Lake sedimentary DNA accurately records 20thCentury introductions of exotic conifers in Scotland.
Sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) has recently emerged as a new proxy for reconstructing past vegetation, but its taphonomy, source area and representation biases need better assessment. We investigated how sedDNA in recent sediments of two small Scottish lakes reflects a major vegetation change, using well-documented 20thCentury plantations of exotic conifers as an experimental system. We used next-generation sequencing to barcode sedDNA retrieved from subrecent lake sediments. For comparison, pollen was analysed from the same samples. The sedDNA record contains 73 taxa (mainly genus or species), all but one of which are present in the study area. Pollen and sedDNA shared 35% of taxa, which partly reflects a difference in source area. More aquatic taxa were recorded in sedDNA, whereas taxa assumed to be of regional rather than local origin were recorded only as pollen. The chronology of the sediments and planting records are well aligned, and sedDNA of exotic conifers appears in high quantities with the establishment of plantations around the lakes. SedDNA recorded other changes in local vegetation that accompanied afforestation. There were no signs of DNA leaching in the sediments or DNA originating from pollen.
Tromsø University Museum, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Lars Thøringsvei 10, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway.
Per
P
Sjögren
Tromsø University Museum, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Lars Thøringsvei 10, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway.|Department of Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
Mary E
ME
Edwards
Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000, Grenoble, France.|Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, CNRS, F-38000, Grenoble, France.
Ludovic
L
Gielly
Department of Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
Catherine T
CT
Langdon
Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK.
Ian W
IW
Croudace
Tromsø University Museum, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Lars Thøringsvei 10, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway.
Marie Kristine Føreid
MK
Merkel
Department of Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
Thierry
T
Fonville
Tromsø University Museum, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Lars Thøringsvei 10, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway.
Inger Greve
IG
Alsos
D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D058865:Introduced Species; D060106:Lakes; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D012606:Scotland; D013997:Time Factors; D064028:Tracheophyta / Q000235:genetics*
D018744:DNA, Plant
environmental DNA (eDNA); lake sediments; metabarcoding; sedimentary DNA (sedDNA); vegetation change
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