Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern Alps
In the last decades, climate and human activities significantly affected ecosystems, particularly in mountain areas. Whereas the Alps have been extensively studied for palaeoclimatic reconstructions, little information is available about ecological changes, especially in the Southeastern Alps. This...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22012109 |
| _version_ | 1797985314918105088 |
|---|---|
| author | Ilaria Fracasso Anna Dinella Francesco Giammarchi Nadia Marinchel Piotr Kołaczek Mariusz Lamentowicz Katarzyna Marcisz Edyta Łokas Magdalena Miecznik Luca Bragazza Matteo Girardi Maurizio Ventura Luigimaria Borruso Giustino Tonon Cristiano Vernesi |
| author_facet | Ilaria Fracasso Anna Dinella Francesco Giammarchi Nadia Marinchel Piotr Kołaczek Mariusz Lamentowicz Katarzyna Marcisz Edyta Łokas Magdalena Miecznik Luca Bragazza Matteo Girardi Maurizio Ventura Luigimaria Borruso Giustino Tonon Cristiano Vernesi |
| author_sort | Ilaria Fracasso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the last decades, climate and human activities significantly affected ecosystems, particularly in mountain areas. Whereas the Alps have been extensively studied for palaeoclimatic reconstructions, little information is available about ecological changes, especially in the Southeastern Alps. This study presents a palaeoclimatic and palaeoecological reconstruction from a 1500-years-old mountain peatland record: Wölflmoor, Bozen (Italy).Through Physico-chemical proxies, testate amoeba, pollen, plant macro-fossils, and environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses, we pursued a twofold objective: 1) reconstructing the palaeoenvironmental variations of the peatland and the surrounding environment to identify the main dry/wet periods, and their correlations with climate and human activities; 2) testing the use of eDNA from a peatland in palaeoecological reconstructions. The dating highlighted a distinct change of age at a depth of 55.5–50.5 cm (ca. 800–930 calibrated years), which suggests a depositional gap (hiatus), at least in this section, occurred during the Medieval Warm Period, due to the increase in air temperature. However, the possible exploitation of the peatland by humans cannot be excluded. Indeed, the increase of Poaceae, Cerealia type, and Secale cereale, and the reduction of Fagus sylvatica and Quercus presented a high human pressure starting around 720 cal. CE. Environmental DNA metabarcoding results showed similar trends. However, it gave limitations such as the preferential amplification of the most abundant species, leading to a relatively small number of detected taxa. This is one of the first studies of eDNA metabarcoding from peatland; thus, we argue that ample room for improvement is expected in a short time, making eDNA metabarcoding a valuable complementary approach, primarily when both flora and fauna taxa are targeted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T07:16:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0219bbcadb60418e81980de94d92b7c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T07:16:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-0219bbcadb60418e81980de94d92b7c82022-12-22T04:37:56ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-12-01145109737Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern AlpsIlaria Fracasso0Anna Dinella1Francesco Giammarchi2Nadia Marinchel3Piotr Kołaczek4Mariusz Lamentowicz5Katarzyna Marcisz6Edyta Łokas7Magdalena Miecznik8Luca Bragazza9Matteo Girardi10Maurizio Ventura11Luigimaria Borruso12Giustino Tonon13Cristiano Vernesi14Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, Italy; Forest Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre- Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38098 S. Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy; Corresponding author at: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, Italy.Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, ItalyFaculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, ItalyDepartment of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus E. Mattei, 61029 Urbino, ItalyClimate Change Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, PolandClimate Change Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, PolandClimate Change Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, PolandInstitute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Eliasza Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Kraków, PolandInstitute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Eliasza Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Kraków, PolandAgroscope, Field-Crop Systems and Plant Nutrition, Research Division Plant Production Systems, Route de Duillier 50, CH-1260 Nyon, SwitzerlandConservation Genetic Unit, Research and Innovation Centre- Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38098 S. Michele all’Adige, Trento, ItalyFaculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, ItalyFaculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, ItalyFaculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, ItalyForest Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre- Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38098 S. Michele all’Adige, Trento, ItalyIn the last decades, climate and human activities significantly affected ecosystems, particularly in mountain areas. Whereas the Alps have been extensively studied for palaeoclimatic reconstructions, little information is available about ecological changes, especially in the Southeastern Alps. This study presents a palaeoclimatic and palaeoecological reconstruction from a 1500-years-old mountain peatland record: Wölflmoor, Bozen (Italy).Through Physico-chemical proxies, testate amoeba, pollen, plant macro-fossils, and environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses, we pursued a twofold objective: 1) reconstructing the palaeoenvironmental variations of the peatland and the surrounding environment to identify the main dry/wet periods, and their correlations with climate and human activities; 2) testing the use of eDNA from a peatland in palaeoecological reconstructions. The dating highlighted a distinct change of age at a depth of 55.5–50.5 cm (ca. 800–930 calibrated years), which suggests a depositional gap (hiatus), at least in this section, occurred during the Medieval Warm Period, due to the increase in air temperature. However, the possible exploitation of the peatland by humans cannot be excluded. Indeed, the increase of Poaceae, Cerealia type, and Secale cereale, and the reduction of Fagus sylvatica and Quercus presented a high human pressure starting around 720 cal. CE. Environmental DNA metabarcoding results showed similar trends. However, it gave limitations such as the preferential amplification of the most abundant species, leading to a relatively small number of detected taxa. This is one of the first studies of eDNA metabarcoding from peatland; thus, we argue that ample room for improvement is expected in a short time, making eDNA metabarcoding a valuable complementary approach, primarily when both flora and fauna taxa are targeted.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22012109Global warmingHuman impactPeatlandPalaeoenvironmental reconstructionEnvironmental DNAMetabarcoding |
| spellingShingle | Ilaria Fracasso Anna Dinella Francesco Giammarchi Nadia Marinchel Piotr Kołaczek Mariusz Lamentowicz Katarzyna Marcisz Edyta Łokas Magdalena Miecznik Luca Bragazza Matteo Girardi Maurizio Ventura Luigimaria Borruso Giustino Tonon Cristiano Vernesi Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern Alps Ecological Indicators Global warming Human impact Peatland Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction Environmental DNA Metabarcoding |
| title | Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern Alps |
| title_full | Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern Alps |
| title_fullStr | Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern Alps |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern Alps |
| title_short | Climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500-year multi-proxy record of an alpine peatland in the South-Eastern Alps |
| title_sort | climate and human impacts inferred from a 1500 year multi proxy record of an alpine peatland in the south eastern alps |
| topic | Global warming Human impact Peatland Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction Environmental DNA Metabarcoding |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22012109 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ilariafracasso climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT annadinella climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT francescogiammarchi climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT nadiamarinchel climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT piotrkołaczek climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT mariuszlamentowicz climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT katarzynamarcisz climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT edytałokas climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT magdalenamiecznik climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT lucabragazza climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT matteogirardi climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT maurizioventura climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT luigimariaborruso climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT giustinotonon climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps AT cristianovernesi climateandhumanimpactsinferredfroma1500yearmultiproxyrecordofanalpinepeatlandinthesoutheasternalps |