TY - JOUR A1 - Stuenzi, Simone Maria A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Boike, Julia A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Oehme, Alexander A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila A. A1 - Westermann, Sebastian A1 - Langer, Moritz T1 - Thermohydrological impact of forest disturbances on ecosystem-protected permafrost JF - Journal of geophysical research : Biogeosciences N2 - Boreal forests cover over half of the global permafrost area and protect underlying permafrost. Boreal forest development, therefore, has an impact on permafrost evolution, especially under a warming climate. Forest disturbances and changing climate conditions cause vegetation shifts and potentially destabilize the carbon stored within the vegetation and permafrost. Disturbed permafrost-forest ecosystems can develop into a dry or swampy bush- or grasslands, shift toward broadleaf- or evergreen needleleaf-dominated forests, or recover to the pre-disturbance state. An increase in the number and intensity of fires, as well as intensified logging activities, could lead to a partial or complete ecosystem and permafrost degradation. We study the impact of forest disturbances (logging, surface, and canopy fires) on the thermal and hydrological permafrost conditions and ecosystem resilience. We use a dynamic multilayer canopy-permafrost model to simulate different scenarios at a study site in eastern Siberia. We implement expected mortality, defoliation, and ground surface changes and analyze the interplay between forest recovery and permafrost. We find that forest loss induces soil drying of up to 44%, leading to lower active layer thicknesses and abrupt or steady decline of a larch forest, depending on disturbance intensity. Only after surface fires, the most common disturbances, inducing low mortality rates, forests can recover and overpass pre-disturbance leaf area index values. We find that the trajectory of larch forests after surface fires is dependent on the precipitation conditions in the years after the disturbance. Dryer years can drastically change the direction of the larch forest development within the studied period. KW - permafrost KW - boreal forest KW - periglacial process KW - Siberia KW - larch forest KW - disturbance Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006630 SN - 2169-8953 SN - 2169-8961 VL - 127 IS - 5 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Wieczorek, Mareike A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Treeline dynamics in Siberia under changing climates as inferred from an individual-based model for Larix JF - Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog KW - Forest change KW - IBM KW - ODD model description KW - Larix gmelinii KW - Permafrost ecosystem KW - Time-lag effects Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.08.003 SN - 0304-3800 SN - 1872-7026 VL - 338 SP - 101 EP - 121 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Naimeng A1 - Cao, Xianyong A1 - Xu, Qinghai A1 - Huang, Xiaozhong A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Shen, Zhongwei A1 - Peng, Wei A1 - Liu, Sisi A1 - Wu, Duo A1 - Wang, Jian A1 - Xia, Huan A1 - Zhang, Dongju A1 - Chen, Fahu T1 - Vegetation change and human-environment interactions in the Qinghai Lake Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, since the last deglaciation JF - Catena N2 - The nature of the interaction between prehistoric humans and their environment, especially the vegetation, has long been of interest. The Qinghai Lake Basin in North China is well-suited to exploring the interactions between prehistoric humans and vegetation in the Tibetan Plateau, because of the comparatively dense distribution of archaeological sites and the ecologically fragile environment. Previous pollen studies of Qinghai Lake have enabled a detailed reconstruction of the regional vegetation, but they have provided relatively little information on vegetation change within the Qinghai Lake watershed. To address the issue we conducted a pollen-based vegetation reconstruction for an archaeological site (YWY), located on the southern shore of Qinghai Lake. We used high temporal-resolution pollen records from the YWY site and from Qinghai Lake, spanning the interval since the last deglaciation (15.3 kyr BP to the present) to quantitatively reconstruct changes in the local and regional vegetation using Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm models. The results show that, since the late glacial, spruce forest grew at high altitudes in the surrounding mountains, while the lakeshore environment was occupied mainly by shrub-steppe. From the lateglacial to the middle Holocene, coniferous woodland began to expand downslope and reached the YWY site at 7.1 kyr BP. The living environment of the local small groups of Paleolithic-Epipaleolithic humans (during 15.3-13.1 kyr BP and 9-6.4 kyr BP) changed from shrub-steppe to coniferous forest-steppe. The pollen record shows no evidence of pronounced changes in the vegetation community corresponding to human activity. However, based on a comparison of the local and regional vegetation reconstructions, low values of biodiversity and a significant increase in two indicators of vegetation degradation, Chenopodiaceae and Rosaceae, suggest that prehistoric hunters-gatherers likely disturbed the local vegetation during 9.0-6.4 kyr BP. Our findings are a preliminary attempt to study human-environment interactions at Paleolithic-Epipaleolithic sites in the region, and they contribute to ongoing environmental archaeology research in the Tibetan Plateau. KW - Quantitative vegetation reconstruction KW - Local and regional vegetation KW - dynamics KW - Paleolithic-Epipaleolithic human-environment  KW - interactions KW - Northeastern Tibetan Plateau Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105892 SN - 0341-8162 SN - 1872-6887 VL - 210 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Courtin, Jérémy A1 - Andreev, Andrei A1 - Raschke, Elena A1 - Bala, Sarah A1 - Biskaborn, Boris A1 - Liu, Sisi A1 - Zimmermann, Heike A1 - Diekmann, Bernhard A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen R. A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Vegetation changes in Southeastern Siberia during the late pleistocene and the holocene JF - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution N2 - Relationships between climate, species composition, and species richness are of particular importance for understanding how boreal ecosystems will respond to ongoing climate change. This study aims to reconstruct changes in terrestrial vegetation composition and taxa richness during the glacial Late Pleistocene and the interglacial Holocene in the sparsely studied southeastern Yakutia (Siberia) by using pollen and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) records. Pollen and sedaDNA metabarcoding data using the trnL g and h markers were obtained from a sediment core from Lake Bolshoe Toko. Both proxies were used to reconstruct the vegetation composition, while metabarcoding data were also used to investigate changes in plant taxa richness. The combination of pollen and sedaDNA approaches allows a robust estimation of regional and local past terrestrial vegetation composition around Bolshoe Toko during the last similar to 35,000 years. Both proxies suggest that during the Late Pleistocene, southeastern Siberia was covered by open steppe-tundra dominated by graminoids and forbs with patches of shrubs, confirming that steppe-tundra extended far south in Siberia. Both proxies show disturbance at the transition between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene suggesting a period with scarce vegetation, changes in the hydrochemical conditions in the lake, and in sedimentation rates. Both proxies document drastic changes in vegetation composition in the early Holocene with an increased number of trees and shrubs and the appearance of new tree taxa in the lake's vicinity. The sedaDNA method suggests that the Late Pleistocene steppe-tundra vegetation supported a higher number of terrestrial plant taxa than the forested Holocene. This could be explained, for example, by the "keystone herbivore" hypothesis, which suggests that Late Pleistocene megaherbivores were able to maintain a high plant diversity. This is discussed in the light of the data with the broadly accepted species-area hypothesis as steppe-tundra covered such an extensive area during the Late Pleistocene. KW - last glacial KW - Holocene KW - Lake Bolshoe Toko KW - paleoenvironments KW - sedimentary ancient DNA KW - metabarcoding KW - trnL KW - pollen Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.625096 SN - 2296-701X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tabares Jimenez, Ximena del Carmen A1 - Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard A1 - Dietze, Elisabeth A1 - Ratzmann, Gregor A1 - Belz, Lukas A1 - Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea A1 - Dupont, Lydie A1 - Wilkes, Heinz A1 - Mapani, Benjamin A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Vegetation state changes in the course of shrub encroachment in an African savanna since about 1850 CE and their potential drivers JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Shrub encroachment has far-reaching ecological and economic consequences in many ecosystems worldwide. Yet, compositional changes associated with shrub encroachment are often overlooked despite having important effects on ecosystem functioning. We document the compositional change and potential drivers for a northern Namibian Combretum woodland transitioning into a Terminalia shrubland. We use a multiproxy record (pollen, sedimentary ancient DNA, biomarkers, compound-specific carbon (delta C-13) and deuterium (delta D) isotopes, bulk carbon isotopes (delta(13)Corg), grain size, geochemical properties) from Lake Otjikoto at high taxonomical and temporal resolution. We provide evidence that state changes in semiarid environments may occur on a scale of one century and that transitions between stable states can span around 80 years and are characterized by a unique vegetation composition. We demonstrate that the current grass/woody ratio is exceptional for the last 170 years, as supported by n-alkane distributions and the delta C-13 and delta(13)Corg records. Comparing vegetation records to environmental proxy data and census data, we infer a complex network of global and local drivers of vegetation change. While our delta D record suggests physiological adaptations of woody species to higher atmospheric pCO(2) concentration and drought, our vegetation records reflect the impact of broad-scale logging for the mining industry, and the macrocharcoal record suggests a decrease in fire activity associated with the intensification of farming. Impact of selective grazing is reflected by changes in abundance and taxonomical composition of grasses and by an increase of nonpalatable and trampling-resistant taxa. In addition, grain-size and spore records suggest changes in the erodibility of soils because of reduced grass cover. Synthesis. We conclude that transitions to an encroached savanna state are supported by gradual environmental changes induced by management strategies, which affected the resilience of savanna ecosystems. In addition, feedback mechanisms that reflect the interplay between management legacies and climate change maintain the encroached state. KW - climate change KW - fossil pollen KW - land-use change KW - savanna ecology KW - sedimentary ancient DNA KW - state and transition KW - tree-grass interactions Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5955 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 10 IS - 2 SP - 962 EP - 979 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Glückler, Ramesh A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Andreev, Andrei A1 - Vyse, Stuart Andrew A1 - Winkler, Bettina A1 - Biskaborn, Boris A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Dietze, Elisabeth T1 - Wildfire history of the boreal forest of south-western Yakutia (Siberia) over the last two millennia documented by a lake-sediment charcoal record JF - Biogeosciences : BG / European Geosciences Union N2 - Wildfires, as a key disturbance in forest ecosystems, are shaping the world's boreal landscapes. Changes in fire regimes are closely linked to a wide array of environmental factors, such as vegetation composition, climate change, and human activity. Arctic and boreal regions and, in particular, Siberian boreal forests are experiencing rising air and ground temperatures with the subsequent degradation of permafrost soils leading to shifts in tree cover and species composition. Compared to the boreal zones of North America or Europe, little is known about how such environmental changes might influence long-term fire regimes in Russia. The larch-dominated eastern Siberian deciduous boreal forests differ markedly from the composition of other boreal forests, yet data about past fire regimes remain sparse. Here, we present a high-resolution macroscopic charcoal record from lacustrine sediments of Lake Khamra (southwest Yakutia, Siberia) spanning the last ca. 2200 years, including information about charcoal particle sizes and morphotypes. Our results reveal a phase of increased charcoal accumulation between 600 and 900 CE, indicative of relatively high amounts of burnt biomass and high fire frequencies. This is followed by an almost 900-year-long period of low charcoal accumulation without significant peaks likely corresponding to cooler climate conditions. After 1750 CE fire frequencies and the relative amount of biomass burnt start to increase again, coinciding with a warming climate and increased anthropogenic land development after Russian colonization. In the 20th century, total charcoal accumulation decreases again to very low levels despite higher fire frequency, potentially reflecting a change in fire management strategies and/or a shift of the fire regime towards more frequent but smaller fires. A similar pattern for different charcoal morphotypes and comparison to a pollen and non-pollen palynomorph (NPP) record from the same sediment core indicate that broad-scale changes in vegetation composition were probably not a major driver of recorded fire regime changes. Instead, the fire regime of the last two millennia at Lake Khamra seems to be controlled mainly by a combination of short-term climate variability and anthropogenic fire ignition and suppression. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4185-2021 SN - 1726-4170 SN - 1726-4189 VL - 18 IS - 13 SP - 4185 EP - 4209 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER -