The global retreat of glaciers is dramatically altering mountain and high-latitude landscapes, with new ecosystems developing from apparently barren substrates1-4. The study of these emerging ecosystems is critical to understanding how climate change interacts with microhabitat and biotic communities and determines the future of ice-free terrains1,5. Here, using a comprehensive characterization of ecosystems (soil properties, microclimate, productivity and biodiversity by environmental DNA metabarcoding6) across 46 proglacial landscapes worldwide, we found that all the environmental properties change with time since glaciers retreated, and that temperature modulates the accumulation of soil nutrients. The richness of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals increases with time since deglaciation, but their temporal patterns differ. Microorganisms colonized most rapidly in the first decades after glacier retreat, whereas most macroorganisms took longer. Increased habitat suitability, growing complexity of biotic interactions and temporal colonization all contribute to the increase in biodiversity over time. These processes also modify community composition for all the groups of organisms. Plant communities show positive links with all other biodiversity components and have a key role in ecosystem development. These unifying patterns provide new insights into the early dynamics of deglaciated terrains and highlight the need for integrated surveillance of their multiple environmental properties5.Across 46 proglacial landscapes worldwide, environmental properties and biodiversity have shown complex patterns of change since glaciers retreated.

The development of terrestrial ecosystems emerging after glacier retreat / G.F. Ficetola, S. Marta, A. Guerrieri, I. Cantera, A. Bonin, S. Cauvy-Fraunié, R. Ambrosini, M. Caccianiga, F. Anthelme, R.S. Azzoni, P. Almond, P. Alviz Gazitúa, J.L. Ceballos Lievano, P. Chand, M. Chand Sharma, J.J. Clague, J.A. Cochachín Rapre, C. Compostella, R.C. Encarnación, O. Dangles, P. Deline, A. Eger, S. Erokhin, A. Franzetti, L. Gielly, F. Gili, M. Gobbi, S. Hågvar, R. Kaufmann, N. Khedim, R.I. Meneses, M.A. Morales-Martínez, G. Peyre, F. Pittino, A. Proietto, A. Rabatel, K. Sieron, L. Tielidze, N. Urseitova, Y. Yang, V. Zaginaev, A. Zerboni, A. Zimmer, G.A. Diolaiuti, P. Taberlet, J. Poulenard, D. Fontaneto, W. Thuiller, A. Carteron. - In: NATURE. - ISSN 0028-0836. - 632:8024(2024), pp. 336-342. [10.1038/s41586-024-07778-2]

The development of terrestrial ecosystems emerging after glacier retreat

G.F. Ficetola
Primo
;
S. Marta
;
A. Guerrieri;I. Cantera;R. Ambrosini;M. Caccianiga;R.S. Azzoni;C. Compostella;F. Gili;M. Gobbi;A. Proietto;A. Zerboni;G.A. Diolaiuti;D. Fontaneto;A. Carteron
2024

Abstract

The global retreat of glaciers is dramatically altering mountain and high-latitude landscapes, with new ecosystems developing from apparently barren substrates1-4. The study of these emerging ecosystems is critical to understanding how climate change interacts with microhabitat and biotic communities and determines the future of ice-free terrains1,5. Here, using a comprehensive characterization of ecosystems (soil properties, microclimate, productivity and biodiversity by environmental DNA metabarcoding6) across 46 proglacial landscapes worldwide, we found that all the environmental properties change with time since glaciers retreated, and that temperature modulates the accumulation of soil nutrients. The richness of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals increases with time since deglaciation, but their temporal patterns differ. Microorganisms colonized most rapidly in the first decades after glacier retreat, whereas most macroorganisms took longer. Increased habitat suitability, growing complexity of biotic interactions and temporal colonization all contribute to the increase in biodiversity over time. These processes also modify community composition for all the groups of organisms. Plant communities show positive links with all other biodiversity components and have a key role in ecosystem development. These unifying patterns provide new insights into the early dynamics of deglaciated terrains and highlight the need for integrated surveillance of their multiple environmental properties5.Across 46 proglacial landscapes worldwide, environmental properties and biodiversity have shown complex patterns of change since glaciers retreated.
Settore BIOS-03/A - Zoologia
Settore BIOS-01/B - Botanica sistematica
Settore BIOS-05/A - Ecologia
Settore GEOS-03/A - Geografia fisica e geomorfologia
   Reconstructing community dynamics and ecosystem functioning after glacial retreat (IceCommunities)
   IceCommunities
   EUROPEAN COMMISSION
   H2020
   772284

   Vanishing habitats: conservation priorities for glacier-related biodiversity threatened by climate change (PrioritIce)
   PrioritIce
   MINISTERO DELL'UNIVERSITA' E DELLA RICERCA
   Biodiversa2021-280
2024
31-lug-2024
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1114953
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