@article{WieczorekHerzschuh2020, author = {Wieczorek, Mareike and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Compilation of relative pollen productivity (RPP) estimates and taxonomically harmonised RPP datasets for single continents and Northern Hemisphere extratropics}, series = {Earth system science data : ESSD}, volume = {12}, journal = {Earth system science data : ESSD}, number = {4}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1866-3508}, doi = {10.5194/essd-12-3515-2020}, pages = {3515 -- 3528}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Relative pollen productivity (RPP) estimates are fractionate values, often in relation to Poaceae, that allow vegetation cover to be estimated from pollen counts with the help of models. RPP estimates are especially used in the scientific community in Europe and China, with a few studies in North America. Here we present a comprehensive compilation of available northern hemispheric RPP studies and their results arising from 51 publications with 60 sites and 131 taxa. This compilation allows scientists to identify data gaps in need of further RPP analyses but can also aid them in finding an RPP set for their study region. We also present a taxonomically harmonised, unified RPP dataset for the Northern Hemisphere and subsets for North America (including Greenland), Europe (including arctic Russia), and China, which we generated from the available studies. The unified dataset gives the mean RPP for 55 harmonised taxa as well as fall speeds, which are necessary to reconstruct vegetation cover from pollen counts and RPP values. Data are openly available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.922661 (Wieczorek and Herzschuh, 2020).}, language = {en} } @article{ZimmermannStoofLeichsenringKruseetal.2020, author = {Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Kruse, Stefan and M{\"u}ller, Juliane and Stein, Ruediger and Tiedemann, Ralf and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Changes in the composition of marine and sea-ice diatoms derived from sedimentary ancient DNA of the eastern Fram Strait over the past 30 000 years}, series = {Ocean science}, volume = {16}, journal = {Ocean science}, number = {5}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1812-0784}, doi = {10.5194/os-16-1017-2020}, pages = {1017 -- 1032}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The Fram Strait is an area with a relatively low and irregular distribution of diatom microfossils in surface sediments, and thus microfossil records are scarce, rarely exceed the Holocene, and contain sparse information about past richness and taxonomic composition. These attributes make the Fram Strait an ideal study site to test the utility of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding. Amplifying a short, partial rbcL marker from samples of sediment core MSM05/5-712-2 resulted in 95.7\% of our sequences being assigned to diatoms across 18 different families, with 38.6\% of them being resolved to species and 25.8\% to genus level. Independent replicates show a high similarity of PCR products, especially in the oldest samples. Diatom sedaDNA richness is highest in the Late Weichselian and lowest in Mid- and Late Holocene samples. Taxonomic composition is dominated by cold-water and sea-ice-associated diatoms and suggests several reorganisations - after the Last Glacial Maximum, after the Younger Dryas, and after the Early and after the Mid-Holocene. Different sequences assigned to, amongst others, Chaetoceros socialis indicate the detectability of intra-specific diversity using sedaDNA. We detect no clear pattern between our diatom sedaDNA record and the previously published IP25 record of this core, although proportions of pennate diatoms increase with higher IP25 concentrations and proportions of Nitzschia cf. frigida exceeding 2\% of the assemblage point towards past sea-ice presence.}, language = {en} } @article{ZimmermannStoofLeichsenringKruseetal.2020, author = {Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Kruse, Stefan and M{\"u}ller, Juliane and Stein, Ruediger and Tiedemann, Ralf and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Changes in the composition of marine and sea-ice diatoms derived from sedimentary ancient DNA of the eastern Fram Strait over the past 30 000 years}, series = {Ocean Science}, volume = {16}, journal = {Ocean Science}, number = {5}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Tokyo}, pages = {16}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The Fram Strait is an area with a relatively low and irregular distribution of diatom microfossils in surface sediments, and thus microfossil records are scarce, rarely exceed the Holocene, and contain sparse information about past richness and taxonomic composition. These attributes make the Fram Strait an ideal study site to test the utility of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding. Amplifying a short, partial rbcL marker from samples of sediment core MSM05/5-712-2 resulted in 95.7 \% of our sequences being assigned to diatoms across 18 different families, with 38.6 \% of them being resolved to species and 25.8 \% to genus level. Independent replicates show a high similarity of PCR products, especially in the oldest samples. Diatom sedaDNA richness is highest in the Late Weichselian and lowest in Mid- and Late Holocene samples. Taxonomic composition is dominated by cold-water and sea-ice-associated diatoms and suggests several reorganisations - after the Last Glacial Maximum, after the Younger Dryas, and after the Early and after the Mid-Holocene. Different sequences assigned to, amongst others, Chaetoceros socialis indicate the detectability of intra-specific diversity using sedaDNA. We detect no clear pattern between our diatom sedaDNA record and the previously published IP25 record of this core, although proportions of pennate diatoms increase with higher IP25 concentrations and proportions of Nitzschia cf. frigida exceeding 2 \% of the assemblage point towards past sea-ice presence.}, language = {en} } @article{TabaresJimenezZimmermannDietzeetal.2019, author = {Tabares Jimenez, Ximena del Carmen and Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard and Dietze, Elisabeth and Ratzmann, Gregor and Belz, Lukas and Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea and Dupont, Lydie and Wilkes, Heinz and Mapani, Benjamin and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Vegetation state changes in the course of shrub encroachment in an African savanna since about 1850 CE and their potential drivers}, series = {Ecology and evolution}, volume = {10}, journal = {Ecology and evolution}, number = {2}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {2045-7758}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.5955}, pages = {962 -- 979}, year = {2019}, abstract = {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.}, language = {en} } @article{ZimmermannRaschkeEppetal.2017, author = {Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard and Raschke, Elena and Epp, Laura Saskia and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Schirrmeister, Lutz and Schwamborn, Georg and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {The history of tree and shrub taxa on Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island (New Siberian Archipelago) since the Last Interglacial Uncovered by Sedimentary Ancient DNA and Pollen Data}, series = {Genes}, volume = {8}, journal = {Genes}, number = {10}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes8100273}, pages = {273}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Ecosystem boundaries, such as the Arctic-Boreal treeline, are strongly coupled with climate and were spatially highly dynamic during past glacial-interglacial cycles. Only a few studies cover vegetation changes since the last interglacial, as most of the former landscapes are inundated and difficult to access. Using pollen analysis and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding, we reveal vegetation changes on Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island since the last interglacial from permafrost sediments. Last interglacial samples depict high levels of floral diversity with the presence of trees (Larix, Picea, Populus) and shrubs (Alnus, Betula, Ribes, Cornus, Saliceae) on the currently treeless island. After the Last Glacial Maximum, Larix re-colonised the island but disappeared along with most shrub taxa. This was probably caused by Holocene sea-level rise, which led to increased oceanic conditions on the island. Additionally, we applied two newly developed larch-specific chloroplast markers to evaluate their potential for tracking past population dynamics from environmental samples. The novel markers were successfully re-sequenced and exhibited two variants of each marker in last interglacial samples. SedaDNA can track vegetation changes as well as genetic changes across geographic space through time and can improve our understanding of past processes that shape modern patterns.}, language = {en} } @article{PestryakovaHerzschuhGorodnichevetal.2018, author = {Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Gorodnichev, Ruslan and Wetterich, Sebastian}, title = {The sensitivity of diatom taxa from Yakutian lakes (north-eastern Siberia) to electrical conductivity and other environmental variables}, series = {Polar research : a Norwegian journal of Polar research}, volume = {37}, journal = {Polar research : a Norwegian journal of Polar research}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0800-0395}, doi = {10.1080/17518369.2018.1485625}, pages = {16}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Relative abundances of 157 diatom taxa from Yakutian lake surface-sediments were investigated for their potential to indicate certain environmental conditions. Data from 206 sites from Arctic, sub-Arctic and boreal environments were included. Redundancy analyses were performed to assess the explanatory power of mean July temperature (T-July), conductivity, pH, dissolved silica concentration, phosphate concentration, lake depth and vegetation type on diatom species composition. Boosted regression tree analyses were performed to infer the most relevant environmental variables for abundances of individual taxa and weighted average regression was applied to infer their respective optimum and tolerance. Electrical conductivity was best indicated by diatom taxa. In contrast, only few taxa were indicative of Si and water depth. Few taxa were related to specific pH values. Although T-July, explained the highest proportion of variance in the diatom spectra and was, after conductivity, the second-most selected splitting variable, we a priori decided not to present indicator taxa because of the poorly understood relationship between diatom occurrences and T-July. In total, 92 diatom taxa were reliable indicators of a certain vegetation type or a combination of several types. The high numbers of indicative species for open vegetation sites and for forested sites suggest that the principal turnover is the transition from forest-tundra to northern taiga. Overall, our results reveal that preference ranges of diatom taxa for environmental variables are mostly broad, and the use of indicator taxa for the purposes of environmental reconstruction or environmental monitoring is therefore restricted to marked rather than subtle environmental transitions.}, language = {en} } @article{KruseKolmogorovPestryakovaetal.2020, author = {Kruse, Stefan and Kolmogorov, Aleksey I. and Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Long-lived larch clones may conserve adaptations that could restrict treeline migration in northern Siberia}, series = {Ecology and evolution}, volume = {10}, journal = {Ecology and evolution}, number = {18}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {2045-7758}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.6660}, pages = {10017 -- 10030}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The occurrence of refugia beyond the arctic treeline and genetic adaptation therein play a crucial role of largely unknown effect size. While refugia have potential for rapidly colonizing the tundra under global warming, the taxa may be maladapted to the new environmental conditions. Understanding the genetic composition and age of refugia is thus crucial for predicting any migration response. Here, we genotype 194 larch individuals from an similar to 1.8 km(2)area in northcentral Siberia on the southern Taimyr Peninsula by applying an assay of 16 nuclear microsatellite markers. For estimating the age of clonal individuals, we counted tree rings at sections along branches to establish a lateral growth rate that was then combined with geographic distance. Findings reveal that the predominant reproduction type is clonal (58.76\%) by short distance spreading of ramets. One outlier of clones 1 km apart could have been dispersed by reindeer. In clonal groups and within individuals, we find that somatic mutations accumulate with geographic distance. Clonal groups of two or more individuals are observed. Clonal age estimates regularly suggest individuals as old as 2,200 years, which coincides with a major environmental change that forced a treeline retreat in the region. We conclude that individuals with clonal growth mode were naturally selected as it lowers the likely risk of extinction under a harsh environment. We discuss this legacy from the past that might now be a maladaptation and hinder expansion under currently strongly increasing temperatures.}, language = {en} } @article{GengAndreevKruseetal.2022, author = {Geng, Rongwei and Andreev, Andrei and Kruse, Stefan and Heim, Birgit and van Geffen, Femke and Pestryakova, Luidmila and Zakharov, Evgenii and Troeva, Elena I. and Shevtsova, Iuliia and Li, Furong and Zhao, Yan and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Modern pollen assemblages from lake sediments and soil in East Siberia and relative pollen productivity estimates for Major Taxa}, series = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, publisher = {Frontiers Media}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {2296-701X}, doi = {10.3389/fevo.2022.837857}, pages = {17}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Modern pollen-vegetation-climate relationships underpin palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate reconstructions from fossil pollen records. East Siberia is an ideal area for investigating the relationships between modern pollen assemblages and near natural vegetation under cold continental climate conditions. Reliable pollen-based quantitative vegetation and climate reconstructions are still scarce due to the limited number of modern pollen datasets. Furthermore, differences in pollen representation of samples from lake sediments and soils are not well understood. Here, we present a new pollen dataset of 48 moss/soil and 24 lake surface-sediment samples collected in Chukotka and central Yakutia in East Siberia. The pollen-vegetation-climate relationships were investigated by ordination analyses. Generally, tundra and taiga vegetation types can be well distinguished in the surface pollen assemblages. Moss/soil and lake samples contain generally similar pollen assemblages as revealed by a Procrustes comparison with some exceptions. Overall, modern pollen assemblages reflect the temperature and precipitation gradients in the study areas as revealed by constrained ordination analysis. We estimate the relative pollen productivity (RPP) of major taxa and the relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) for moss/soil samples from Chukotka and central Yakutia using Extended R-Value (ERV) analysis. The RSAP of the tundra-forest transition area in Chukotka and taiga area in central Yakutia are ca. 1300 and 360 m, respectively. For Chukotka, RPPs relative to both Poaceae and Ericaceae were estimated while RPPs for central Yakutia were relative only to Ericaceae. Relative to Ericaceae (reference taxon, RPP = 1), Larix, Betula, Picea, and Pinus are overrepresented while Alnus, Cyperaceae, Poaceae, and Salix are underrepresented in the pollen spectra. Our estimates are in general agreement with previously published values and provide the basis for reliable quantitative reconstructions of East Siberian vegetation.}, language = {en} } @article{HerzschuhCaoLaeppleetal.2019, author = {Herzschuh, Ulrike and Cao, Xianyong and Laepple, Thomas and Dallmeyer, Anne and Telford, Richard J. and Ni, Jian and Chen, Fahu and Kong, Zhaochen and Liu, Guangxiu and Liu, Kam-Biu and Liu, Xingqi and Stebich, Martina and Tang, Lingyu and Tian, Fang and Wang, Yongbo and Wischnewski, Juliane and Xu, Qinghai and Yan, Shun and Yang, Zhenjing and Yu, Ge and Zhang, Yun and Zhao, Yan and Zheng, Zhuo}, title = {Position and orientation of the westerly jet determined Holocene rainfall patterns in China}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-09866-8}, pages = {8}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Proxy-based reconstructions and modeling of Holocene spatiotemporal precipitation patterns for China and Mongolia have hitherto yielded contradictory results indicating that the basic mechanisms behind the East Asian Summer Monsoon and its interaction with the westerly jet stream remain poorly understood. We present quantitative reconstructions of Holocene precipitation derived from 101 fossil pollen records and analyse them with the help of a minimal empirical model. We show that the westerly jet-stream axis shifted gradually southward and became less tilted since the middle Holocene. This was tracked by the summer monsoon rain band resulting in an early-Holocene precipitation maximum over most of western China, a mid-Holocene maximum in north-central and northeastern China, and a late-Holocene maximum in southeastern China. Our results suggest that a correct simulation of the orientation and position of the westerly jet stream is crucial to the reliable prediction of precipitation patterns in China and Mongolia.}, language = {en} } @article{DvornikovLeibmanHeimetal.2018, author = {Dvornikov, Yury and Leibman, Marina and Heim, Birgit and Bartsch, Annett and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Skorospekhova, Tatiana and Fedorova, Irina and Khomutov, Artem and Widhalm, Barbara and Gubarkov, Anatoly and R{\"o}ßler, Sebastian}, title = {Terrestrial CDOM in lakes of Yamal Peninsula}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {10}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {2}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs10020167}, pages = {21}, year = {2018}, abstract = {In this study, we analyze interactions in lake and lake catchment systems of a continuous permafrost area. We assessed colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption at 440 nm (a(440)(CDOM)) and absorption slope (S300-500) in lakes using field sampling and optical remote sensing data for an area of 350 km(2) in Central Yamal, Siberia. Applying a CDOM algorithm (ratio of green and red band reflectance) for two high spatial resolution multispectral GeoEye-1 and Worldview-2 satellite images, we were able to extrapolate the a()(CDOM) data from 18 lakes sampled in the field to 356 lakes in the study area (model R-2 = 0.79). Values of a(440)(CDOM) in 356 lakes varied from 0.48 to 8.35 m(-1) with a median of 1.43 m(-1). This a()(CDOM) dataset was used to relate lake CDOM to 17 lake and lake catchment parameters derived from optical and radar remote sensing data and from digital elevation model analysis in order to establish the parameters controlling CDOM in lakes on the Yamal Peninsula. Regression tree model and boosted regression tree analysis showed that the activity of cryogenic processes (thermocirques) in the lake shores and lake water level were the two most important controls, explaining 48.4\% and 28.4\% of lake CDOM, respectively (R-2 = 0.61). Activation of thermocirques led to a large input of terrestrial organic matter and sediments from catchments and thawed permafrost to lakes (n = 15, mean a(440)(CDOM) = 5.3 m(-1)). Large lakes on the floodplain with a connection to Mordy-Yakha River received more CDOM (n = 7, mean a(440)(CDOM) = 3.8 m(-1)) compared to lakes located on higher terraces.}, language = {en} } @article{ZimmermannHarmsEppetal.2019, author = {Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard and Harms, Lars and Epp, Laura Saskia and Mewes, Nick and Bernhardt, Nadine and Kruse, Stefan and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Wieczorek, Mareike and Trense, Daronja and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Chloroplast and mitochondrial genetic variation of larches at the Siberian tundrataiga ecotone revealed by de novo assembly}, series = {PLoS one}, volume = {14}, journal = {PLoS one}, number = {7}, publisher = {PLoS}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0216966}, pages = {21}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Larix populations at the tundra-taiga ecotone in northern Siberia are highly under-represented in population genetic studies, possibly due to the remoteness of these regions that can only be accessed at extraordinary expense. The genetic signatures of populations in these boundary regions are therefore largely unknown. We aim to generate organelle reference genomes for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that can be used for paleogenetic studies. We present 19 complete chloroplast genomes and mitochondrial genomic sequences of larches from the southern lowlands of the Taymyr Peninsula (northernmost range of Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Kuzen.), the lower Omoloy River, and the lower Kolyma River (both in the range of Larix cajanderi Mayr). The genomic data reveal 84 chloroplast SNPs and 213 putatively mitochondrial SNPs. Parsimony-based chloroplast haplotype networks show no spatial structure of individuals from different geographic origins, while the mitochondrial haplotype network shows at least a slight spatial structure with haplotypes from the Omoloy and Kolyma populations being more closely related to each other than to most of the haplotypes from the Taymyr populations. Whole genome alignments with publicly available complete chloroplast genomes of different Larix species show that among official plant barcodes only the rcbL gene contains sufficient polymorphisms, but has to be sequenced completely to distinguish the different provenances. We provide 8 novel mitochondrial SNPs that are putatively diagnostic for the separation of L. gmelinii and L. cajanderi, while 4 chloroplast SNPs have the potential to distinguish the L. gmelinii/ L. cajanderi group from other Larix species. Our organelle references can be used for a targeted primer and probe design allowing the generation of short amplicons. This is particularly important with regard to future investigations of, for example, the biogeographic history of Larix by screening ancient sedimentary DNA of Larix.}, language = {en} } @article{CaoTianLietal.2019, author = {Cao, Xianyong and Tian, Fang and Li, Furong and Gaillard, Marie-Jose and Rudaya, Natalia and Xu, Qinghai and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Pollen-based quantitative land-cover reconstruction for northern Asia covering the last 40 ka cal BP}, series = {Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {15}, journal = {Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {4}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1814-9324}, doi = {10.5194/cp-15-1503-2019}, pages = {1503 -- 1536}, year = {2019}, abstract = {We collected the available relative pollen productivity estimates (PPEs) for 27 major pollen taxa from Eurasia and applied them to estimate plant abundances during the last 40 ka cal BP (calibrated thousand years before present) using pollen counts from 203 fossil pollen records in northern Asia (north of 40 degrees N). These pollen records were organized into 42 site groups and regional mean plant abundances calculated using the REVEALS (Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites) model. Time-series clustering, constrained hierarchical clustering, and detrended canonical correspondence analysis were performed to investigate the regional pattern, time, and strength of vegetation changes, respectively. Reconstructed regional plant functional type (PFT) components for each site group are generally consistent with modern vegetation in that vegetation changes within the regions are characterized by minor changes in the abundance of PFTs rather than by an increase in new PFTs, particularly during the Holocene. We argue that pollen-based REVEALS estimates of plant abundances should be a more reliable reflection of the vegetation as pollen may overestimate the turnover, particularly when a high pollen producer invades areas dominated by low pollen producers. Comparisons with vegetation-independent climate records show that climate change is the primary factor driving land-cover changes at broad spatial and temporal scales. Vegetation changes in certain regions or periods, however, could not be explained by direct climate change, e.g. inland Siberia, where a sharp increase in evergreen conifer tree abundance occurred at ca. 7-8 ka cal BP despite an unchanging climate, potentially reflecting their response to complex climate-permafrost-fire-vegetation interactions and thus a possible long-term lagged climate response.}, language = {en} } @article{KruseGerdesKathetal.2019, author = {Kruse, Stefan and Gerdes, Alexander and Kath, Nadja J. and Epp, Laura Saskia and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Dispersal distances and migration rates at the arctic treeline in Siberia - a genetic and simulation-based study}, series = {Biogeosciences}, volume = {16}, journal = {Biogeosciences}, number = {6}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1726-4170}, doi = {10.5194/bg-16-1211-2019}, pages = {1211 -- 1224}, year = {2019}, abstract = {A strong temperature increase in the Arctic is expected to lead to latitudinal treeline shift. This tundra-taiga turnover would cause a positive vegetation-climate feedback due to albedo decrease. However, reliable estimates of tree migration rates are currently lacking due to the complex processes involved in forest establishment, which depend strongly on seed dispersal. We aim to fill this gap using LAVESI, an individual-based and spatially explicit Larix vegetation simulator. LAVESI was designed to simulate plots within homogeneous forests. Here, we improve the implementation of the seed dispersal function via field-based investigations. We inferred the effective seed dispersal distances of a typical open-forest stand on the southern Taymyr Peninsula (northern central Siberia) from genetic parentage analysis using eight nuclear microsatellite markers. The parentage analysis gives effective seed dispersal distances (median similar to 10 m) close to the seed parents. A comparison between simulated and observed effective seed dispersal distances reveals an overestimation of recruits close to the releasing tree and a shorter dispersal distance generally. We thus adapted our model and used the newly parameterised version to simulate south-to-north transects; a slow-moving treeline front was revealed. The colonisation of the tundra areas was assisted by occasional long-distance seed dispersal events beyond the treeline area. The treeline (similar to 1 tree ha(-1)) advanced by similar to 1.6 m yr(-1), whereas the forest line (similar to 100 trees ha(-1)) advanced by only similar to 0.6 m yr(-1). We conclude that the treeline in northern central Siberia currently lags behind the current strong warming and will continue to lag in the near future.}, language = {en} } @article{BriegerHerzschuhPestryakovaetal.2019, author = {Brieger, Frederic and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Bookhagen, Bodo and Zakharov, Evgenii S. and Kruse, Stefan}, title = {Advances in the Derivation of Northeast Siberian Forest Metrics Using High-Resolution UAV-Based Photogrammetric Point Clouds}, series = {Remote sensing}, volume = {11}, journal = {Remote sensing}, number = {12}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs11121447}, pages = {24}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Forest structure is a crucial component in the assessment of whether a forest is likely to act as a carbon sink under changing climate. Detailed 3D structural information about the tundra-taiga ecotone of Siberia is mostly missing and still underrepresented in current research due to the remoteness and restricted accessibility. Field based, high-resolution remote sensing can provide important knowledge for the understanding of vegetation properties and dynamics. In this study, we test the applicability of consumer-grade Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for rapid calculation of stand metrics in treeline forests. We reconstructed high-resolution photogrammetric point clouds and derived canopy height models for 10 study sites from NE Chukotka and SW Yakutia. Subsequently, we detected individual tree tops using a variable-window size local maximum filter and applied a marker-controlled watershed segmentation for the delineation of tree crowns. With this, we successfully detected 67.1\% of the validation individuals. Simple linear regressions of observed and detected metrics show a better correlation (R2) and lower relative root mean square percentage error (RMSE\%) for tree heights (mean R2 = 0.77, mean RMSE\% = 18.46\%) than for crown diameters (mean R2 = 0.46, mean RMSE\% = 24.9\%). The comparison between detected and observed tree height distributions revealed that our tree detection method was unable to representatively identify trees <2 m. Our results show that plot sizes for vegetation surveys in the tundra-taiga ecotone should be adapted to the forest structure and have a radius of >15-20 m to capture homogeneous and representative forest stands. Additionally, we identify sources of omission and commission errors and give recommendations for their mitigation. In summary, the efficiency of the used method depends on the complexity of the forest's stand structure.}, language = {en} } @article{vanGeffenHeimBriegeretal.2022, author = {van Geffen, Femke and Heim, Birgit and Brieger, Frederic and Geng, Rongwei and Shevtsova, Iuliia and Schulte, Luise and Stuenzi, Simone M. and Bernhardt, Nadine and Troeva, Elena I. and Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Zakharov, Evgenii S. and Pflug, Bringfried and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Kruse, Stefan}, title = {SiDroForest: a comprehensive forest inventory of Siberian boreal forest investigations including drone-based point clouds, individually labeled trees, synthetically generated tree crowns, and Sentinel-2 labeled image patches}, series = {Earth system science data}, volume = {14}, journal = {Earth system science data}, number = {11}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1866-3508}, doi = {10.5194/essd-14-4967-2022}, pages = {4967 -- 4994}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The SiDroForest (Siberian drone-mapped forest inventory) data collection is an attempt to remedy the scarcity of forest structure data in the circumboreal region by providing adjusted and labeled tree-level and vegetation plot-level data for machine learning and upscaling purposes. We present datasets of vegetation composition and tree and plot level forest structure for two important vegetation transition zones in Siberia, Russia; the summergreen-evergreen transition zone in Central Yakutia and the tundra-taiga transition zone in Chukotka (NE Siberia). The SiDroForest data collection consists of four datasets that contain different complementary data types that together support in-depth analyses from different perspectives of Siberian Forest plot data for multi-purpose applications. i. Dataset 1 provides unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-borne data products covering the vegetation plots surveyed during fieldwork (Kruse et al., 2021, ). The dataset includes structure-from-motion (SfM) point clouds and red-green-blue (RGB) and red-green-near-infrared (RGN) orthomosaics. From the orthomosaics, point-cloud products were created such as the digital elevation model (DEM), canopy height model (CHM), digital surface model (DSM) and the digital terrain model (DTM). The point-cloud products provide information on the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the forest at each plot. Dataset 2 contains spatial data in the form of point and polygon shapefiles of 872 individually labeled trees and shrubs that were recorded during fieldwork at the same vegetation plots (van Geffen et al., 2021c, ). The dataset contains information on tree height, crown diameter, and species type. These tree and shrub individually labeled point and polygon shapefiles were generated on top of the RGB UVA orthoimages. The individual tree information collected during the expedition such as tree height, crown diameter, and vitality are provided in table format. This dataset can be used to link individual information on trees to the location of the specific tree in the SfM point clouds, providing for example, opportunity to validate the extracted tree height from the first dataset. The dataset provides unique insights into the current state of individual trees and shrubs and allows for monitoring the effects of climate change on these individuals in the future. Dataset 3 contains a synthesis of 10 000 generated images and masks that have the tree crowns of two species of larch ( and ) automatically extracted from the RGB UAV images in the common objects in context (COCO) format (van Geffen et al., 2021a, ). As machine-learning algorithms need a large dataset to train on, the synthetic dataset was specifically created to be used for machine-learning algorithms to detect Siberian larch species. Larix gmeliniiLarix cajanderiDataset 4 contains Sentinel-2 (S-2) Level-2 bottom-of-atmosphere processed labeled image patches with seasonal information and annotated vegetation categories covering the vegetation plots (van Geffen et al., 2021b, ). The dataset is created with the aim of providing a small ready-to-use validation and training dataset to be used in various vegetation-related machine-learning tasks. It enhances the data collection as it allows classification of a larger area with the provided vegetation classes. The SiDroForest data collection serves a variety of user communities.
The detailed vegetation cover and structure information in the first two datasets are of use for ecological applications, on one hand for summergreen and evergreen needle-leaf forests and also for tundra-taiga ecotones. Datasets 1 and 2 further support the generation and validation of land cover remote-sensing products in radar and optical remote sensing. In addition to providing information on forest structure and vegetation composition of the vegetation plots, the third and fourth datasets are prepared as training and validation data for machine-learning purposes. For example, the synthetic tree-crown dataset is generated from the raw UAV images and optimized to be used in neural networks. Furthermore, the fourth SiDroForest dataset contains S-2 labeled image patches processed to a high standard that provide training data on vegetation class categories for machine-learning classification with JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) labels provided. The SiDroForest data collection adds unique insights into remote hard-to-reach circumboreal forest regions.}, language = {en} } @article{DietzeMangelsdorfAndreevetal.2020, author = {Dietze, Elisabeth and Mangelsdorf, Kai and Andreev, Andrei and Karger, Cornelia and Schreuder, Laura T. and Hopmans, Ellen C. and Rach, Oliver and Sachse, Dirk and Wennrich, Volker and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Relationships between low-temperature fires, climate and vegetation during three late glacials and interglacials of the last 430 kyr in northeastern Siberia reconstructed from monosaccharide anhydrides in Lake El'gygytgyn sediments}, series = {Climate of the Past}, volume = {16}, journal = {Climate of the Past}, number = {2}, publisher = {Copernicus Publications}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1814-9332}, doi = {10.5194/cp-16-799-2020}, pages = {788 -- 818}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Landscapes in high northern latitudes are assumed to be highly sensitive to future global change, but the rates and long-term trajectories of changes are rather uncertain. In the boreal zone, fires are an important factor in climate-vegetation interactions and biogeochemical cycles. Fire regimes are characterized by small, frequent, low-intensity fires within summergreen boreal forests dominated by larch, whereas evergreen boreal forests dominated by spruce and pine burn large areas less frequently but at higher intensities. Here, we explore the potential of the monosaccharide anhydrides (MA) levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan to serve as proxies of low-intensity biomass burning in glacial-to-interglacial lake sediments from the high northern latitudes. We use sediments from Lake El'gygytgyn (cores PG 1351 and ICDP 5011-1), located in the far north-east of Russia, and study glacial and interglacial samples of the last 430 kyr (marine isotope stages 5e, 6, 7e, 8, 11c and 12) that had different climate and biome configurations. Combined with pollen and non-pollen palynomorph records from the same samples, we assess how far the modern relationships between fire, climate and vegetation persisted during the past, on orbital to centennial timescales. We find that MAs attached to particulates were well-preserved in up to 430 kyr old sediments with higher influxes from low-intensity biomass burning in interglacials compared to glacials. MA influxes significantly increase when summergreen boreal forest spreads closer to the lake, whereas they decrease when tundra-steppe environments and, especially, Sphagnum peatlands spread. This suggests that low-temperature fires are a typical characteristic of Siberian larch forests also on long timescales. The results also suggest that low-intensity fires would be reduced by vegetation shifts towards very dry environments due to reduced biomass availability, as well as by shifts towards peatlands, which limits fuel dryness. In addition, we observed very low MA ratios, which we interpret as high contributions of galactosan and mannosan from biomass sources other than those currently monitored, such as the moss-lichen mats in the understorey of the summergreen boreal forest. Overall, sedimentary MAs can provide a powerful proxy for fire regime reconstructions and extend our knowledge of long-term natural fire-climate-vegetation feedbacks in the high northern latitudes.}, language = {en} } @article{MiesnerHerzschuhPestryakovaetal.2022, author = {Miesner, Timon and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Wieczorek, Mareike and Zakharov, Evgenii S. and Kolmogorov, Alexei I. and Davydova, Paraskovya V. and Kruse, Stefan}, title = {Forest structure and individual tree inventories of northeastern Siberia along climatic gradients}, series = {Earth system science data : ESSD}, volume = {14}, journal = {Earth system science data : ESSD}, number = {12}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1866-3508}, doi = {10.5194/essd-14-5695-2022}, pages = {5695 -- 5716}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We compile a data set of forest surveys from expeditions to the northeast of the Russian Federation, in Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (59-73 degrees N, 97-169 degrees E), performed between the years 2011 and 2021. The region is characterized by permafrost soils and forests dominated by larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr. and Larix cajanderi Mayr). Our data set consists of a plot database describing 226 georeferenced vegetation survey plots and a tree database with information about all the trees on these plots. The tree database, consisting of two tables with the same column names, contains information on the height, species, and vitality of 40 289 trees. A subset of the trees was subject to a more detailed inventory, which recorded the stem diameter at base and at breast height, crown diameter, and height of the beginning of the crown. We recorded heights up to 28.5 m (median 2.5 m) and stand densities up to 120 000 trees per hectare (median 1197 ha(-1)), with both values tending to be higher in the more southerly areas. Observed taxa include Larix Mill., Pinus L., Picea A. Dietr., Abies Mill., Salix L., Betula L., Populus L., Alnus Mill., and Ulmus L. In this study, we present the forest inventory data aggregated per plot. Additionally, we connect the data with different remote sensing data products to find out how accurately forest structure can be predicted from such products. Allometries were calculated to obtain the diameter from height measurements for every species group. For Larix, the most frequent of 10 species groups, allometries depended also on the stand density, as denser stands are characterized by thinner trees, relative to height. The remote sensing products used to compare against the inventory data include climate, forest biomass, canopy height, and forest loss or disturbance. We find that the forest metrics measured in the field can only be reconstructed from the remote sensing data to a limited extent, as they depend on local properties. This illustrates the need for ground inventories like those data we present here. The data can be used for studying the forest structure of northeastern Siberia and for the calibration and validation of remotely sensed data.}, language = {en} } @article{KruseStuenziBoikeetal.2022, author = {Kruse, Stefan and St{\"u}nzi, Simone Maria and Boike, Julia and Langer, Moritz and Gloy, Josias and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Novel coupled permafrost-forest model (LAVESI-CryoGrid v1.0) revealing the interplay between permafrost, vegetation, and climate across eastern Siberia}, series = {Geoscientific model development : GMD ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {15}, journal = {Geoscientific model development : GMD ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {6}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1991-959X}, doi = {10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022}, pages = {2395 -- 2422}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Boreal forests of Siberia play a relevant role in the global carbon cycle. However, global warming threatens the existence of summergreen larch-dominated ecosystems, likely enabling a transition to evergreen tree taxa with deeper active layers. Complex permafrost-vegetation interactions make it uncertain whether these ecosystems could develop into a carbon source rather than continuing atmospheric carbon sequestration under global warming. Consequently, shedding light on the role of current and future active layer dynamics and the feedbacks with the apparent tree species is crucial to predict boreal forest transition dynamics and thus for aboveground forest biomass and carbon stock developments. Hence, we established a coupled model version amalgamating a one-dimensional permafrost multilayer forest land-surface model (CryoGrid) with LAVESI, an individual-based and spatially explicit forest model for larch species (Larix Mill.), extended for this study by including other relevant Siberian forest species and explicit terrain.
Following parameterization, we ran simulations with the coupled version to the near future to 2030 with a mild climate-warming scenario. We focus on three regions covering a gradient of summergreen forests in the east at Spasskaya Pad, mixed summergreen-evergreen forests close to Nyurba, and the warmest area at Lake Khamra in the southeast of Yakutia, Russia. Coupled simulations were run with the newly implemented boreal forest species and compared to runs allowing only one species at a time, as well as to simulations using just LAVESI. Results reveal that the coupled version corrects for overestimation of active layer thickness (ALT) and soil moisture, and large differences in established forests are simulated. We conclude that the coupled version can simulate the complex environment of eastern Siberia by reproducing vegetation patterns, making it an excellent tool to disentangle processes driving boreal forest dynamics.}, language = {en} } @article{RadosavljevicLantuitKnoblauchetal.2022, author = {Radosavljevic, Boris and Lantuit, Hugues and Knoblauch, Christian and Couture, Nicole and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Fritz, Michael}, title = {Arctic nearshore sediment dynamics - an example from Herschel Island - Qikiqtaruk, Canada}, series = {Journal of marine science and engineering}, volume = {10}, journal = {Journal of marine science and engineering}, number = {11}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2077-1312}, doi = {10.3390/jmse10111589}, pages = {18}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Increasing arctic coastal erosion rates imply a greater release of sediments and organic matter into the coastal zone. With 213 sediment samples taken around Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk, Canadian Beaufort Sea, we aimed to gain new insights on sediment dynamics and geochemical properties of a shallow arctic nearshore zone. Spatial characteristics of nearshore sediment texture (moderately to poorly sorted silt) are dictated by hydrodynamic processes, but ice-related processes also play a role. We determined organic matter (OM) distribution and inferred the origin and quality of organic carbon by C/N ratios and stable carbon isotopes delta C-13. The carbon content was higher offshore and in sheltered areas (mean: 1.0 wt.\%., S.D.: 0.9) and the C/N ratios also showed a similar spatial pattern (mean: 11.1, S.D.: 3.1), while the delta C-13 (mean: -26.4 parts per thousand VPDB, S.D.: 0.4) distribution was more complex. We compared the geochemical parameters of our study with terrestrial and marine samples from other studies using a bootstrap approach. Sediments of the current study contained 6.5 times and 1.8 times less total organic carbon than undisturbed and disturbed terrestrial sediments, respectively. Therefore, degradation of OM and separation of carbon pools take place on land and continue in the nearshore zone, where OM is leached, mineralized, or transported beyond the study area.}, language = {en} } @article{DallmeyerKleinenClaussenetal.2022, author = {Dallmeyer, Anne and Kleinen, Thomas and Claussen, Martin and Weitzel, Nils and Cao, Xianyong and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {The deglacial forest conundrum}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {13}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {1}, publisher = {Nature Publishing Group UK}, address = {[London]}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-022-33646-6}, pages = {10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {How fast the Northern Hemisphere (NH) forest biome tracks strongly warming climates is largely unknown. Regional studies reveal lags between decades and millennia. Here we report a conundrum: Deglacial forest expansion in the NH extra-tropics occurs approximately 4000 years earlier in a transient MPI-ESM1.2 simulation than shown by pollen-based biome reconstructions. Shortcomings in the model and the reconstructions could both contribute to this mismatch, leaving the underlying causes unresolved. The simulated vegetation responds within decades to simulated climate changes, which agree with pollen-independent reconstructions. Thus, we can exclude climate biases as main driver for differences. Instead, the mismatch points at a multi-millennial disequilibrium of the NH forest biome to the climate signal. Therefore, the evaluation of time-slice simulations in strongly changing climates with pollen records should be critically reassessed. Our results imply that NH forests may be responding much slower to ongoing climate changes than Earth System Models predict.
Deglacial forest expansion in the Northern Hemisphere poses a conundrum: Model results agree with the climate signal but are several millennia ahead of reconstructed forest dynamics. The underlying causes remain unsolved.}, language = {en} }