The link between climate change and biodiversity of lacustrine inhabitants and terrestrial plant communities of the Uvs Nuur Basin (Mongolia) during the last three millennia

A three-millennia reconstruction of biodiversity and climate in the Uvs Nuur Basin (Mongolia) reveals that the region's plant, chironomid, and Cladocera communities responded strongly to shifts in precipitation and temperature. The study found that the most humid period occurred between 1400–1800 CE during the Little Ice Age, with higher biodiversity, while the Medieval Warm Period (650–1350 CE) was marked by aridity and lower diversity. Unlike other taxa, diatoms showed no direct correlation with climate factors. The research also found that dung fungi in lake sediments did not align with historical human presence or climate changes, suggesting their potential use in assessing herbivore density. This work highlights the vulnerability of high-biodiversity regions to climate change and provides a baseline for understanding long-term ecological dynamics.

Rudaya, N., Nazarova, L., Frolova, L., Palagushkina, O., Soenov, V., Cao, X., Syrykh, L., Grekov, I., Otgonbayar, D., & Bayarkhuu, B. (2021). The link between climate change and biodiversity of lacustrine inhabitants and terrestrial plant communities of the Uvs Nuur Basin (Mongolia) during the last three millennia. The Holocene, 31(9), 1443–1458. https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836211019093