Climate and land use affect genetic structure of Stipa glareosa P. A. Smirn. in Mongolia

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Khurelpurev Oyundelger - , Chair of Biodiversity of Higher Plants, Chair of Ecosystem Services, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (Author)
  • Christiane M. Ritz - , Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (Author)
  • Oyunbileg Munkhzul - , National University of Mongolia, Mongolian Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Birgit Lang - , Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Julian Ahlborn - , Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (Author)
  • Batlai Oyuntsetseg - , National University of Mongolia (Author)
  • Christine Römermann - , Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leuphana University of Lüneburg (Author)
  • Karsten Wesche - , Chair of Biodiversity of Higher Plants, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig (Author)

Abstract

In dry steppes, strong climatic constraints, especially highly variable precipitation, and grazing are the most important factors controlling plant life. Growth is strongly limited by water availability, while grazing may affect species presence and performance. However, there is a lack of studies on population genetics of dryland plants in general, and of those addressing grazing effects in particular. To determine the landscape-scale genetic structure of dryland species, and if grazing has an impact on that, we chose the Eurasian steppe grass Stipa glareosa for a population genetic study employing nine polymorphic Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers. We assessed genetic fingerprints of 200 individuals from six populations in Mongolia, which were sampled along a large-scale precipitation and altitudinal gradient. Nested within this gradient, sub-populations were sampled along short local transects representing different grazing intensities. Overall, S. glareosa populations showed rather low levels of genetic diversity at a mean Bruvo distance among individuals within a given population of 0.494 (mean expected heterozygosity He = 0.053). Linear mixed model analysis implied that genetic diversity was affected by both climatic constraints and local grazing conditions. We found a moderate isolation-by-distance pattern across all populations; grazing additionally influenced the genetic structure at local scale. Analysis of Molecular Variance revealed a modest genetic differentiation between populations (9 % of variation) and among sub-populations representing different grazing levels (11 %). Moreover, we detected indicator alleles that were exclusive for populations along the precipitation gradient; other alleles were associated with certain grazing levels across all populations. Thus, our data suggest that climatic constraints affect the genetic structure of S. glareosa populations, while at local scales differences in grazing disturbance may also matter.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number151572
JournalFlora: Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants
Volume266
Publication statusPublished - May 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Altitude, Genetic diversity, Grazing, Microsatellite, Precipitation, Steppe