Lake sedimentary DNA accurately records 20th Century introductions of exotic conifers in Scotland
Lake sedimentary DNA accurately records 20th Century introductions of exotic conifers in Scotland
Summary:
Sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) has recently emerged as a new proxy for reconstructing past vegetation, but its taphonomy, source area and representation biases need better assessment. We investigated how sedDNA in recent sediments of two small Scottish lakes reflects a major vegetation change, using well-documented 20th Century plantations of exotic conifers as an experimental system.
We used next-generation sequencing to barcode sedDNA retrieved from subrecent lake sediments. For comparison, pollen was analysed from the same samples.
The sedDNA record contains 73 taxa (mainly genus or species), all but one of which are present in the study area. Pollen and sedDNA shared 35% of taxa, which partly reflects a difference in source area. More aquatic taxa were recorded in sedDNA, whereas taxa assumed to be of regional rather than local origin were recorded only as pollen.
The chronology of the sediments and planting records are well aligned, and sedDNA of exotic conifers appears in high quantities with the establishment of plantations around the lakes. SedDNA recorded other changes in local vegetation that accompanied afforestation. There were no signs of DNA leaching in the sediments or DNA originating from pollen.
environmental DNA (eDNA), lake sediments, metabarcoding, sedimentary DNA (sedDNA), vegetation change
929-941
Sjögren, Per
90bd3dc5-55b4-4e1a-801b-884110b7311d
Edwards, Mary E.
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Gielly, Ludovic
0a5c6314-0ee8-4df7-8af0-7bf31b9b15fe
Langdon, Catherine T.
9b12df98-005b-4aa5-a9d9-3aa0b2c7b398
Croudace, Ian W.
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Merkel, Marie Kristine Føreid
eedace5f-829e-4983-864e-52338e21dd4e
Fonville, Thierry
d23821e0-2f2e-4dee-a9c9-19b839089570
Alsos, Inger Greve
88244b90-b66f-4271-9064-db0544dec568
January 2017
Sjögren, Per
90bd3dc5-55b4-4e1a-801b-884110b7311d
Edwards, Mary E.
4b6a3389-f3a4-4933-b8fd-acdfef72200e
Gielly, Ludovic
0a5c6314-0ee8-4df7-8af0-7bf31b9b15fe
Langdon, Catherine T.
9b12df98-005b-4aa5-a9d9-3aa0b2c7b398
Croudace, Ian W.
24deb068-d096-485e-8a23-a32b7a68afaf
Merkel, Marie Kristine Føreid
eedace5f-829e-4983-864e-52338e21dd4e
Fonville, Thierry
d23821e0-2f2e-4dee-a9c9-19b839089570
Alsos, Inger Greve
88244b90-b66f-4271-9064-db0544dec568
Sjögren, Per, Edwards, Mary E., Gielly, Ludovic, Langdon, Catherine T., Croudace, Ian W., Merkel, Marie Kristine Føreid, Fonville, Thierry and Alsos, Inger Greve
(2017)
Lake sedimentary DNA accurately records 20th Century introductions of exotic conifers in Scotland.
New Phytologist, 213 (2), .
(doi:10.1111/nph.14199).
Abstract
Summary:
Sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) has recently emerged as a new proxy for reconstructing past vegetation, but its taphonomy, source area and representation biases need better assessment. We investigated how sedDNA in recent sediments of two small Scottish lakes reflects a major vegetation change, using well-documented 20th Century plantations of exotic conifers as an experimental system.
We used next-generation sequencing to barcode sedDNA retrieved from subrecent lake sediments. For comparison, pollen was analysed from the same samples.
The sedDNA record contains 73 taxa (mainly genus or species), all but one of which are present in the study area. Pollen and sedDNA shared 35% of taxa, which partly reflects a difference in source area. More aquatic taxa were recorded in sedDNA, whereas taxa assumed to be of regional rather than local origin were recorded only as pollen.
The chronology of the sediments and planting records are well aligned, and sedDNA of exotic conifers appears in high quantities with the establishment of plantations around the lakes. SedDNA recorded other changes in local vegetation that accompanied afforestation. There were no signs of DNA leaching in the sediments or DNA originating from pollen.
Text
Sjögren et al. (2016) Scotland_sedDNA_MS.pdf
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
nph14199.pdf
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 8 August 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 September 2016
Published date: January 2017
Keywords:
environmental DNA (eDNA), lake sediments, metabarcoding, sedimentary DNA (sedDNA), vegetation change
Organisations:
Geochemistry, Palaeoenvironment Laboratory (PLUS)
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 400911
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/400911
ISSN: 0028-646X
PURE UUID: 8ce32d5a-f17d-4800-914d-9161b2ca2ce1
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 29 Sep 2016 09:30
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:56
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Contributors
Author:
Per Sjögren
Author:
Ludovic Gielly
Author:
Catherine T. Langdon
Author:
Marie Kristine Føreid Merkel
Author:
Thierry Fonville
Author:
Inger Greve Alsos
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