, 372(6544): 860–864. May 2021.\n
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@article{mottl_global_2021,\n\ttitle = {Global acceleration in rates of vegetation change over the past 18,000 years},\n\tvolume = {372},\n\tissn = {0036-8075, 1095-9203},\n\turl = {https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6544/860},\n\tdoi = {10.1126/science.abg1685},\n\tabstract = {The pace of Holocene vegetation change\nAlthough much is known about the rapid environmental changes that have occurred since the Industrial Revolution, the patterns of change over the preceding millennia have been only patchily understood. Using a global set of {\\textgreater}1100 fossil pollen records, Mottl et al. explored the rates of vegetation change over the past 18,000 years (see the Perspective by Overpeck and Breshears). The authors show that the rates of change accelerated markedly during the Late Holocene (∼4.6 to 2.9 thousand years ago), even more rapidly than the climate-driven vegetation changes associated with the end of the last glacial period. In addition, the Late Holocene acceleration began for terrestrial communities as a whole, suggesting that the acceleration in turnover over the past two centuries is the tip of a deeper trend.\nScience, abg1685, this issue p. 860; see also abi9902, p. 786\nGlobal vegetation over the past 18,000 years has been transformed first by the climate changes that accompanied the last deglaciation and again by increasing human pressures; however, the magnitude and patterns of rates of vegetation change are poorly understood globally. Using a compilation of 1181 fossil pollen sequences and newly developed statistical methods, we detect a worldwide acceleration in the rates of vegetation compositional change beginning between 4.6 and 2.9 thousand years ago that is globally unprecedented over the past 18,000 years in both magnitude and extent. Late Holocene rates of change equal or exceed the deglacial rates for all continents, which suggests that the scale of human effects on terrestrial ecosystems exceeds even the climate-driven transformations of the last deglaciation. The acceleration of biodiversity change demonstrated in ecological datasets from the past century began millennia ago.\nA compilation of fossil pollen sequences shows that the acceleration of biodiversity change began millennia ago.\nA compilation of fossil pollen sequences shows that the acceleration of biodiversity change began millennia ago.},\n\tlanguage = {English},\n\tnumber = {6544},\n\turldate = {2021-05-20},\n\tjournal = {Science},\n\tauthor = {Mottl, Ondřej and Flantua, Suzette G. A. and Bhatta, Kuber P. and Felde, Vivian A. and Giesecke, Thomas and Goring, Simon and Grimm, Eric C. and Haberle, Simon and Hooghiemstra, Henry and Ivory, Sarah and Kuneš, Petr and Wolters, Steffen and Seddon, Alistair W. R. and Williams, John W.},\n\tmonth = may,\n\tyear = {2021},\n\tnote = {[IF2020=47.728]},\n\tkeywords = {Database, reconstruction},\n\tpages = {860--864},\n}\n\n
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\n The pace of Holocene vegetation change Although much is known about the rapid environmental changes that have occurred since the Industrial Revolution, the patterns of change over the preceding millennia have been only patchily understood. Using a global set of \\textgreater1100 fossil pollen records, Mottl et al. explored the rates of vegetation change over the past 18,000 years (see the Perspective by Overpeck and Breshears). The authors show that the rates of change accelerated markedly during the Late Holocene (∼4.6 to 2.9 thousand years ago), even more rapidly than the climate-driven vegetation changes associated with the end of the last glacial period. In addition, the Late Holocene acceleration began for terrestrial communities as a whole, suggesting that the acceleration in turnover over the past two centuries is the tip of a deeper trend. Science, abg1685, this issue p. 860; see also abi9902, p. 786 Global vegetation over the past 18,000 years has been transformed first by the climate changes that accompanied the last deglaciation and again by increasing human pressures; however, the magnitude and patterns of rates of vegetation change are poorly understood globally. Using a compilation of 1181 fossil pollen sequences and newly developed statistical methods, we detect a worldwide acceleration in the rates of vegetation compositional change beginning between 4.6 and 2.9 thousand years ago that is globally unprecedented over the past 18,000 years in both magnitude and extent. Late Holocene rates of change equal or exceed the deglacial rates for all continents, which suggests that the scale of human effects on terrestrial ecosystems exceeds even the climate-driven transformations of the last deglaciation. The acceleration of biodiversity change demonstrated in ecological datasets from the past century began millennia ago. A compilation of fossil pollen sequences shows that the acceleration of biodiversity change began millennia ago. A compilation of fossil pollen sequences shows that the acceleration of biodiversity change began millennia ago.\n