title: Population dynamics of Agriophyllum squarrosum, a pioneer annual plant endemic to mobile sand dunes, in response to global climate change.
abstract: Climate change plays an important role in the transition of ecosystems. Stratigraphic investigations have suggested that the Asian interior experienced frequent transitions between grassland and desert ecosystems as a consequence of global climate change. Using maternally and bi-parentally inherited markers, we investigated the population dynamics of Agriophyllum squarrosum (Chenopodiaceae), an annual pioneer plant endemic to mobile sand dunes. Phylogeographic analysis revealed that A. squarrosum could originate from Gurbantunggut desert since ~1.6 Ma, and subsequently underwent three waves of colonisation into other deserts and sandy lands corresponding to several glaciations. The rapid population expansion and distribution range shifts of A. squarrosum from monsoonal climate zones suggested that the development of the monsoonal climate significantly enhanced the population growth and gene flow of A. squarrosum. These data also suggested that desertification of the fragile grassland ecosystems in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was more ancient than previously suggested and will be aggravated under global warming in the future. This study provides new molecular phylogeographic insights into how pioneer annual plant species in desert ecosystems respond to global climate change, and facilitates evaluation of the ecological potential and genetic resources of future crops for non-arable dry lands to mitigate climate change.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Chaoju
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Hengxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Jiecai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Chengliang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.
authors.forename: Wanyin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.
authors.forename: Zhibao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.
authors.forename: Guoxiong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.|Key Laboratory of Eco-hydrology and of Inland River Basin, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå 90187, Sweden.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ru
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Gansu Province, Department of Ecology and Agriculture Research, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Fei
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D029748:Caryophyllaceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D057231:Climate Change; D003889:Desert Climate; D058974:Phylogeography