Insights into the origin of a Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot based on palynological and biomarker analyses of Lake Ohrid sediments from Early Pleistocene (> 1.2 Ma)
Final Report Abstract
Early Pleistocene pollen spectra from the ICDP Lake Ohrid DEEP core confirm the refugial characteristics of the study region and show a remarkable plant diversity over four complete glacial-interglacial cycles (1365–1165 ka cal BP; MIS 43–35). The unique palynological archive from Lake Ohrid, the oldest extant lake in Europe, records continuously floristic richness and vegetation succession under obliquity-paced climate oscillations. Palynological data are complemented by biomarker, diatom, sedimentology and geochemistry data to identify the drivers controlling shifts in the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems within the lake and its catchment. The findings suggest the gradual expansion and deepening of the lake within the first 100 kyr of its existence before the lake system enters a new equilibrium state as observed in distinct shifts in biotic communities and sediment composition. Several relict tree genera such as Cedrus,Tsuga, Carya and Pterocarya played an important role in ecological succession cycles, while total relict abundance accounts up to half of the total arboreal vegetation. The most prominent biome during interglacials is cool mixed evergreen needleleaf and deciduous broadleaf forests, while cool evergreen needleleaf forests dominate within glacials. The Ohrid catchment provided a variety of different suitable habitats for species characterized by distinct climatic tolerances and growth requirements. In contrast to Late Pleistocene climate cycles, the landscape remained rather forested with a rather stable soil pool and high palynological richness throughout glacial-interglacial cycles within the study interval. In conclusion, pollen- and biomarker-based quantitative climate reconstructions and compound-specific hydrogen isotope analyses suggest a warmer and moister climate with a similar source to modern day precipitation in southeastern Europe during the Early Pleistocene.
Publications
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The environmental and evolutionary history of Lake Ohrid (FYROM/Albania): Interim results from the SCOPSCO deep drilling project. Biogeosciences, 14, 2033-2054, 2017
Wagner B, Wilke T, Francke A, Albrecht A, Baumgarten H, Bertini A, Combourieu-Nebout N, Cvetkoska A, D'Addabbo M, Donders TH, Föller K, Giaccio B, Grazhdani A, Hauffe T, Holtvoeth J, Joannin S, Jovanovska E, Just J, Kouli K, Koutsodendris A, Krastel S, Lacey J H, Leicher N, Leng M J, Levkov Z, Lindhorst K, Masi A, Mercuri A M, Nomade S, Nowaczyk N, Panagiotopoulos K, Peyron O, Reed J M, Regattieri E, Sadori L, Sagnotti L, Stelbrink B, Sulpizio R, Tofilovska S, Torri T, Vogel H, Wagner T, Wagner-Cremer F, Wolff G A, Wonik T, Zanchetta G, Zhang X
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Corrigendum to “Pollen-based paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic change at Lake Ohrid (south-eastern Europe) during the past 500 ka”, in: Biogeosciences, 13, 1423–1437, 2018
Sadori L, Koutsodendris A, Panagiotopoulos K, Masi A, Bertini A, Combourieu-Nebout N, Francke A, Kouli K, Kousis I, Joannin S, Mercuri AM, Peyron O, Torri P, Wagner B, Zanchetta G, Sinopoli G, Donders T H
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Mediterranean cyclogenesis in phase with African monsoon strength during past 1.36 million years, Nature, 573, 256-260, 2019
Wagner B, Vogel H, Francke F, Friedrich T, Donders T, Lacey J, Leng M, Regattieri E, Sadori L, Wilke T, Zanchetta G, Albrecht C, Bertini A, Combourieu-Nebout N, Cvetkoska A, Giaccio B, Grazhdani A, Hauffe T, Holtvoeth J, Joannin S, Jovanovska E, Just J, Kouli K, Kousis I, Koutsodendris A, Krastel S, Leicher N, Levkov Z, Lindhorst K, Masi A, Melles M, Mercuri A M, Nomade S, Nowaczyk N, Panagiotopoulos K., Peyron O. Reed J M, Sagnotti L, Sinopoli G, Stelbrink B, Sulpizio R, Timmermann A, Tofilovska S, Torri P, Wagner-Cremer F, Wonik T, Zhang X
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Sediment residence time reveals Holocene shift from climatic to vegetation control on catchment erosion in the Balkans, Global and Planetary Change, 177, 186-200, 2019
Francke A, Dosseto A, Panagiotopoulos K, Leicher N, Lacey J, Kyrikou K, Wagner B, Zanchetta G, Kouli K, Leng M
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Deep drilling reveals massive shifts in evolutionary dynamics after formation of ancient ecosystem, Science Advances, EABB2943, 2020
Wilke T, Hauffe T, Jovanovska E, Cvetkoska A, Donders T, Ekschmitt K, Francke A, Lacey J H, Levkov Z, Marshall C R, Neubauer T A, Silvestro D, Stelbrink B, Vogel H, Albrecht C, Holtvoeth J, Krastel S, Leicher N, Leng M J, Lindhorst K, Masi A, Ognjanova-Rumenova N, Panagiotopoulos K, Reed J M, Sadori L, Tofilovska S, Bocxlaer B V, Wagner-Cremer F, Wesselingh F P, Wolters V, Zanchetta G, Zhang X, Wagner B
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Insights into the evolution of the young Lake Ohrid ecosystem and vegetation succession from a southern European refugium during the Early Pleistocene, Quaternary Science Reviews, 227, 106044, 2020
Panagiotopoulos, K, Holtvoeth, J, Kouli, K, Marinova, E, Francke, A, Cvetkoska, A, Jovanovska, E, Lacey, J, Lyons, E T, Buckel, C, Bertini, A, Donders, T, Just, J, Leicher, N, Leng, M J, Melles, M, Pancost, R, Sadori, L, Tauber, P, Vogel, H, Wagner, B, Wilke, T
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1.36 million years of Mediterranean forest refugium dynamics in response to glacial-interglacial cycle strength, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (34) e2026111118, 2021
Donders T, Panagiotopoulos K, Koutsodendris A, Bertini A, Mercuri AM, Masi A, Combourieu-Nebout N, Joannin S, Kouli K, Kousis I, Peyron O, Torri P, Francke A, Wagner B, Sadori L
