Articles | Volume 22, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1159-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1159-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
10 Jun 2026
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 10 Jun 2026
| 10 Jun 2026
Quantitative climate reconstruction from sedimentary ancient DNA: framework, validation and application
Ulrike Herzschuh
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Thomas Böhmer
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Weihan Jia
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Simeon Lisovski
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
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Ramesh Glückler, Rongwei Geng, Lennart Grimm, Izabella Baisheva, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Stefan Kruse, Andrei Andreev, Luidmila Pestryakova, and Elisabeth Dietze
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Preprint archived
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Despite rapidly intensifying wildfire seasons in Siberian boreal forests, little is known about long-term relationships between changes in vegetation and shifts in wildfire activity. Using lake sediment proxies, we reconstruct such environmental changes over the past 10,800 years in Central Yakutia. We find that a more open forest may facilitate increased amounts of vegetation burning. The present-day dense larch forest might yet be mediating the current climate-driven wildfire intensification.
Chenzhi Li, Alexander K. Postl, Thomas Böhmer, Xianyong Cao, Andrew M. Dolman, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1331–1343, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1331-2022, 2022
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Here we present a global chronology framework of 2831 palynological records, including globally harmonized chronologies covering up to 273 000 years. A comparison with the original chronologies reveals a major improvement according to our assessment. Our chronology framework and revised chronologies will interest a broad geoscientific community, as it provides the opportunity to make use in synthesis studies of, for example, pollen-based vegetation and climate change.
Stefan Kruse, Simone M. Stuenzi, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Josias Gloy, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2395–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, 2022
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We coupled established models for boreal forest (LAVESI) and permafrost dynamics (CryoGrid) in Siberia to investigate interactions of the diverse vegetation layer with permafrost soils. Our tests showed improved active layer depth estimations and newly included species growth according to their species-specific limits. We conclude that the new model system can be applied to simulate boreal forest dynamics and transitions under global warming and disturbances, expanding our knowledge.
Anne Dallmeyer, Martin Claussen, Stephan J. Lorenz, Michael Sigl, Matthew Toohey, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 17, 2481–2513, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, 2021
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Using the comprehensive Earth system model, MPI-ESM1.2, we explore the global Holocene vegetation changes and interpret them in terms of the Holocene climate change. The model results reveal that most of the Holocene vegetation transitions seen outside the high northern latitudes can be attributed to modifications in the intensity of the global summer monsoons.
Stuart A. Vyse, Ulrike Herzschuh, Gregor Pfalz, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Bernhard Diekmann, Norbert Nowaczyk, and Boris K. Biskaborn
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Ramesh Glückler, Ulrike Herzschuh, Stefan Kruse, Andrei Andreev, Stuart Andrew Vyse, Bettina Winkler, Boris K. Biskaborn, Luidmila Pestryakova, and Elisabeth Dietze
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Lydia Stolpmann, Caroline Coch, Anne Morgenstern, Julia Boike, Michael Fritz, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring, Yury Dvornikov, Birgit Heim, Josefine Lenz, Amy Larsen, Katey Walter Anthony, Benjamin Jones, Karen Frey, and Guido Grosse
Biogeosciences, 18, 3917–3936, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, 2021
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Anne Dallmeyer, Nils Weitzel, Laura Schild, Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Kleinen, and Martin Claussen
Clim. Past, 22, 1125–1157, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1125-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1125-2026, 2026
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Short summary
Short summary
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Lutz Schirrmeister, Margret C. Fuchs, Thomas Opel, Andrei Andreev, Frank Kienast, Andrea Schneider, Larisa Nazarova, Larisa Frolova, Svetlana Kuzmina, Tatiana Kuznetsova, Vladimir Tumskoy, Heidrun Matthes, Gerrit Lohmann, Guido Grosse, Viktor Kunitsky, Hanno Meyer, Heike H. Zimmermann, Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Böhmer, Stuart Umbo, Sevi Modestou, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Anfisa Pismeniuk, Georg Schwamborn, Stephanie Kusch, and Sebastian Wetterich
Clim. Past, 21, 1143–1184, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1143-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1143-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Geochronological, cryolithological, paleoecological, and modeling data reconstruct the Last Interglacial (LIG) climate around the New Siberian Islands and reveal significantly warmer conditions compared to today. The critical challenges in predicting future ecosystem responses lie in the fact that the land–ocean distribution during the LIG was markedly different from today, affecting the degree of continentality, which played a major role in modulating climate and ecosystem dynamics.
Chenzhi Li, Anne Dallmeyer, Jian Ni, Manuel Chevalier, Matteo Willeit, Andrei A. Andreev, Xianyong Cao, Laura Schild, Birgit Heim, Mareike Wieczorek, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 21, 1001–1024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1001-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1001-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present global megabiome dynamics and distributions derived from pollen-based reconstructions over the last 21 000 years, which are suitable for the evaluation of Earth-system-model-based paleo-megabiome simulations. We identified strong deviations between pollen- and model-derived megabiome distributions in the circum-Arctic and Tibetan Plateau areas during the Last Glacial Maximum and early deglaciation and in northern Africa and the Mediterranean region during the Holocene.
Amelie Stieg, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ulrike Herzschuh, Andreas Marent, Jens Strauss, Dorothee Wilhelms-Dick, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, and Hanno Meyer
Biogeosciences, 22, 2327–2350, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2327-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2327-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Globally, lake ecosystems have undergone significant shifts since the 1950s due to human activities. This study presents a unique ~220-year sediment record from a remote Siberian boreal lake, providing a multiproxy perspective on climate warming and anthropogenic air pollution. Analyses of diatom assemblages, diatom silicon isotopes, and carbon and nitrogen sediment proxies reveal complex biogeochemical interactions, highlighting anthropogenic influences even on remote water resources.
Laura Schild, Peter Ewald, Chenzhi Li, Raphaël Hébert, Thomas Laepple, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2007–2033, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2007-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2007-2025, 2025
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This study reconstructed vegetation and tree cover in the Northern Hemisphere from a harmonized dataset of pollen counts from sediment and peat cores for the past 14 000 years. A model was applied to correct for differences in pollen production between different plants, and modern remote-sensing forest cover was used to validate the reconstructed tree cover. Accurate data on past vegetation are invaluable for the investigation of vegetation–climate dynamics and the validation of vegetation models.
Simeon Lisovski, Alexandra Runge, Iuliia Shevtsova, Nele Landgraf, Anne Morgenstern, Ronald Reagan Okoth, Matthias Fuchs, Nikolay Lashchinskiy, Carl Stadie, Alison Beamish, Ulrike Herzschuh, Guido Grosse, and Birgit Heim
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Clim. Past, 20, 909–933, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-909-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-909-2024, 2024
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Siberia is impacted by recent climate warming and experiences extreme hydroclimate events. We present a 220-year-long sub-decadal stable oxygen isotope record of diatoms from Lake Khamra. Our analysis identifies winter precipitation as the key process impacting the isotope variability. Two possible hydroclimatic anomalies were found to coincide with significant changes in lake internal conditions and increased wildfire activity in the region.
Philip Meister, Anne Alexandre, Hannah Bailey, Philip Barker, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ellie Broadman, Rosine Cartier, Bernhard Chapligin, Martine Couapel, Jonathan R. Dean, Bernhard Diekmann, Poppy Harding, Andrew C. G. Henderson, Armand Hernandez, Ulrike Herzschuh, Svetlana S. Kostrova, Jack Lacey, Melanie J. Leng, Andreas Lücke, Anson W. Mackay, Eniko Katalin Magyari, Biljana Narancic, Cécile Porchier, Gunhild Rosqvist, Aldo Shemesh, Corinne Sonzogni, George E. A. Swann, Florence Sylvestre, and Hanno Meyer
Clim. Past, 20, 363–392, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, 2024
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This paper presents the first comprehensive compilation of diatom oxygen isotope records in lake sediments (δ18OBSi), supported by lake basin parameters. We infer the spatial and temporal coverage of δ18OBSi records and discuss common hemispheric trends on centennial and millennial timescales. Key results are common patterns for hydrologically open lakes in Northern Hemisphere extratropical regions during the Holocene corresponding to known climatic epochs, i.e. the Holocene Thermal Maximum.
Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Böhmer, Manuel Chevalier, Raphaël Hébert, Anne Dallmeyer, Chenzhi Li, Xianyong Cao, Odile Peyron, Larisa Nazarova, Elena Y. Novenko, Jungjae Park, Natalia A. Rudaya, Frank Schlütz, Lyudmila S. Shumilovskikh, Pavel E. Tarasov, Yongbo Wang, Ruilin Wen, Qinghai Xu, and Zhuo Zheng
Clim. Past, 19, 1481–1506, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1481-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1481-2023, 2023
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A mismatch between model- and proxy-based Holocene climate change may partially originate from the poor spatial coverage of climate reconstructions. Here we investigate quantitative reconstructions of mean annual temperature and annual precipitation from 1908 pollen records in the Northern Hemisphere. Trends show strong latitudinal patterns and differ between (sub-)continents. Our work contributes to a better understanding of the global mean.
Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Böhmer, Chenzhi Li, Manuel Chevalier, Raphaël Hébert, Anne Dallmeyer, Xianyong Cao, Nancy H. Bigelow, Larisa Nazarova, Elena Y. Novenko, Jungjae Park, Odile Peyron, Natalia A. Rudaya, Frank Schlütz, Lyudmila S. Shumilovskikh, Pavel E. Tarasov, Yongbo Wang, Ruilin Wen, Qinghai Xu, and Zhuo Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2235–2258, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2235-2023, 2023
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Climate reconstruction from proxy data can help evaluate climate models. We present pollen-based reconstructions of mean July temperature, mean annual temperature, and annual precipitation from 2594 pollen records from the Northern Hemisphere, using three reconstruction methods (WA-PLS, WA-PLS_tailored, and MAT). Since no global or hemispheric synthesis of quantitative precipitation changes are available for the Holocene so far, this dataset will be of great value to the geoscientific community.
Manuel Chevalier, Anne Dallmeyer, Nils Weitzel, Chenzhi Li, Jean-Philippe Baudouin, Ulrike Herzschuh, Xianyong Cao, and Andreas Hense
Clim. Past, 19, 1043–1060, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1043-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1043-2023, 2023
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Data–data and data–model vegetation comparisons are commonly based on comparing single vegetation estimates. While this approach generates good results on average, reducing pollen assemblages to single single plant functional type (PFT) or biome estimates can oversimplify the vegetation signal. We propose using a multivariate metric, the Earth mover's distance (EMD), to include more details about the vegetation structure when performing such comparisons.
Boris K. Biskaborn, Amy Forster, Gregor Pfalz, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring, Jens Strauss, Tim Kröger, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Biogeosciences, 20, 1691–1712, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1691-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1691-2023, 2023
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Lake sediment from the Russian Arctic was studied for microalgae and organic matter chemistry dated back to the last glacial 28 000 years. Species and chemistry responded to environmental changes such as the Younger Dryas cold event and the Holocene thermal maximum. Organic carbon accumulation correlated with rates of microalgae deposition only during warm episodes but not during the cold glacial.
Furong Li, Marie-José Gaillard, Xianyong Cao, Ulrike Herzschuh, Shinya Sugita, Jian Ni, Yan Zhao, Chengbang An, Xiaozhong Huang, Yu Li, Hongyan Liu, Aizhi Sun, and Yifeng Yao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 95–112, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-95-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-95-2023, 2023
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The objective of this study is present the first gridded and temporally continuous quantitative plant-cover reconstruction for temperate and northern subtropical China over the last 12 millennia. The reconstructions are based on 94 pollen records and include estimates for 27 plant taxa, 10 plant functional types, and 3 land-cover types. The dataset is suitable for palaeoclimate modelling and the evaluation of simulated past vegetation cover and anthropogenic land-cover change from models.
Timon Miesner, Ulrike Herzschuh, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, Mareike Wieczorek, Evgenii S. Zakharov, Alexei I. Kolmogorov, Paraskovya V. Davydova, and Stefan Kruse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5695–5716, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5695-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5695-2022, 2022
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We present data which were collected on expeditions to the northeast of the Russian Federation. One table describes the 226 locations we visited during those expeditions, and the other describes 40 289 trees which we recorded at these locations. We found out that important information on the forest cannot be predicted precisely from satellites. Thus, for anyone interested in distant forests, it is important to go to there and take measurements or use data (as presented here).
Femke van Geffen, Birgit Heim, Frederic Brieger, Rongwei Geng, Iuliia A. Shevtsova, Luise Schulte, Simone M. Stuenzi, Nadine Bernhardt, Elena I. Troeva, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, Evgenii S. Zakharov, Bringfried Pflug, Ulrike Herzschuh, and Stefan Kruse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4967–4994, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4967-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4967-2022, 2022
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SiDroForest is an attempt to remedy data scarcity regarding vegetation data in the circumpolar region, whilst providing adjusted and labeled data for machine learning and upscaling practices. SiDroForest contains four datasets that include SfM point clouds, individually labeled trees, synthetic tree crowns and labeled Sentinel-2 patches that provide insights into the vegetation composition and forest structure of two important vegetation transition zones in Siberia, Russia.
Ulrike Herzschuh, Chenzhi Li, Thomas Böhmer, Alexander K. Postl, Birgit Heim, Andrei A. Andreev, Xianyong Cao, Mareike Wieczorek, and Jian Ni
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3213–3227, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3213-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3213-2022, 2022
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Pollen preserved in environmental archives such as lake sediments and bogs are extensively used for reconstructions of past vegetation and climate. Here we present LegacyPollen 1.0, a dataset of 2831 fossil pollen records from all over the globe that were collected from publicly available databases. We harmonized the names of the pollen taxa so that all datasets can be jointly investigated. LegacyPollen 1.0 is available as an open-access dataset.
Ramesh Glückler, Rongwei Geng, Lennart Grimm, Izabella Baisheva, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Stefan Kruse, Andrei Andreev, Luidmila Pestryakova, and Elisabeth Dietze
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-395, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-395, 2022
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Despite rapidly intensifying wildfire seasons in Siberian boreal forests, little is known about long-term relationships between changes in vegetation and shifts in wildfire activity. Using lake sediment proxies, we reconstruct such environmental changes over the past 10,800 years in Central Yakutia. We find that a more open forest may facilitate increased amounts of vegetation burning. The present-day dense larch forest might yet be mediating the current climate-driven wildfire intensification.
Chenzhi Li, Alexander K. Postl, Thomas Böhmer, Xianyong Cao, Andrew M. Dolman, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1331–1343, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1331-2022, 2022
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Here we present a global chronology framework of 2831 palynological records, including globally harmonized chronologies covering up to 273 000 years. A comparison with the original chronologies reveals a major improvement according to our assessment. Our chronology framework and revised chronologies will interest a broad geoscientific community, as it provides the opportunity to make use in synthesis studies of, for example, pollen-based vegetation and climate change.
Stefan Kruse, Simone M. Stuenzi, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Josias Gloy, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2395–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, 2022
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We coupled established models for boreal forest (LAVESI) and permafrost dynamics (CryoGrid) in Siberia to investigate interactions of the diverse vegetation layer with permafrost soils. Our tests showed improved active layer depth estimations and newly included species growth according to their species-specific limits. We conclude that the new model system can be applied to simulate boreal forest dynamics and transitions under global warming and disturbances, expanding our knowledge.
Anne Dallmeyer, Martin Claussen, Stephan J. Lorenz, Michael Sigl, Matthew Toohey, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 17, 2481–2513, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, 2021
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Using the comprehensive Earth system model, MPI-ESM1.2, we explore the global Holocene vegetation changes and interpret them in terms of the Holocene climate change. The model results reveal that most of the Holocene vegetation transitions seen outside the high northern latitudes can be attributed to modifications in the intensity of the global summer monsoons.
Stuart A. Vyse, Ulrike Herzschuh, Gregor Pfalz, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Bernhard Diekmann, Norbert Nowaczyk, and Boris K. Biskaborn
Biogeosciences, 18, 4791–4816, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4791-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4791-2021, 2021
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Lakes act as important stores of organic carbon and inorganic sediment material. This study provides a first investigation into carbon and sediment accumulation and storage within an Arctic glacial lake from Far East Russia. It shows that major shifts are related to palaeoclimate variation that affects the development of the lake and its surrounding catchment. Spatial differences to other lake systems from other regions may reflect variability in processes controlled by latitude and altitude.
Ramesh Glückler, Ulrike Herzschuh, Stefan Kruse, Andrei Andreev, Stuart Andrew Vyse, Bettina Winkler, Boris K. Biskaborn, Luidmila Pestryakova, and Elisabeth Dietze
Biogeosciences, 18, 4185–4209, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4185-2021, 2021
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Data about past fire activity are very sparse in Siberia. This study presents a first high-resolution record of charcoal particles from lake sediments in boreal eastern Siberia. It indicates that current levels of charcoal accumulation are not unprecedented. While a recent increase in reconstructed fire frequency coincides with rising temperatures and increasing human activity, vegetation composition does not seem to be a major driver behind changes in the fire regime in the past two millennia.
Lydia Stolpmann, Caroline Coch, Anne Morgenstern, Julia Boike, Michael Fritz, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring, Yury Dvornikov, Birgit Heim, Josefine Lenz, Amy Larsen, Katey Walter Anthony, Benjamin Jones, Karen Frey, and Guido Grosse
Biogeosciences, 18, 3917–3936, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, 2021
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Our new database summarizes DOC concentrations of 2167 water samples from 1833 lakes in permafrost regions across the Arctic to provide insights into linkages between DOC and environment. We found increasing lake DOC concentration with decreasing permafrost extent and higher DOC concentrations in boreal permafrost sites compared to tundra sites. Our study shows that DOC concentration depends on the environmental properties of a lake, especially permafrost extent, ecoregion, and vegetation.
Cited articles
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Alsos, I. G., Lammers, Y., Yoccoz, N. G., Jørgensen, T., Sjögren, P., Gielly, L., and Edwards, M. E.: Plant DNA metabarcoding of lake sediments: How does it represent the contemporary vegetation, PLoS ONE, 13, e0195403, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195403, 2018.
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Alsos, I. G., Boussange, V., Rijal, D. P., Beaulieu, M., Brown, A. G., Herzschuh, U., Svenning, J.-C., and Pellissier, L.: Using ancient sedimentary DNA to forecast ecosystem trajectories under climate change, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0017, 2024.
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Birks, H. J. B. and Seppä, H.: Pollen-based reconstructions of late-Quaternary climate in Europe – progress, problems, and pitfalls, Acta Palaeobotanica, 44, 317–334, 2004.
Birks, H. J. B., Heiri, O., Seppä, H., and Bjune, A. E.: Strengths and weaknesses of quantitative climate reconstructions based on Late-Quaternary biological proxies, The Open Ecology Journal, 3, 68–110, 2010.
Biskaborn, B. K., Herzschuh, U., Bolshiyanov, D., Savelieva, L., and Diekmann, B.: Environmental variability in northeastern Siberia during the last ∼ 13 300 yr inferred from lake diatoms and sediment–geochemical parameters, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 329–330, 22–36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.02.003, 2012.
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Chevalier, M.: crestr: an R package to perform probabilistic climate reconstructions from palaeoecological datasets, Climate of the Past, 18, 821–844, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-821-2022, 2022.
Chevalier, M.: crestr: A R package to apply the climate reconstruction CREST, R package version 1.4.4, GitHub [code], https://github.com/mchevalier2/crestr (last access: 22 December 2025), 2025.
Chevalier, M., Cheddadi, R., and Chase, B. M.: CREST (Climate REconstruction SofTware): a probability density function (PDF)-based quantitative climate reconstruction method, Climate of the Past, 10, 2081–2098, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2081-2014, 2014.
Chevalier, M., Davis, B. A. S., Heiri, O., Seppä, H., Chase, B. M., Gajewski, K., Lacourse, T., Telford, R. J., Finsinger, W., Guiot, J., Kühl, N., Maezumi, S. Y., Tipton, J. R., Carter, V. A., Brussel, T., Phelps, L. N., Dawson, A., Zanon, M., Vallé, F., Nolan, C., Mauri, A., De Vernal, A., Izumi, K., Holmström, L., Marsicek, J., Goring, S., Sommer, P. S., Chaput, M., and Kupriyanov, D.: Pollen-based climate reconstruction techniques for late Quaternary studies, Earth-Science Reviews, 210, 103384, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103384, 2020.
Cohen, A. S.: Paleolimnology: The History and Evolution of Lake Systems, Oxford University Press, Oxford, https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0184:BR>2.0.CO;2, 2003.
Courtin, J., Andreev, A. A., Raschke, E., Bala, S., Biskaborn, B. K., Liu, S., Zimmermann, H., Diekmann, B., Stoof-Leichsenring, K. R., Pestryakova, L. A., and Herzschuh, U.: Vegetation Changes in Southeastern Siberia During the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 625096, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.625096, 2021.
Courtin, J., Stoof-Leichsenring, K. R., Lisovski, S., Liu, Y., Alsos, I. G., Biskaborn, B. K., Diekmann, B., Melles, M., Wagner, B., Pestryakova, L., Russell, J., Huang, Y., and Herzschuh, U.: Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe, Nature Communications, 16, 645, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55542-x, 2025.
Dallmeyer, A., Kleinen, T., Claussen, M., Weitzel, N., Cao, X., and Herzschuh, U.: The deglacial forest conundrum, Nature Communications, 13, 6035, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33646-6, 2022.
De Jonge, C., Hopmans, E. C., Zell, C. I., Kim, J.-H., Schouten, S., and Sinninghe Damsté, J. S.: Occurrence and abundance of 6-methyl branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in soils: Implications for palaeoclimate reconstruction, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 141, 97–112, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2014.06.013, 2014.
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Elbrecht, V. and Leese, F.: Can DNA-Based Ecosystem Assessments Quantify Species Abundance? Testing Primer Bias and Biomass – Sequence Relationships with an Innovative Metabarcoding Protocol, PLoS ONE, 10, e0130324, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130324, 2015.
Elith, J. and Leathwick, J. R.: Species Distribution Models: Ecological explanation and prediction across space and time, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 40, 677–697, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120159, 2009.
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GBIF.org (derived dataset, 7 May 2025): Filtered export of GBIF occurrence data, GBIF.org [data set], https://doi.org/10.15468/dd.3nyb7n, 2025.
Giguet-Covex, C., Ficetola, G. F., Walsh, K., Poulenard, J., Bajard, M., Fouinat, L., Sabatier, P., Gielly, L., Messager, E., Develle, A. L., David, F., Taberlet, P., Brisset, E., Guiter, F., Sinet, R., and Arnaud, F.: New insights on lake sediment DNA from the catchment: importance of taphonomic and analytical issues on the record quality, Scientific Reports, 9, 14676, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50339-1, 2019.
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Herzschuh, U., Birks, H. J. B., Mischke, S., Zhang, C., and Böhner, J.: A modern pollen–climate calibration set based on lake sediments from the Tibetan Plateau and its application to a Late Quaternary pollen record from the Qilian Mountains, Journal of Biogeography, 37, 752–766, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02245.x, 2010.
Herzschuh, U., Li, C., Böhmer, T., Postl, A. K., Heim, B., Andreev, A. A., Cao, X., Wieczorek, M., and Ni, J.: LegacyPollen 1.0: a taxonomically harmonized global late Quaternary pollen dataset of 2831 records with standardized chronologies, Earth System Science Data, 14, 3213–3227, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3213-2022, 2022.
Herzschuh, U., Böhmer, T., Chevalier, M., Hébert, R., Dallmeyer, A., Li, C., Cao, X., Peyron, O., Nazarova, L., Novenko, E. Y., Park, J., Rudaya, N. A., Schlütz, F., Shumilovskikh, L. S., Tarasov, P. E., Wang, Y., Wen, R., Xu, Q., and Zheng, Z.: Regional pollen-based Holocene temperature and precipitation patterns depart from the Northern Hemisphere mean trends, Climate of the Past, 19, 1481–1506, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1481-2023, 2023a.
Herzschuh, U., Böhmer, T., Li, C., Chevalier, M., Hébert, R., Dallmeyer, A., Cao, X., Bigelow, N. H., Nazarova, L., Novenko, E. Y., Park, J., Peyron, O., Rudaya, N. A., Schlütz, F., Shumilovskikh, L. S., Tarasov, P. E., Wang, Y., Wen, R., Xu, Q., and Zheng, Z.: LegacyClimate 1.0: a dataset of pollen-based climate reconstructions from 2594 Northern Hemisphere sites covering the last 30 kyr and beyond, Earth System Science Data, 15, 2235–2258, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2235-2023, 2023b.
Herzschuh, U., Böhmer, T., Jia, W., and Lisovski, S.: Quantitative climate reconstruction from sedimentary ancient DNA: framework, validation and application, Zenodo [code, data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17312185, 2025.
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Editorial statement
The manuscript by Herzschuh et al. presents a novel approach for deriving quantitative summer temperature estimates from Lake sediments. This method has the potential to substantially improve terrestrial temperature reconstructions and thereby advance our understanding of past continental climate change.
The manuscript by Herzschuh et al. presents a novel approach for deriving quantitative summer...
Short summary
We introduce a new climate proxy based on plant DNA preserved in lake sediments. Validated with a large surface sample dataset and applied to a sediment record, this method provides more accurate and robust reconstructions of past climate change than traditional vegetation proxies like pollen, likely due to a higher taxonomic resolution and more localized signal.
We introduce a new climate proxy based on plant DNA preserved in lake sediments. Validated with...
