Siberian larch forests and the ion content of thaw lakes form a geochemically functional entity

Herzschuh, Ulrike; Pestryakova, Ludmila A; Savelieva, Larissa A; Heinecke, Liv; Böhmer, Thomas; Biskaborn, Boris K.; Andreev, Andrei A.; Ramisch, Arne; Shinneman, Avery L.C.; Birks, H. John B.

doi:10.1038/ncomms3408

Cited by 40 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…However, the morphological investigations of diatom assemblages in our study suggest that the distribution is better linked to the maximum depth and the Secchi depth of the lakes, than to chemical variables like alkalinity, which is possibly a consequence of the small number of lakes investigated and their geographic position. The close proximity of the most northern lakes (07-SA-21 and 17) to the seashore might be responsible for the higher ion concentration in these lakes, which blurs the alkalinity gradient across the treeline ecotone highlighted by Herzschuh et al (2013). Furthermore, latitude is related to a temperature gradient, which in turn affects the duration of ice cover, light penetration, and the growth period.…”

Section: Usability Of Sedimentary Dna For Diatom Identification In Pamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Linear extrapolations of the sedimentation rates were used to estimate the entire age of the short cores. Samples of the 07-SA-34 core were also radiocarbon dated and detailed results of the chronology are given in Herzschuh et al (2013). According to these estimation the analysed samples date back to approximately the tenth century (07-SA-34-55) and the early sixteenth century (07-SA-31-26; unpublished data).…”

Section: Dating Of Short Coresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As latitude represents geographic distance linked to a vegetation and climate gradient, the position of lakes across the treeline ecotone might be influenced by many different factors at the same time. A recent study suggests that lakewater geochemistry, mostly alkalinity, in Yakutia is highly correlated with catchment forest density and thus affects diatom composition in these lakes (Herzschuh et al 2013). However, the morphological investigations of diatom assemblages in our study suggest that the distribution is better linked to the maximum depth and the Secchi depth of the lakes, than to chemical variables like alkalinity, which is possibly a consequence of the small number of lakes investigated and their geographic position.…”

Section: Usability Of Sedimentary Dna For Diatom Identification In Pamentioning

confidence: 99%

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A combined paleolimnological/genetic analysis of diatoms reveals divergent evolutionary lineages of Staurosira and Staurosirella (Bacillariophyta) in Siberian lake sediments along a latitudinal transect

et al. 2014

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Diatom diversity in lakes of northwest Yakutia (Siberia) was investigated by microscopic and genetic analysis of surface and cored lake sediments, to evaluate the use of sedimentary DNA for paleolimnological diatom studies and to identify obscure genetic diversity that cannot be detected by microscopic methods. Two short (76 and 73 bp) and one longer (577 bp) fragments of the ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rbcL) gene, encoding the large subunit of the rbcL, were used as genetic markers. Diverse morphological assemblages of diatoms, dominated by small benthic fragilarioid taxa, were retrieved from the sediments of each lake. These minute fragilarioid taxa were examined by scanning electron microscopy, revealing diverse morphotypes in Staurosira and Staurosirella from the different lakes. Genetic analyses indicated a dominance of haplotypes that were assigned to fragilarioid taxa and less genetic diversity in other diatom taxa. The long rbcL_577 amplicon identified considerable diversification among haplotypes clustering within the Staurosira/Staurosirella genera, revealing 19 different haplotypes whose spatial distribution appears to be primarily related to the latitude of the lakes, which corresponds to a vegetation and climate gradient. Our rbcL markers are valuable tools Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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Section: Usability Of Sedimentary Dna For Diatom Identification In Pamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dating Of Short Coresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Usability Of Sedimentary Dna For Diatom Identification In Pamentioning

confidence: 99%

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A combined paleolimnological/genetic analysis of diatoms reveals divergent evolutionary lineages of Staurosira and Staurosirella (Bacillariophyta) in Siberian lake sediments along a latitudinal transect

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“…Thermokarst lakes of the Siberian lowlands are typically small, shallow and oligotrophic (Herzschuh et al 2013). Mean annual, July, and January temperatures are about -12°C, 13°C, and -32°C, respectively (Khatanga meteorological station 71.…”

Section: Sampling and Collection Of Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Siberia possesses the largest forest-tundra ecotone belt in the world (Frost and Epstein 2014) and vegetation in the southern Taymyr Peninsula has been found to reflect climate change on millennial, centennial and decadal timescales Niemeyer et al 2015). Tundra-to-forest transition in Siberia, in space and time, is reflected in the physical and chemical characteristics of water in the numerous thermokarst lakes, and thus affects diatom assemblages (Duff et al 1999;Laing and Smol 2000;Rühland et al 2003;Herzschuh et al 2013). Most studies in Siberia that used diatoms as environmental indicators relied solely on morphological analysis of diatom frustules (Laing et al 1999b;Cherapanova et al 2007;Biskaborn et al 2012;Pestryakova et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary DNA versus morphology in the analysis of diatom-environment relationships

et al. 2016

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The Arctic treeline ecotone is characterised by a steep vegetation gradient from arctic tundra to northern taiga forests, which is thought to influence the water chemistry of thermokarst lakes in this region. Environmentally sensitive diatoms respond to such ecological changes in terms of variation in diatom diversity and richness, which so far has only been documented by microscopic surveys. We applied next-generation sequencing to analyse the diatom composition of lake sediment DNA extracted from 32 lakes across the treeline in the Khatanga region, Siberia, using a short fragment of the rbcL chloroplast gene as a genetic barcode. We compared diatom richness and diversity obtained from the genetic approach with diatom counts from traditional microscopic analysis. Both datasets were employed to investigate diversity and relationships with environmental variables, using ordination methods. After effective filtering of the raw data, the two methods gave similar results for diatom richness and composition at the genus level (DNA 12 taxa; morphology 19 taxa), even though there was a much higher absolute number of sequences obtained per genetic sample (median 50,278), compared with microscopic counts (median 426). Dissolved organic carbon explained the highest percentage of variance in both datasets (14.2 % DNA; 18.7 % morphology), reflecting the compositional turnover of diatom assemblages along the tundra-taiga transition. Differences between the two approaches are mostly a consequence of the filtering process of genetic data and limitations of genetic references in the database, which restricted the determination of genetically identified sequence types to the genus level. The morphological approach, however, allowed identifications mostly to species level, which permits better ecological interpretation of the diatom data. Nevertheless, because of a rapidly increasing reference database, the genetic approach with sediment DNA will, in the future, enable reliable Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10933-016-9926-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 123J Paleolimnol DOI 10.1007/s10933-016-9926-y investigations of diatom composition from lake sediments that will have potential applications in both paleoecology and environmental monitoring.

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Cascading effects of climate change and wildfire on a subarctic lake: A 20‐year case study of watershed change

et al. 2023

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Mean annual air temperature has been increasing in Alaska since the 1970s and is expected to continue to increase through the current century, resulting in significant environmental changes (e.g., permafrost thaw, shifts in vegetation community composition and distribution, increased wildfire frequency and severity). Because there is little long‐term monitoring data available on lake ecosystems in the subarctic it is difficult to predict how lakes will respond. Here we present data from an ~20‐year long‐term lake and climate monitoring program in Interior Alaska. A significant portion of the lake catchment was burned by wildfires in 1986 and again in 2004. As a result, much of the vegetation in the lake catchment was converted from spruce‐dominated forest to deciduous forest, indicating likely permafrost degradation. At a nearby monitoring site absent of fire effects, mean annual ground temperatures at 50 and 90 cm warmed significantly from about −2°C to about −1°C over the 20‐year monitoring period. Warming of similar or greater magnitude is inferred at the study site due to fire effects. Lake water analyses before and after the 2004 fire show a significant postfire increase in dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous that persisted for a short period (~3 years) and was followed by small, but significant, increases in specific conductance and ion concentrations. Approximately 15 years postfire sulfate and cation concentrations in the lake increased exponentially due to the development of a groundwater seep near the lake. The seep likely formed as a result of permafrost thaw creating new subsurface flowpaths in response to long‐term climate warming and fire effects. In 2021, specific conductance and sulfate concentrations reached 657 μS/cm and 71 mg/L respectively, exceeding tolerance thresholds of the water lily Nuphar lutea. In 2021, N. lutea beds that had occupied the lake since 1981 were no longer visible. Depending on local catchment characteristics, source waters and flow paths contributing to small subarctic lakes will continue to evolve uniquely in response to climate change and thawing permafrost. This case study shows the cascading effects of warming soil and wildfires on catchment characteristics as well as terrestrial and aquatic vegetation and lake water chemistry.

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Siberian larch forests and the ion content of thaw lakes form a geochemically functional entity

Cited by 40 publications

References 36 publications

A combined paleolimnological/genetic analysis of diatoms reveals divergent evolutionary lineages of Staurosira and Staurosirella (Bacillariophyta) in Siberian lake sediments along a latitudinal transect

A combined paleolimnological/genetic analysis of diatoms reveals divergent evolutionary lineages of Staurosira and Staurosirella (Bacillariophyta) in Siberian lake sediments along a latitudinal transect

Sedimentary DNA versus morphology in the analysis of diatom-environment relationships

Cascading effects of climate change and wildfire on a subarctic lake: A 20‐year case study of watershed change

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