High resolution ancient sedimentary DNA shows that alpine plant diversity is associated with human land use and climate change

This study reconstructs vegetation, temperature, human impact, and livestock in the European Alps over the past ~12,000 years using sedimentary ancient plant and mammal DNA, pollen, spores, chironomids, and microcharcoal from Lake Sulsseewli. A highly complete local DNA reference library (PhyloAlps) enabled the identification of 366 plant taxa. Vegetation primarily responded to climate in the early Holocene, while human activity influenced vegetation from 6 ka onwards. Land-use shifted from episodic grazing to agropastoralism in the Middle Ages, leading to increased plant richness through the coexistence of species from different elevational belts. The findings suggest a positive association between low-intensity agropastoral activities and precipitation with the maintenance of alpine plant diversity.

Sandra Garcés-Pastor, Eric Coissac, Sébastien Lavergne, Christoph Schwörer, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Peter D. Heintzman, Owen S. Wangensteen, Willy Tinner, Fabian Rey, Martina Heer, Astrid Rutzer, Kevin Walsh, Youri Lammers, Antony G. Brown, Tomasz Goslar, Dilli P. Rijal, Dirk N. Karger, Loïc Pellissier, Oliver Heiri, Inger Greve Alsos