Reconstruction of climate and vegetation changes of Lake Bayanchagan (Inner Mongolia): Holocene variability of the East Asian monsoon

A high-resolution pollen and Pediastrum record, spanning 12,500 yr, is presented for Lake Bayanchagan (115.21°E, 41.65°N, and 1355 m a.s.l.), southern Inner Mongolia. Individual pollen taxa (PT-MAT) and the PFT affinity scores (PFT-MAT) were used for quantitative climatic reconstruction from pollen and algal data. Both techniques indicate that a cold and dry climate, similar to that of today, prevailed before 10,500 cal yr B.P. The wettest climate occurred between 10,500 and 6500 cal yr B.P., at which time annual precipitation was up to 30–60% higher than today. The early Holocene increases in temperature and precipitation occurred simultaneously, but mid-Holocene cooling started at approximately 8000 cal yr B.P., 1500 yr earlier than the drying. Vegetation reconstruction was based on the objective assignment of pollen taxa to the plant functional type. The results suggest that this region was dominated by steppe vegetation throughout the Holocene, except for the period 9200 to 6700 cal yr B.P., when forest patches were relatively common. Inner Mongolia is situated at the limit of the present East Asian monsoon and patterns of vegetation and climate changes in that region during the Holocene probably reflect fluctuations in the monsoon's response to solar insolation variations. The early to middle Holocene monsoon undoubtedly extended to more northern latitudes than at present.     

Holocene East Asian monsoon variation inferred from species assemblage and shell chemistry of the ostracodes from Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia

A sediment core from Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia was analyzed for species assemblages and shell chemistry of ostracodes to investigate changes in the hydrology and climate of the East Asian summer monsoon margin during the Holocene. Darwinula stevensoni was abundant, Ilyocypris spp. scarce, littoral ostracodes absent and Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and δ¹⁸O were low 11,100 to 8300 yr ago, indicating high lake levels and cool/fresh waters. Darwinula stevensoni declined largely, Ilyocypris spp. throve, littoral ostracodes were rare and chemical indicators remained in low values 8300 to 6200 yr ago, suggesting that the lake continued high stands but water became warm. The lake then contracted and water became cool/brackish 6200 to 4300 yr ago. Littoral ostracodes flourished 4300 to 3350 yr ago, marking the lowest lake levels of the entire Holocene. The lake level recovered and water salinity decreased 3350 to 1900 yr ago. From 1900 to 500 yr ago, the lake maintained the preceding status albeit lowered stands and increased salinities 1100 to 800 yr ago. During the recent 500 yr, the lake expanded and water salinity decreased. The data imply that the East Asian summer monsoon did not intensify until 8300 yr ago and weakened dramatically 4300 to 3350 yr ago.     

Holocene Vegetation and Climate Changes in the Huangqihai Lake Region, Inner Mongolia

A consensus on Holocene climate variability at the modern northern fringe of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) region remains elusive. Here, we present a pollen-based reconstruction of vegetation history and associated climate variations of a sediment core from Huangqihai Lake, central Inner Mongolia. During 10.7 to 8.8 cal kaBP, typical steppe with small patches of forest dominated the lake area, suggesting a moderately wet climate, followed by ameliorating climatic conditions until 8.0 cal kaBP as deduced by the expansion of forest. Typical steppe recovered the lake area between 8.0 and 7.2 cal kaBP, reflecting a deterioration of climatic conditions; in combination with other proxy records in the study region, we noticed that severe aridity was prevailed in the lake area between 8.0 and 7.6 cal kaBP. During 7.2 to 3.2 cal kaBP, abundant tree pollen indicated dominance of forest-steppe around the lake, marking regionally wet conditions. A notable absence of broadleaved trees after 5.2 cal kaBP reveals a slight drying trend, and climate deterioration from 4.5 to 4.1 cal kaBP might be linked to the 4.2 ka event. After 3.2 cal kaBP, a transition to steppe was associated with dry conditions in the region. Based on our pollen record and prior paleoclimatic reconstructions in the Huangqihai Lake region, there was a generally-accepted, stepwise shift to a wet climate during the early Holocene, an overall humid climate from 7.2 to 3.2 cal kaBP, and then severe drought for the rest of the Holocene. Moreover, regional comparisons among pollen records derived from lakes situated in the temperate steppe region suggested a roughly synchronous pattern of vegetation and climate changes during the Holocene and demonstrated an intensified EASM during the middle Holocene.     

A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA

Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and 3500 cal yr B.P. and climate became variable with distinct wet and dry phases. Lake Tahoe probably spilled intermittently during this time. No core was recovered that represented the period between 3500 and 2600 cal yr B.P. The past 2500 years appear to have had recurrent persistent droughts. The timing and magnitude of droughts identified in the pollen record compares favorably with previously published δ¹⁸O data from Pyramid Lake. The timing of these droughts also agrees with the ages of submerged rooted stumps in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and woodrat midden data from central Nevada. Prolonged drought episodes appear to correspond with the timing of ice drift minima (solar maxima) identified from North Atlantic marine sediments, suggesting that changes in solar irradiance may be a possible mechanism influencing century-scale drought in the western Great Basin.     

Paleoenvironmental proxy records from Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia, and a synthesis of Holocene climate change in the Lake Baikal watershed

Here we discuss paleoenvironmental evolution in the Baikal region during the Holocene using new records of aquatic (diatom) and terrestrial vegetation changes from Hovsgol, Mongolia's largest and deepest lake. We reconcile previous contradictory Baikal timescales by constraining reservoir corrections of AMS dates on bulk sedimentary organic carbon. Synthesis of the Holocene records in the Baikal watershed reveals a northward progression in landscape/vegetation changes and an anti-phase behavior of diatom and biogenic silica proxies in neighboring rift lakes. In Lake Baikal, these proxies appear to be responsive to annual temperature increases after 6 ka, whereas in Lake Hovsgol they respond to higher precipitation/runoff from 11 to 7 ka. Unlike around Lake Baikal, warmer summers between 6 and 3.5 ka resulted in the decline, not expansion, of forest vegetation around Lake Hovsgol, apparently as a result of higher soil temperatures and lower moisture availability. The regional climatic proxy data are consistent with a series of 500-yr time slice Holocene GCM simulations for continental Eurasia. Our results allow reevaluation of the concepts of ‘the Holocene optimum’ and a ‘maximum of the Asian summer monsoon’, as applied to paleoclimate records from continental Asia.     

内蒙古达里湖沉积记录的中晚全新世干旱事件

最近20年位于东亚夏季风北部边缘的我国北方半干旱区遭遇更为频繁、更为严重的干旱事件。然而,有关该区域过去不同时间尺度气候干旱事件的特征及机制仍知之甚少。文章详细分析了内蒙古中东部达里湖DL04岩芯上部6.5 m沉积物中 < 38 μm碳酸盐的Ca和Mg含量、δ¹⁸O和δ¹³C值以及全样有机质TOC和TN含量、TOC/TN（C/N）比值,基于高精度的AMS¹⁴C年代标尺,恢复了最近6000年（日历年）湖区的水文、气候变化详细过程。结果表明：达里湖 < 38 μm碳酸盐主要为湖泊水体沉淀的内生方解石,其Ca和Mg含量、δ¹⁸O和δ¹³C值增大反映湖水蒸发量超过补给水量,进而指示湖区干旱事件。TOC和TN含量减少以及C/N比值减小总体反映地表径流减弱引起的陆生有机质入湖减少以及湖泊初始生产率下降。达里湖沉积内生碳酸盐和有机质地球化学数据表明,在6000~5300 cal.a B.P.、3200~2800 cal.a B.P.、1650~1150 cal.a B.P.和650~300 cal.a B.P.,流域地表径流显著减弱、湖面显著降低、湖泊生产率显著下降、湖区气候显著变干、东亚夏季风显著减弱。最近6000年东亚夏季风显著减弱事件在定年误差范围内与北大西洋冰漂碎屑事件一致,而与热带西太平洋海表温度变化和太阳活动变化相关性较差,表明千、百年尺度东亚夏季风突变主要受控于北半球高纬气候变冷。

     

Millennial-scale vegetation changes during the last 40,000 yr based on a pollen record from Lake Biwa, Japan

A high-resolution pollen record covering the last 40,000 yr (BIW95-4) from Lake Biwa, western Japan, shows regional vegetation responses to millennial-scale climate changes. From 40 to 30 ka, Cryptomeria japonica was dominant around the lake among pinaceous conifers and deciduous broad-leaved trees. During this period, fluctuations of C.japonica are correlated with Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles recognized from the anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) record. Increases in the abundance of this taxon may have been caused by wetter summer conditions influenced by the East Asian monsoon or increased snowfall on the Sea of Japan side of the Japanese archipelago. Between 29 and 14 ka, pinaceous conifer forests mainly composed of Pinus subgenus Haploxylon, Tsuga, and Picea trees developed. At approximately 23 ka, Picea trees increased in abundance as ARM values decreased. This expansion of Picea trees has been correlated with Heinrich event (HE) 2 in the North Atlantic. At about 14 ka, the distribution of broad-leaved forest (mainly composed of deciduous oaks) began to expand after D-O 1. Evidence of significant vegetation change related to the abrupt Younger Dryas cooling event has not been found.     

Holocene precipitation and temperature variations in the East Asian monsoonal margin from pollen data from Hulun Lake in northeastern Inner Mongolia,China

Wen, R. L., Xiao, J. L., Chang, Z. G., Zhai, D. Y., Xu, Q. H., Li, Y. C. & Itoh, S. 2009: Holocene precipitation and temperature variations in the East Asian monsoonal margin from pollen data from Hulun Lake in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00125.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Quantitative palaeoclimatic reconstruction with the weighted averaging partial least squares method was applied to the pollen profile from Hulun Lake in northeastern Inner Mongolia. The data provide a detailed history of variations in precipitation and temperature over the northeastern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon during the Holocene. A warm and dry climate prevailed over the lake region until c. 8000 cal. BP. During the period c. 8000–4400 cal. BP, precipitation increased markedly and temperature gradually declined. The interval between c. 4400 and 3350 cal. BP was marked by extremely dry and relatively cold conditions. Precipitation recovered from c. 3350 to 1000 cal. BP, with temperatures rising c. 3350–2050 cal. BP and dropping c. 2050–1000 cal. BP. During the last 500 years, the climate of the lake region displayed a general trend of warming and wetting. While Holocene temperature variations in the mid‐high latitude monsoonal margin were controlled by changes in summer solar radiation in the Northern Hemisphere, they could also be related to the strength of the East Asian summer monsoon. The lack of precipitation during the early Holocene could be attributed to the weakened summer monsoon resulting from the existence of remnant ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. Changes in the monsoonal precipitation during the middle to late Holocene would have been associated with the ocean–atmosphere interacting processes occurring in the western tropical Pacific.     

内蒙古中东部查干淖尔湖流域7000年以来的气候演变

内蒙古中东部处于亚洲季风与西风带的过渡带上,对于季风强弱以及全球气候变化响应敏感。本文以内蒙古中东部查干淖尔湖为研究对象,采用该湖沉积剖面的AMS ¹⁴C测年、烧失量、粒度及端元组分等指标的分析,重建了近7000年以来内蒙古中东部地区的气候演变序列。结果表明,千年尺度上,7000年以来研究区气候逐步变干,但6900~5800cal.a B.P.和4500~2000cal.a B.P.期间气候相对湿润,5800~4500cal.a B.P.和2000~0cal.a B.P.时期气候干旱。中晚全新世以来千年尺度上的气候总体变干,与太阳辐射的逐步降低引起的东亚季风的减弱有关。百年尺度上,查干淖尔湖经历了5次较为明显的干旱事件,分别发生于5800~4700cal.a B.P.、3500~3100cal.a B.P.、2600~2100cal.a B.P.、1700~1200cal.a B.P.和560~370cal.a B.P.,这些干旱事件的发生,在定年误差范围内,与太阳活动减弱事件和北大西洋冰漂碎屑事件基本一致,表明百年尺度上东亚季风强度的变化受北半球高纬气候和太阳活动的共同影响。

     

Holocene climate variations from Zhuyeze terminal lake records in East Asian monsoon margin in arid northern China

Zhuyeze palaeolake is a terminal lake situated in the arid northern China in the East Asian monsoon margin. In order to examine the Holocene palaeoclimatic change in the East Asian monsoon margin, Qingtu Lake section (QTL) from Zhuyeze palaeolake is sampled in high resolution. Palaeoclimatic proxies such as grain size, carbonate, TOC, C/N and δ¹³C of organic matter, were analyzed; eleven ¹⁴C samples and six optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples were dated to provide chronological control. We also investigated the geomorphic features of lake shorelines in this area. The results show that the climate was warm and dry in early-Holocene (9.5-7.0 cal ka BP), cool and humid in mid-Holocene (7.0-4.8 cal ka BP), and increasingly drier in late-Holocene (since 4.8 cal ka BP). Comparisons of our records with other records in adjacent areas, as well as with the records in the Asian monsoon areas, suggested that changes in effective moisture was synchronous in East Asian monsoon marginal zone (i.e. the pattern of dry early-Holocene, humid mid-Holocene, and aridity-increasing late-Holocene), and that the moisture optimum during the Holocene was out-of-phase between Asian monsoon margin and Asian monsoonal dominated region, possibly due to the high temperature at that time.     

我国季风边缘区湖泊沉积记录的全新世亚洲夏季风衰退事件

亚洲夏季风是全球季风系统的重要组成部分,亚洲夏季风的变化对其控制区域自然生态系统的多样性和生态平衡,以及社会经济发展有重要的影响。本文选择位于现代亚洲夏季风边缘区对季风变化响应敏感的湖泊达连海为研究对象,基于陆生植物残体和全有机质的AMS ¹⁴C定年建立了钻孔顶部24.6 m沉积物的年代框架,利用粒度指标重建了全新世研究区水文变化过程以及亚洲夏季风衰退事件序列。结果显示,沉积物中存在数层砂层,代表了湖泊低水位时期,进而指示了亚洲夏季风衰退事件。这些事件处在11.6~11.3 cal.ka B.P.、10.4~9.5 cal.ka B.P.、6.4~6.0 cal.ka B.P.、4.6~4.4 cal.ka B.P.、3.7~3.4 cal.ka B.P.、3.1~2.9 cal.ka B.P.以及2.0~0.9 cal.ka B.P.,可以发现中晚全新世以来亚洲夏季风衰退事件发生的频率显著增加。进一步与北半球高纬地区与低纬地区的气候突变事件记录对比显示,全新世百年-千年时间尺度上亚洲夏季风强度的变化与低纬ENSO活动存在密切的联系。

     

青藏高原兹格塘错沉积记录的全新世水位变化事件及其原因初步研究

兹格塘错是一个内陆封闭型湖泊,位于藏北高原腹地,处于西南季风作用边缘地带。由于流域内无冰川分布,湖泊补给主要靠大气降水,因此水体的扩张与收缩能够直接反映西南季风的变化。半干旱气候地区湖泊沉积物碳酸盐含量能够敏感地反映水体的扩张与收缩。兹格塘错沉积物碳酸盐含量高,与可溶盐(氯离子与硫酸根离子)含量变化结合能更好地揭示水体的演化阶段。分析结果表明,在9.3～8.9calkaBP、8.3～7.8calkaBP、5.0～4.7calkaBP、4.0～3.8calkaBP和3.1～2.7calkaBP碳酸盐含量出现大幅度下降,指示湖泊淡化、水位升高。但在3.8calkaBP左右碳酸盐含量和可溶盐(氯离子与硫酸根离子)含量同时出现峰值,指示出湖泊水体盐度升高、水位出现下降;近1calkaBP以来,碳酸盐与可溶盐含量都呈现逐渐下降趋势,表明湖泊水体逐渐淡化、水位缓慢上升的过程。但近100a来可溶盐含量上升,指示出湖泊水体的不断浓缩和水位下降过程,这和近百年的气候暖干化过程是一致的。兹格塘错沉积岩心碳酸盐含量全新世以来5次极低事件,有力地证明青藏高原西南季风在全新世期间的不稳定性。     

A 23,000-yr pollen record from Lake Euramoo, Wet Tropics of NE Queensland, Australia

A new extended pollen and charcoal record is presented from Lake Euramoo, Wet Tropics World Heritage rainforest of northeast Queensland, Australia. The 8.4-m sediment core taken from the center of Lake Euramoo incorporates a complete record of vegetation change and fire history spanning the period from 23,000 cal yr B.P. to present. The pollen record is divided into five significant zones; 23,000–16,800 cal yr B.P., dry sclerophyll woodland; 16,800–8600 cal yr B.P., wet sclerophyll woodland with marginal rainforest in protected pockets; 8600–5000 cal yr B.P., warm temperate rainforest; 5000–70 cal yr B.P., dry subtropical rainforest; 70 cal yr B.P.–AD 1999, degraded dry subtropical rainforest with increasing influence of invasive species and fire.The process of rainforest development appears to be at least partly controlled by orbital forcing (precession), though more local environmental variables and human activity are also significant factors. This new record provides the opportunity to explore the relationship between fire, drought and rainforest dynamics in a significant World Heritage rainforest region.     

Paleoecological and climatic changes of the Upper Lerma Basin, Central Mexico during the Holocene

The record of Almoloya Lake in the Upper Lerma basin starts with the deposition of the late Pleistocene Upper Toluca Pumice layer. The data from this interval indicate a period of climatic instability that lasted until 8500 cal yr B.P., when temperature conditions stabilized, although moisture fluctuations continued until 8000 cal yr B.P. Between 8500 and 5000 cal yr B.P. a temperate climate is indicated by dominance of Pinus. From 5000 to 3000 cal yr B.P. Quercus forest expanded, suggesting a warm temperate climate: a first indication of drier environmental conditions is an increase in grassland between 4200 and 3500 cal yr B.P. During the Late Holocene (3300 to 500 cal yr B.P.) the increase of Pinus and grassland indicates temperate dry conditions, with a considerable increase of Pinus between 1100 and 950 cal yr B.P. At the end of this period, humidity increased. The main tendency during the Holocene was a change from humid to dry conditions. During the Early Holocene, Almoloya Lake was larger and deeper; the changing humidity regime resulted in a fragmented marshland, with the presence of aquatic and subaquatic vegetation types.     

Contrasting impacts of the 8.2- and 4.2-ka abrupt climatic events on the regional vegetation of the Hulun Lake region in north-eastern China

Studies of the vegetation response to abrupt climatic events may provide valuable insights into assessing the impacts of such events under future global warming scenarios. Here we present a detailed record of regional vegetation change based on high-resolution pollen records for the intervals 9000–7000 and 5000–3000 cal a bp from the Hulun Lake region of north-eastern China. Our aims were to determine the regional expression of the 8.2- and 4.2-ka events in north-eastern China, especially their effects on vegetation composition. The results show that the response of the vegetation of the Hulun Lake region to the climatic cooling of the 8.2-ka event was relatively minor; however, the 4.2-ka event, which resulted in climatic aridification, resulted in pronounced vegetation degradation. We suggest that the specific characteristics of the 8.2- and 4.2-ka events, together with their duration and the regional climatic background on an orbital time scale, were the main factors responsible for the contrasting vegetation responses. The strengthening and northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) tended to offset the cooling effect of the 8.2-ka event on regional vegetation in the mid–high latitudes of East Asia; in contrast, the decrease in summer insolation in the Northern Hemisphere and the southward shift of the ITCZ may have intensified the drought effect of the 4.2-ka event in East Asia and the associated vegetation degradation. Under future global warming scenarios, both extreme cooling events and extreme drought events may cause a deterioration of the ecological environment; however, the resulting regional vegetation responses may be substantially different.     

A late Pleistocene long pollen record from Lake Urmia, NW Iran

A palynological study based on two 100-m long cores from Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran provides a vegetation record spanning 200 ka, the longest pollen record for the continental interior of the Near East. During both penultimate and last glaciations, a steppe of Artemisia and Poaceae dominated the upland vegetation with a high proportion of Chenopodiaceae in both upland and lowland saline ecosystems. While Juniperus and deciduous Quercus trees were extremely rare and restricted to some refugia, Hippophaë rhamnoides constituted an important phanerophyte, particularly during the late last glacial period. A pronounced expansion in Ephedra shrub-steppe occurred at the end of the penultimate late-glacial period but was followed by extreme aridity that favoured an Artemisia steppe. Very high lake levels, registered by both pollen and sedimentary markers, occurred during the middle of the last glaciation and late part of the penultimate glaciation. The late-glacial to early Holocene transition is represented by a succession of Hippophaë, Ephedra, Betula, Pistacia and finally Juniperus and Quercus. The last interglacial period (Eemian), slightly warmer and moister than the Holocene, was followed by two interstadial phases similar in pattern to those recorded in the marine isotope record and southern European pollen sequences.     

河北安固里淖孢粉记录的晚冰期以来的植被演替与气候变化

河北安固里淖地处东南季风的边缘地区,是研究古气候环境演化的理想地区之一。文章以安固里淖的沉积岩芯（长18.4 m）为研究对象,利用AMS ¹⁴C测年和孢粉数据,重建了安固里淖湖区14.3 cal.ka B.P.以来的植被与气候演化历史。结果表明：14.3~11.0 cal.ka B.P.期间,湖区以疏林草原植被为主,气候偏干;11.0~6.0 cal.ka B.P.以森林草原植被为主,气候湿润;6.0~3.2 cal.ka B.P.以疏林草原植被为主,气候偏湿;3.2~0 cal.ka B.P.以荒漠草原植被为主,气候干旱。总体而言,自晚冰期以来安固里淖的气候经历了由干变湿再逐渐变干的过程,全新世适宜期出现在早中全新世。通过区域对比发现,安固里淖揭示的晚冰期以来东南季风的气候演化特征与西南季风的演化具有很大的相似性,表明晚冰期以来东南季风与西南季风在轨道尺度上的演化并无太大差异,太阳辐射是二者演化的共同驱动力。

     

Holocene environmental and climatic changes inferred from Wulungu Lake in northern Xinjiang, China

Sedimentological, geochemical and palynological data from Wulungu Lake in northern Xinjiang, China, are used to reconstruct environmental and climate changes since 9550 cal yr BP. High abundance of Sparganium and Poaceae, low Md (median diameter) and δ¹³C_organic values indicate aridity between 9550 and 6730 cal yr BP. High Md and δ¹³C_organic values, and the prevalence of desert-steppe and steppe vegetation between 4200 and 560 cal yr BP, indicate that effective moisture increased after 6730 cal yr BP, peaking at 4200 and 560 cal yr BP. Low Md values, a negative excursion of δ¹³C_org, and the transition from steppe to desert vegetation since 560 cal yr BP reflect a decrease in effective moisture during the latest Holocene. Late Holocene human activities were indicated by sharp increase in the abundance of Pediastrum then. Variations in carbonate contents indicate that temperature was generally high between 9550 and 7740 cal yr BP, low between 7740 and 6730 cal yr BP, intermediate between 6730 and 560 cal yr BP, and low during the last 560 yr. Regional comparison indicates that the Asian monsoon did not extend to Wulungu Lake and westerlies were the main factor in determining the moisture availability during the Holocene.     

A 180,000-year pollen record from Owens Lake, CA: terrestrial vegetation change on orbital scales

Pollen from the upper 90 m of core OL-92 from Owens Lake is a climatically sensitive record of vegetation change that indicates shifts in the plant associations representing warm and cold desertscrub, pinyon–juniper woodland, and pine–fir forest during the past 180,000 years. These changes are synchronized with glacial–interglacial cycles. During glacial and stadial climates, juniper woodland expanded downslope and replaced warm desert shrubs while upper montane and subalpine forests in the arid Inyo Mountains also expanded, and those in the Sierra Nevada were displaced by the ice cap and periglacial conditions. Conversely, during interglacial and interstadial climates, warm desert plants expanded their range in the lowlands, juniper and sagebrush retreated upslope, and montane and subalpine forests expanded in the Sierra Nevada. The reconstructed vegetation history demonstrates a regional climatic response, and the congruence of the pollen sequence with marine and ice cap oxygen isotope stratigraphies suggests a link between regional vegetation and global climate change at orbital scales.