María Luján García

Predicting the trajectory of aquatic deoxygenation under global warming requires a mechanistic understanding of lacustrine responses to rapid climate shifts. We investigated how climate-driven changes in catchment vegetation and local iron-rich lithology regulated lake stratification and ecosystem resilience in the maar lake Holzmaar (Central Europe). We focused on the Late Glacial, specifically on transitions during Dansgaard-Oeschger Event 1 (DOE-1; ca. 14 690–11 700 cal yr BP), a period of rapid natural warming and cooling that serves as an analogue for future high amplitude climate variation and for modern Arctic lakes undergoing rapid climate-driven transitions. Combining non-destructive hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of sedimentary pigments with high-resolution XRF geochemistry, we resolved parts of the ecosystem trajectory during DOE-1. The primary producer community shifted from an oligotrophic cyanobacterial and low-light Pleniglacial assemblage to a stable, stratified Allerød assemblage, characterized by the planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus and anoxygenic purple sulphur bacteria (PSB) in the photic zone. While regional warming (mean summer temperature increased ∼ 2.8 °C) provided the physical potential for lake stratification, our data suggest that intense anoxia was primarily triggered by the expansion of Betula in the watershed. This afforestation stabilized the water column through wind shielding. The termination of the anoxic phase coincided with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling and increased aridity, which effectively destabilized the existing stratification. While the shift from Betula to Pinus forest may have caused a change in the terrestrial-aquatic linkage, the primary driver of the transition was the physical forcing (lake mixing) of the climatic shift (cooling). Geochemically, the lake exhibited remarkable resilience. Unlike carbonate-dominated systems prone to internal phosphorus loading, Holzmaar efficiently sequesters nutrients via a dual mechanism of reactive iron binding (authigenic vivianite) and stable mineral burial. The phosphorus trap prevents nutrient release by permanently sequestering P in the sediment, allowing rapid ecosystem recovery without delay once the specific climate and vegetation drivers shift. Our findings demonstrate that in volcanic maar lakes, catchment vegetation characteristics and local lithology can modulate, and even override, the direct effects of climate warming on aquatic anoxia.

Predicting the trajectory of aquatic deoxygenation under global warming requires a mechanistic understanding of lacustrine responses to rapid climate shifts. We investigated how climate-driven changes in catchment vegetation and local iron-rich lithology regulated lake stratification and ecosystem resilience in the maar lake Holzmaar (Central Europe). We focused on the Late Glacial, specifically on transitions during Dansgaard-Oeschger Event 1 (DOE-1; ca. 14,690–11,700 cal yr BP), a period of rapid natural warming and cooling that serves as an analogue for future high amplitude climate variation and for modern Arctic lakes undergoing rapid climate-driven transitions. Combining non-destructive hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of sedimentary pigments with high-resolution XRF geochemistry, we resolved parts of the ecosystem trajectory during DOE-1. Ecological succession progress from a pioneer community of cyanobacteria to a stable anoxic late-successional community characterized by planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus and anoxygenic purple sulphur bacteria (PSB) in the photic zone. While regional warming (mean summer temperature increased ~2.8 °C) provided the physical potential for lake stratification, our data suggest that intense anoxia was primarily triggered by the expansion of Betula in the watershed. This afforestation stabilized the water column through wind shielding. The termination of the anoxic phase coincided with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling and increased aridity, which effectively destabilized the existing stratification. While the shift from Betula to Pinus forest may have caused a change in the terrestrial-aquatic linkage, the primary driver of the transition was the physical forcing (lake mixing) of the climatic shift (cooling). Geochemically, the lake exhibited remarkable resilience. Unlike carbonate-dominated systems prone to internal phosphorus loading, Holzmaar efficiently sequesters nutrients via a dual mechanism of reactive iron binding (authigenic vivianite) and stable mineral burial. The phosphorous trap prevents nutrient release by permanently sequestering P in the sediment, allowing rapid ecosystem recovery without delay once the specific climate and vegetation drivers shift. Our findings demonstrate that in volcanic maar lakes, catchment vegetation characteristics and local lithology can modulate, and even override, the direct effects of climate warming on aquatic anoxia.

Predicting the trajectory of aquatic deoxygenation under global warming requires a mechanistic understanding of lacustrine responses to rapid climate shifts. We investigated how climate-driven changes in catchment vegetation and local iron-rich lithology regulated lake stratification and ecosystem resilience in the maar lake Holzmaar (Central Europe). We focused on the Late Glacial, specifically on transitions during Dansgaard-Oeschger Event 1 (DOE-1; ca. 14,690–11,700 cal yr BP), a period of rapid natural warming and cooling that serves as an analogue for future high amplitude climate variation and for modern Arctic lakes undergoing rapid climate-driven transitions. Combining non-destructive hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of sedimentary pigments with high-resolution XRF geochemistry, we resolved parts of the ecosystem trajectory during DOE-1. Ecological succession progress from a pioneer community of cyanobacteria to a stable anoxic late-successional community characterized by planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus and anoxygenic purple sulphur bacteria (PSB) in the photic zone. While regional warming (mean summer temperature increased ~2.8 °C) provided the physical potential for lake stratification, our data suggest that intense anoxia was primarily triggered by the expansion of Betula in the watershed. This afforestation stabilized the water column through wind shielding. The termination of the anoxic phase coincided with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling and increased aridity, which effectively destabilized the existing stratification. While the shift from Betula to Pinus forest may have caused a change in the terrestrial-aquatic linkage, the primary driver of the transition was the physical forcing (lake mixing) of the climatic shift (cooling). Geochemically, the lake exhibited remarkable resilience. Unlike carbonate-dominated systems prone to internal phosphorus loading, Holzmaar efficiently sequesters nutrients via a dual mechanism of reactive iron binding (authigenic vivianite) and stable mineral burial. The phosphorous trap prevents nutrient release by permanently sequestering P in the sediment, allowing rapid ecosystem recovery without delay once the specific climate and vegetation drivers shift. Our findings demonstrate that in volcanic maar lakes, catchment vegetation characteristics and local lithology can modulate, and even override, the direct effects of climate warming on aquatic anoxia.

Predicting the trajectory of aquatic deoxygenation under global warming requires a mechanistic understanding of lacustrine responses to rapid climate shifts. We investigated how climate-driven changes in catchment vegetation and local iron-rich lithology regulated lake stratification and ecosystem resilience in the maar lake Holzmaar (Central Europe). We focused on the Late Glacial, specifically on transitions during Dansgaard-Oeschger Event 1 (DOE-1; ca. 14,690–11,700 cal yr BP), a period of rapid natural warming and cooling that serves as an analogue for future high amplitude climate variation and for modern Arctic lakes undergoing rapid climate-driven transitions. Combining non-destructive hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of sedimentary pigments with high-resolution XRF geochemistry, we resolved parts of the ecosystem trajectory during DOE-1. Ecological succession progress from a pioneer community of cyanobacteria to a stable anoxic late-successional community characterized by planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus and anoxygenic purple sulphur bacteria (PSB) in the photic zone. While regional warming (mean summer temperature increased ~2.8 °C) provided the physical potential for lake stratification, our data suggest that intense anoxia was primarily triggered by the expansion of Betula in the watershed. This afforestation stabilized the water column through wind shielding. The termination of the anoxic phase coincided with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling and increased aridity, which effectively destabilized the existing stratification. While the shift from Betula to Pinus forest may have caused a change in the terrestrial-aquatic linkage, the primary driver of the transition was the physical forcing (lake mixing) of the climatic shift (cooling). Geochemically, the lake exhibited remarkable resilience. Unlike carbonate-dominated systems prone to internal phosphorus loading, Holzmaar efficiently sequesters nutrients via a dual mechanism of reactive iron binding (authigenic vivianite) and stable mineral burial. The phosphorous trap prevents nutrient release by permanently sequestering P in the sediment, allowing rapid ecosystem recovery without delay once the specific climate and vegetation drivers shift. Our findings demonstrate that in volcanic maar lakes, catchment vegetation characteristics and local lithology can modulate, and even override, the direct effects of climate warming on aquatic anoxia.

Predicting the trajectory of aquatic deoxygenation under global warming requires a mechanistic understanding of lacustrine responses to rapid climate shifts. We investigated how climate-driven changes in catchment vegetation and local iron-rich lithology regulated lake stratification and ecosystem resilience in the maar lake Holzmaar (Central Europe). We focused on the Late Glacial, specifically on transitions during Dansgaard-Oeschger Event 1 (DOE-1; ca. 14,690–11,700 cal yr BP), a period of rapid natural warming and cooling that serves as an analogue for future high amplitude climate variation and for modern Arctic lakes undergoing rapid climate-driven transitions. Combining non-destructive hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of sedimentary pigments with high-resolution XRF geochemistry, we resolved parts of the ecosystem trajectory during DOE-1. Ecological succession progress from a pioneer community of cyanobacteria to a stable anoxic late-successional community characterized by planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus and anoxygenic purple sulphur bacteria (PSB) in the photic zone. While regional warming (mean summer temperature increased ~2.8 °C) provided the physical potential for lake stratification, our data suggest that intense anoxia was primarily triggered by the expansion of Betula in the watershed. This afforestation stabilized the water column through wind shielding. The termination of the anoxic phase coincided with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling and increased aridity, which effectively destabilized the existing stratification. While the shift from Betula to Pinus forest may have caused a change in the terrestrial-aquatic linkage, the primary driver of the transition was the physical forcing (lake mixing) of the climatic shift (cooling). Geochemically, the lake exhibited remarkable resilience. Unlike carbonate-dominated systems prone to internal phosphorus loading, Holzmaar efficiently sequesters nutrients via a dual mechanism of reactive iron binding (authigenic vivianite) and stable mineral burial. The phosphorous trap prevents nutrient release by permanently sequestering P in the sediment, allowing rapid ecosystem recovery without delay once the specific climate and vegetation drivers shift. Our findings demonstrate that in volcanic maar lakes, catchment vegetation characteristics and local lithology can modulate, and even override, the direct effects of climate warming on aquatic anoxia.

Predicting the trajectory of aquatic deoxygenation under global warming requires a mechanistic understanding of lacustrine responses to rapid climate shifts. We investigated how climate-driven changes in catchment vegetation and local iron-rich lithology regulated lake stratification and ecosystem resilience in the maar lake Holzmaar (Central Europe). We focused on the Late Glacial, specifically on transitions during Dansgaard-Oeschger Event 1 (DOE-1; ca. 14,690–11,700 cal yr BP), a period of rapid natural warming and cooling that serves as an analogue for future high amplitude climate variation and for modern Arctic lakes undergoing rapid climate-driven transitions. Combining non-destructive hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of sedimentary pigments with high-resolution XRF geochemistry, we resolved parts of the ecosystem trajectory during DOE-1. Ecological succession progress from a pioneer community of cyanobacteria to a stable anoxic late-successional community characterized by planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus and anoxygenic purple sulphur bacteria (PSB) in the photic zone. While regional warming (mean summer temperature increased ~2.8 °C) provided the physical potential for lake stratification, our data suggest that intense anoxia was primarily triggered by the expansion of Betula in the watershed. This afforestation stabilized the water column through wind shielding. The termination of the anoxic phase coincided with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling and increased aridity, which effectively destabilized the existing stratification. While the shift from Betula to Pinus forest may have caused a change in the terrestrial-aquatic linkage, the primary driver of the transition was the physical forcing (lake mixing) of the climatic shift (cooling). Geochemically, the lake exhibited remarkable resilience. Unlike carbonate-dominated systems prone to internal phosphorus loading, Holzmaar efficiently sequesters nutrients via a dual mechanism of reactive iron binding (authigenic vivianite) and stable mineral burial. The phosphorous trap prevents nutrient release by permanently sequestering P in the sediment, allowing rapid ecosystem recovery without delay once the specific climate and vegetation drivers shift. Our findings demonstrate that in volcanic maar lakes, catchment vegetation characteristics and local lithology can modulate, and even override, the direct effects of climate warming on aquatic anoxia.

Predicting the trajectory of aquatic deoxygenation under global warming requires a mechanistic understanding of lacustrine responses to rapid climate shifts. We investigated how climate-driven changes in catchment vegetation and local iron-rich lithology regulated lake stratification and ecosystem resilience in the maar lake Holzmaar (Central Europe). We focused on the Late Glacial, specifically on transitions during Dansgaard-Oeschger Event 1 (DOE-1; ca. 14,690–11,700 cal yr BP), a period of rapid natural warming and cooling that serves as an analogue for future high amplitude climate variation and for modern Arctic lakes undergoing rapid climate-driven transitions. Combining non-destructive hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of sedimentary pigments with high-resolution XRF geochemistry, we resolved parts of the ecosystem trajectory during DOE-1. Ecological succession progress from a pioneer community of cyanobacteria to a stable anoxic late-successional community characterized by planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus and anoxygenic purple sulphur bacteria (PSB) in the photic zone. While regional warming (mean summer temperature increased ~2.8 °C) provided the physical potential for lake stratification, our data suggest that intense anoxia was primarily triggered by the expansion of Betula in the watershed. This afforestation stabilized the water column through wind shielding. The termination of the anoxic phase coincided with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling and increased aridity, which effectively destabilized the existing stratification. While the shift from Betula to Pinus forest may have caused a change in the terrestrial-aquatic linkage, the primary driver of the transition was the physical forcing (lake mixing) of the climatic shift (cooling). Geochemically, the lake exhibited remarkable resilience. Unlike carbonate-dominated systems prone to internal phosphorus loading, Holzmaar efficiently sequesters nutrients via a dual mechanism of reactive iron binding (authigenic vivianite) and stable mineral burial. The phosphorous trap prevents nutrient release by permanently sequestering P in the sediment, allowing rapid ecosystem recovery without delay once the specific climate and vegetation drivers shift. Our findings demonstrate that in volcanic maar lakes, catchment vegetation characteristics and local lithology can modulate, and even override, the direct effects of climate warming on aquatic anoxia.

Features like solar cyclicities and trends as well as grand solar minima are used to attribute natural climate variability to solar forcing on decadal to millennial time scales. Here we focus on ecological responses of a Grand Solar Minimum on annually- laminated lake sediments from Holzmaar (Germany) covering the Homeric Climate Anomaly (HCA). Diatom assemblages and pigments of purple sulphur bacteria (Bphe a) analysed at decadal resolution document well-stratified conditions with relatively low lacustrine productivity prior to the HCA (2950–2750 cal. BP). Colder temperatures, a well-mixed water column and higher primary aquatic productivity established during the HCA (2750–2680 cal. BP) as indicated for Holzmaar by dominance of the planktonic diatom Stephanodiscus minutulus, decreasing Bphe a and peaking total chloropigment concentrations. The termination of the HCA after 2680 cal. BP is marked by additional anthropogenic signals related to deforestation that changed the catchment at the contemporaneous Bronze Age/Iron Age transition. Our high-resolution and well-dated multiproxy study based on varved sediments contributes to a better understanding of decadal-scale responses of aquatic ecosystems to solar forcing and compares well with hypotheses suggested by other investigations indicating colder and more windy climatic conditions as the consequences of a Grand Solar Minimum for mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.