Amount Awarded: $20,000
Peatlands play a key role in the global carbon cycle by storing more carbon than any other type of land ecosystem. Different species of peatmosses coexist and dominate peatlands, creating an environment that facilitates partial decomposition of vegetation, thereby forming peat and driving carbon sequestration. Climate change and human activity might lead to disturbance and species turnover in peatlands, turning them into carbon sources. Despite its importance for the global carbon cycle, long-term dynamics of peatmoss biodiversity in peatlands is unknown, mostly due to technical difficulties and lack of peatmoss DNA reference libraries. Here, we propose to investigate changes in peatmoss community composition on a mire in Central Norway over 2100 years by using ancient DNA (aDNA) from peat cores. We aim to: (1) develop a reliable aDNA-based method to characterize peatmoss biodiversity; (2) build reference libraries for most European peatmoss species; (3) estimate peatmoss community turnover over time; (4) facilitate integration of biodiversity dynamics and aDNA-based methods into climate change research done in Berkeley. Together, the results of this project will provide a methodological base for a wide range of climate change studies on peatlands and sediments, as well as initiate interdisciplinary collaboration and network on the Berkeley campus.