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Wild and domesticated animal abundance is associated with greater late-Holocene alpine plant diversity

Author

Listed:
  • Sandra Garcés-Pastor

    (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
    University of Barcelona
    CSIC)

  • Peter D. Heintzman

    (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
    Centre for Palaeogenetics
    Stockholm University)

  • Scarlett Zetter

    (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

  • Youri Lammers

    (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

  • Nigel G. Yoccoz

    (UiT The Arctic University of Norway)

  • Jean-Paul Theurillat

    (Foundation Aubert
    University of Geneva)

  • Christoph Schwörer

    (University of Bern)

  • Andreas Tribsch

    (University of Salzburg)

  • Kevin Walsh

    (University of York)

  • Boris Vannière

    (University of Bern
    Université de Franche-Comté)

  • Owen S. Wangensteen

    (University of Barcelona)

  • Oliver Heiri

    (University of Basel)

  • Eric Coissac

    (LECA)

  • Sébastien Lavergne

    (LECA)

  • Lieveke Vugt

    (University of Bern)

  • Fabian Rey

    (University of Basel)

  • Charline Giguet-Covex

    (Université Savoie Mont Blanc)

  • Gentile Francesco Ficetola

    (Università degli Studi di Milano)

  • Dirk N. Karger

    (Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL))

  • Loïc Pellissier

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Robert Schabetsberger

    (University of Salzburg)

  • Jean Nicolas Haas

    (University of Innsbruck)

  • Michael Strasser

    (University of Innsbruck)

  • Karin A. Koinig

    (University of Innsbruck)

  • Tomasz Goslar

    (Adam Mickiewicz University)

  • Sönke Szidat

    (University of Bern)

  • Antony G. Brown

    (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

  • Willy Tinner

    (University of Bern)

  • Inger Greve Alsos

    (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

Abstract

In the face of human land use and climate dynamics, it is essential to know the key drivers of plant species diversity in montane regions. However, the relative roles of climate and ungulates in alpine ecosystem change is an open question. Neither observational data nor traditional palaeoecological data have the power to resolve this issue over decadal to centennial timescales, but sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) does. Here we record 603 plant taxa, as well as 5 wild, and 6 domesticated mammals from 14 lake sediment records over the last 14,000 years in the European Alps. Sheep were the first domesticated animals detected (at 5.8 ka), with cattle appearing at the early Bronze Age (4.2 ka) and goats arriving later (3.5 ka). While sheep had an impact similar to wild ungulates, cattle have been associated with increased plant diversity over the last 2 ka by promoting the diversity of forbs and graminoids. Modelling of the sedaDNA data revealed a significantly larger effect of cattle and wild ungulates than temperature on plant diversity. Our findings highlight the significant alteration of alpine vegetation and the entire ecosystem in the Alps by wild and domesticated herbivores. This study has immediate implications for the maintenance and management of high plant species diversity in the face of ongoing anthropogenic changes in the land use of montane regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandra Garcés-Pastor & Peter D. Heintzman & Scarlett Zetter & Youri Lammers & Nigel G. Yoccoz & Jean-Paul Theurillat & Christoph Schwörer & Andreas Tribsch & Kevin Walsh & Boris Vannière & Owen S. Wan, 2025. "Wild and domesticated animal abundance is associated with greater late-Holocene alpine plant diversity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-59028-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59028-2
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