First Application of Sedimentary Plant DNA Analysis in Reconstruction of the Holocene Vegetation in the Altai

This study presents a detailed comparison of plant community composition using both spore-pollen analysis and sedimentary DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding. The Holocene-age sediments from Lake Balyktukel (Ulagan Plateau, Altai Republic) were analyzed. The comparison revealed significant differences in the composition and proportion of dominant taxa, highlighting the distinct spatial coverage and sensitivity of each method. The sedaDNA analysis identified 118 terrestrial plant taxa, which was substantially greater than the 46 taxa identified via palynology. This key finding for paleoecological reconstruction demonstrates that sedimentary DNA analysis provides higher taxonomic resolution, allowing for the identification of many more taxa at the genus and species level, whereas pollen data are largely limited to the family level. Sedimentary DNA analysis identified Siberian larch (Larix sibirica), birch (Betula), willow (Salicaceae), and honeysuckle (Lonicera) as the primary tree dominants. In contrast, palynological data pointed to a predominance of Siberian pine and Scots pine (Pinus sibirica and P. sylvestris). This discrepancy is partly explained by the poor preservation of larch pollen in sediments, whereas its DNA is consistently detected. This characteristic makes the sedaDNA method particularly valuable for reconstructing the upper forest boundary and local vegetation structure. These findings highlight the high informative value of sedimentary DNA analysis for revealing local plant diversity and underscore the complementarity of both methods for assessing past taxonomic composition and dynamics of mountain ecosystems

Biodiversity · Holocene · Larch · Paleobotany · Palynology · Pollen · Sedimentary rock · Taxon · Chromosomal and Genetic Variations · Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies · Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies