Wild and domesticated animal abundance is associated with greater late-Holocene alpine plant diversity

Sandra Garcés-Pastor (), Peter D. Heintzman, Scarlett Zetter, Youri Lammers, Nigel G. Yoccoz, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Christoph Schwörer, Andreas Tribsch, Kevin Walsh, Boris Vannière, Owen S. Wangensteen, Oliver Heiri, Eric Coissac, Sébastien Lavergne, Lieveke Vugt, Fabian Rey, Charline Giguet-Covex, Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Dirk N. Karger, Loïc Pellissier, Robert Schabetsberger, Jean Nicolas Haas, Michael Strasser, Karin A. Koinig, Tomasz Goslar, Sönke Szidat, Antony G. Brown, Willy Tinner and Inger Greve Alsos
Additional contact information
Sandra Garcés-Pastor: UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
Peter D. Heintzman: UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
Scarlett Zetter: UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
Youri Lammers: UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
Nigel G. Yoccoz: UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Jean-Paul Theurillat: Foundation Aubert
Christoph Schwörer: University of Bern
Andreas Tribsch: University of Salzburg
Kevin Walsh: University of York
Boris Vannière: University of Bern
Owen S. Wangensteen: University of Barcelona
Oliver Heiri: University of Basel
Eric Coissac: LECA
Sébastien Lavergne: LECA
Lieveke Vugt: University of Bern
Fabian Rey: University of Basel
Charline Giguet-Covex: Université Savoie Mont Blanc
Gentile Francesco Ficetola: Università degli Studi di Milano
Dirk N. Karger: Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL)
Loïc Pellissier: ETH Zurich
Robert Schabetsberger: University of Salzburg
Jean Nicolas Haas: University of Innsbruck
Michael Strasser: University of Innsbruck
Karin A. Koinig: University of Innsbruck
Tomasz Goslar: Adam Mickiewicz University
Sönke Szidat: University of Bern
Antony G. Brown: UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
Willy Tinner: University of Bern
Inger Greve Alsos: UiT - The Arctic University of Norway

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract In the face of human land use and climate dynamics, it is essential to know the key drivers of plant species diversity in montane regions. However, the relative roles of climate and ungulates in alpine ecosystem change is an open question. Neither observational data nor traditional palaeoecological data have the power to resolve this issue over decadal to centennial timescales, but sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) does. Here we record 603 plant taxa, as well as 5 wild, and 6 domesticated mammals from 14 lake sediment records over the last 14,000 years in the European Alps. Sheep were the first domesticated animals detected (at 5.8 ka), with cattle appearing at the early Bronze Age (4.2 ka) and goats arriving later (3.5 ka). While sheep had an impact similar to wild ungulates, cattle have been associated with increased plant diversity over the last 2 ka by promoting the diversity of forbs and graminoids. Modelling of the sedaDNA data revealed a significantly larger effect of cattle and wild ungulates than temperature on plant diversity. Our findings highlight the significant alteration of alpine vegetation and the entire ecosystem in the Alps by wild and domesticated herbivores. This study has immediate implications for the maintenance and management of high plant species diversity in the face of ongoing anthropogenic changes in the land use of montane regions.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59028-2

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