Post-Glacial Vegetation Trajectories on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau Reflect Millennial-Scale Migration Lags in Complex Mountain Terrain Based on Sedimentary Ancient DNA and Dynamic Dispersal Modeling.

ABSTRACT: Mountains with complex terrain and steep environmental gradients are biodiversity hotspots such as the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). However, it is generally assumed that mountain terrain plays a secondary role in plant species assembly on a millennial time-scale compared to climate change. Here, we investigate plant richness and community changes during the last 18,000 years at two sites: Lake Naleng and Lake Ximen on the eastern TP with similar elevation and climatic conditions but contrasting terrain. We applied plant DNA metabarcoding to lake sediments leveraging a new regional reference database for taxa identification. Furthermore, we developed a simplified species dispersal model named SMARC. This was used to simulate species migration along river valleys in response to past climate

SUBMITTER: Shen W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11754073 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature