen JFN, van der Knaap PWO, Leydet M, Brewer S. Postglacial change of the floristic diversity gradient in Europe. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5422. [PMID: 31780647 PMCID: PMC6882886 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13233-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate warming is expected to cause a poleward spread of species, resulting in increased richness at mid to high latitudes and weakening the latitudinal diversity gradient. We used pollen data to test if such a change in the latitudinal diversity gradient occurred during the last major poleward shift of plant species in Europe following the end of the last glacial period. In contrast to expectations, the slope of the gradient strengthened during the Holocene. The increase in temperatures around 10 ka ago reduced diversity at mid to high latitude sites due to the gradual closure of forests. Deforestation and the introduction of agriculture during the last 5 ky had a greater impact on richness in central Europe than the earlier climate warming. These results do not support the current view that global warming alone will lead to a loss in biodiversity, and demonstrate that non-climatic human impacts on the latitudinal diversity gradient is of a greater magnitude than climate change. Climate-induced poleward shifts in plant distributions could flatten latitudinal diversity gradients. However, here the authors show that the spread of forests after the last ice age reduced diversity in central and northern Europe, and that human land-use over the past 5000 years strengthened the latitudinal gradient in plant diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Giesecke
- Palaeoecology, Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. .,Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Steffen Wolters
- Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research, Viktoriastr. 26/28, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Jacqueline F N van Leeuwen
- Institute for Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Alternbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Pim W O van der Knaap
- Institute for Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Alternbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Michelle Leydet
- IMBE-CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, IRD, Avignon Université, Technopôle Arbois-Méditerranée, Bât. Villemin - BP 80, F-13545, Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France
| | - Simon Brewer
- Geography Department, University of Utah, 260S. Central Campus, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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Carter VA, Chiverrell RC, Clear JL, Kuosmanen N, Moravcová A, Svoboda M, Svobodová-Svitavská H, van Leeuwen JFN, van der Knaap WO, Kuneš P. Quantitative Palynology Informing Conservation Ecology in the Bohemian/Bavarian Forests of Central Europe. Front Plant Sci 2018; 8:2268. [PMID: 29387075 PMCID: PMC5776123 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.02268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 12/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In 1927, the first pollen diagram was published from the Bohemian/Bavarian Forest region of Central Europe, providing one of the first qualitative views of the long-term vegetation development in the region. Since then significant methodological advances in quantitative approaches such as pollen influx and pollen-based vegetation models (e.g., Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm, LRA) have contributed to enhance our understanding of temporal and spatial ecology. These types of quantitative reconstructions are fundamental for conservation and restoration ecology because they provide long-term perspectives on ecosystem functioning. In the Bohemian/Bavarian Forests, forest managers have a goal to restore the original forest composition at mid-elevation forests, yet they rely on natural potential vegetation maps that do not take into account long-term vegetation dynamics. Here we reconstruct the Holocene history of forest composition and discuss the implications the LRA has for regional forest management and conservation. Two newly analyzed pollen records from Prášilské jezero and Rachelsee were compared to 10 regional peat bogs/mires and two other regional lakes to reconstruct total land-cover abundance at both the regional- and local-scales. The results demonstrate that spruce has been the dominant canopy cover across the region for the past 9,000 years at both high- (>900 m) and mid-elevations (>700-900 m). At the regional-scale inferred from lake records, spruce has comprised an average of ~50% of the total forest canopy; whereas at the more local-scale at mid-elevations, spruce formed ~59%. Beech established ~6,000 cal. years BP while fir established later around 5,500 cal. years BP. Beech and fir growing at mid-elevations reached a maximum land-cover abundance of 24% and 13% roughly 1,000 years ago. Over the past 500 years spruce has comprised ~47% land-cover, while beech and fir comprised ~8% and <5% at mid-elevations. This approach argues for the "natural" development of spruce and fir locally in zones where the paleoecology indicates the persistence of these species for millennia. Contrasting local and regional reconstructions of forest canopy cover points to a patchwork mosaic with local variability in the dominant taxa. Incorporation of paleoecological data in dialogues about biodiversity and ecosystem management is an approach that has wider utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vachel A Carter
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Richard C Chiverrell
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Jennifer L Clear
- Department of Geography and Environmental Science, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Niina Kuosmanen
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Alice Moravcová
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Miroslav Svoboda
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Jacqueline F N van Leeuwen
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Willem O van der Knaap
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Petr Kuneš
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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6
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Froyd CA, Coffey EED, van der Knaap WO, van Leeuwen JFN, Tye A, Willis KJ. The ecological consequences of megafaunal loss: giant tortoises and wetland biodiversity. Ecol Lett 2013; 17:144-54. [PMID: 24382356 PMCID: PMC4015371 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2013] [Revised: 08/21/2013] [Accepted: 09/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
The giant tortoises of the Galápagos have become greatly depleted since European discovery of the islands in the 16th Century, with populations declining from an estimated 250 000 to between 8000 and 14 000 in the 1970s. Successful tortoise conservation efforts have focused on species recovery, but ecosystem conservation and restoration requires a better understanding of the wider ecological consequences of this drastic reduction in the archipelago's only large native herbivore. We report the first evidence from palaeoecological records of coprophilous fungal spores of the formerly more extensive geographical range of giant tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. Upland tortoise populations on Santa Cruz declined 500–700 years ago, likely the result of human impact or possible climatic change. Former freshwater wetlands, a now limited habitat-type, were found to have converted to Sphagnum bogs concomitant with tortoise loss, subsequently leading to the decline of several now-rare or extinct plant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia A Froyd
- Department of Geography, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK; Department of Zoology, Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Biodiversity Institute, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
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7
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Cynthia A. Froyd
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - W. O. van der Knaap
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Emily E. Coffey
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Alan Tye
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Katherine J. Willis
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland
- Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
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