Environmental change and fire in the Owen Stanley Ranges,Papua New Guinea

Kosipe, an upland valley at 2000 m altitude in the Owen Stanley Ranges of southeastern New Guinea, is known for the discovery of large stone waisted blades dated to 31 400 cal a BP. The purpose of these tools and the nature of occupation are unknown. The altitude is too high for most food crops today and may have stood close to the treeline during the last glaciation. Three pollen and charcoal diagrams from a large swamp in the Kosipe Valley provide a record of swamp and dryland changes for more than 50 000 years. There have been considerable fluctuations in vegetation on the slopes and on the swamp which reflect both environmental change and anthropogenic influences. A gymnosperm-rich forest at the base is replaced by mountain forest dominated by Nothofagus about 42 000 years ago. Fire first becomes apparent across the swamp around 40 000 years ago but is not common during the time when subalpine herbs reach their best representation. Tree fern-rich grasslands form a mosaic with montane forest in a near-treeline environment. The Pleistocene–Holocene boundary is marked by a decline in Nothofagus and increase in lower montane mixed forest taxa. Charcoal increases before this time and the swamp vegetation becomes more grass-rich. Charcoal is at its maximum through the last 3000 years possibly reflecting climate variability as well as sedentary occupation and agriculture on the swamp margin. Supplementary pollen diagrams from two higher altitude sites support the evidence from the Kosipe Swamp cores. Charcoal, local catchment erosion and increases in disturbance taxa become more widespread in the last 5000 years at these sites, suggesting that local settlement at Kosipe may have lagged behind general landscape use by populations from lower altitudes.     

Charcoal and pollen analyses and vegetation reconstruction of the Alpine foreland in West Hungary

In the area of archaeological excavations that were performed prior to the construction of Main Road No. 86 in Vas County (West Hungary) in the Alpine foreland new geoarchaeological analyses have been conducted. We used anthracology and pollen analyses to reconstruct the former vegetation cover at the study site. Charcoal data provide site-related information about the local woodland composition, management and human impact, while pollen data provide information on the arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation on a regional or local scale. Adequate samples for anthracological analyses derive from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Imperial and Migration Periods and Middle-Ages archaeological objects. The core for pollen analyses originates from alluvial sediments of the Borzó Creek and covers the late Pleistocene and the Holocene until the Medieval Period. Charcoal analyses show the dominance of Quercus trees in the vicinity of the human settlements that might indicate a strong human selection, or the fragmentation of samples. Pollen analyses indicate thermophilous vegetation from the beginning of the Holocene, with increasing values of Fagus and Carpinus. Pollens of cereals indicate human activity, which is also demonstrated by the presence of pollen from Juglans and Vitis in the Iron Age sequence. Extensive forest clearance occurred in the Late Iron Age and the Imperial Period.     

Holocene palaeoclimate and glacier fluctuations within Baspa valley,Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh

Present study is an attempt to understand the tree line shift in relation to glacier fluctuations during Holocene based on the exploratory palynological studies from a 1.3 m deep sediment profile located at 3,100 meters above mean sea level (mamsl), Rukti valley, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. The study reveals that during the early to middle Holocene, tree line taxa viz. Betula and Juniperus were well characterized in the site of investigation evident by higher percentage of their pollen grains in subsurface sediments than those recorded during the late Holocene. This variation in distribution of these taxa suggests that till middle Holocene tree line was close to the study site (3,100 mamsl) i.e. at lower altitude than its present day distribution between 3,800 to 3,900 mamsl. Accordingly, the glacier snout might also be at lower elevations (∼3,500 mamsl) than its present day location at altitude (∼4,300 mamsl).     

Late Devensian environments in the Vale of Mowbray, North Yorkshire, UK: evidence from palynology

Two radiocarbon-dated Lateglacial pollen diagrams from the Vale of Mowbray (northern Vale of York) are presented from sites in the lowlands between the washlands courses of the rivers Swale and Ure in North Yorkshire, an area with little previous palynological research despite its proximity to the Devensian glacial advance limits in eastern England. The profiles, from Snape Mires and Nosterfield, include the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) and the Holocene transition, while that from Snape Mires also includes the period from the early part of the Lateglacial Interstadial. This profile differs from most published Interstadial diagrams from the Yorkshire region in having a long-delayed expansion of tree and shrub taxa. Juniperus (juniper) remains important after vegetation development takes place and the pollen record includes evidence of two cold climate oscillations before the maximum development of Betula (birch) woodland near the end of the Lateglacial Interstadial. At both profiles Artemisia (mugwort) frequencies are lower during the Loch Lomond Stadial than at many regional sites, probably due to edaphic factors in these lowland locations. The two sites provide valuable environmental data that enable comparison between the more wooded Lateglacial vegetation to the south in the Vale of York and Humberside and the more open contemporaneous vegetation to the north in the Durham and Northumberland lowlands.     

The spatial variation of alpine timberlines and their biogeographical characteristics in the northern Tianshan Mountains of China

Alpine timberline is a proper indicator of climate change and has received much attention in ecological research during the past decades. In this study, variations of alpine timberlines and their biogeographic characteristics were investigated by a combination of field surveys, climate indices, and soil nutrient analyses in the northern Tianshan Mountains (NTM) of northwest China. The timberline altitudes were probed to range from 2,530 to 2,800 m a.s.l. in the NTM, gradually descending from west to east along the V-shaped Ili valley (from Zhaosu to Xinyuan), and ascending from west to east across the northernmost range of the study area (from Bole to Balikun). The vertical widths between the upper and lower limits of the timberlines were widest in the middle NTM (Kuytun to Changji) and the Ili valley (Zhaosu to Xinyuan). Interactions between the terrain and air currents resulted in variant climates within the NTM, which contributed to significant timberline distribution differences. Although vertical width was positively correlated to soil nutrient (especially organic matter, r = 0.78), and timberline altitudes were positively related to the soil pH values, the temperature during the growing season primarily determines both altitude and vertical width. In conclusion, timberline altitudes were dominated by the combined effects of local topography, soil nutrient properties, water, and thermal conditions. Identifying the dominating influencing factors of NTM timberlines provided potential insights to better understand the effects of climate change on the alpine ecosystem over central Asia.     

Anomalous arboreal pollen assemblages in Late Devensian and Early Flandrian deposits at Creich Castle, Fife, Scotland

Pollen analysis of a radiocarbon-dated core from a shallow basin in volcanic hills in eastern Scotland revealed the existence of Late Devensian and Flandrian deposits. Much of the vegetation history of the Flandrian proved to be missing due to a hiatus in the profile. The Late Devensian pollen record included anomalous arboreal taxa of three possible origins: contamination, long-distance wind transport and reworking of interstadial material. Because of lacking information on Late Devensian climates and the location of thermophilous arboreal refugia in Europe a re-examination of supposedly contaminated British Late Devensian pollen records might well be rewarding.     

肇庆高要泥炭沉积揭示的全新世植被演变及人类活动历史

位于珠江三角洲西北边缘地区的肇庆高要钻孔岩芯长610cm, 其泥炭沉积物记录了全新世的沉积过程、植被演变和人类活动历史。根据木屑及泥炭沉积物的AMS-14C 测年, 钻孔底部年龄按沉积速率外推大约为6100cal.a B.P.。在孔深536~175cm段发现以水松(Glyptostrobus pensilis)为主的原位腐木根茎和泥炭沉积。孢粉研究表明近6000年来钻孔所在区域植被类型发生了明显变化, 经历了常绿阔叶林→水松森林沼泽→常绿阔叶林→草地沼泽→次生林及草地农田5个阶段。当地的水松沼泽群落在4900~2900cal.a B.P. 期间十分繁盛, 该阶段后期随着沼泽湿地面积的缩小呈现缓慢衰退的趋势; 在2900cal.a B.P. 左右水松林面积大幅缩小, 水松森林沼泽快速转变成浅水及旱地莎草科、禾本科为主的草地沼泽; 约1700cal.a B.P. 后研究区域残余的天然水松基本消失。炭屑分析表明, 火灾事件始于距今3500cal.a B.P., 与该地区新石器时代末期相对应, 揭示了该区域早期农业的初始时代。乔木植物的比例在2660cal.a B.P. 骤减, 禾本科、里白/芒箕、松属等先锋属种大量生长, 这个过程伴随着炭屑浓度的大幅增加, 指示人类刀耕火种活动逐渐增强。研究表明, 晚全新世三角洲进积、海岸带推移、潜水位下降和人类活动等综合因素导致了研究区域水松林的消亡, 近2600年三角洲早期农业的发展大大加剧了当地水松群落的衰退速度。     

Preliminary environmental historical results to reconstruct prehistoric human-environmental interactions in Eastern Hungary

Palaeoenvironmental research is playing an important role in recent archaeological investigations. We present preliminary results of geoarchaeological analyses conducted at a palaeochannel located between two prehistoric archaeological sites in eastern Hungary. The study area lies within the Körös River Basin in Békés County, a region of intensive human occupation beginning in the Neolithic, ca. 7550 BP, and represents only the second palynological analysis done in conjunction with archaeological investigations and adjacent to an archaeological site in the Körös region. Pollen from an environmental monolith was used to reconstruct the local vegetation composition and the human impact on arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation near the archaeological sites. Sediment analyses helped to reconstruct hydrological activity and human impact on the local palaeochannel. Results indicate that activity from the Neolithic onwards played an important role in local environmental change, including increasing sedimentation and deposition of organic matter in the local waterway, some forest clearance and a shift from primarily arboreal vegetation to more grasses on elevated surfaces. The trophic status of the local channel changed several times during the Holocene. In addition, indications that groundwater levels may have been fluctuating during the period of human occupation, when combined with the other changes in the area, provide a possible partial explanation for changing settlement patterns.     

喜马拉雅山脉中段南坡孢粉垂直分布特征及影响因素

研究现代孢粉沿海拔梯度分布、传播特征及其驱动因素, 有助于提高基于孢粉重建古植被和古气候的可靠性。喜马拉雅山是全球中纬地区落差最大的山脉之一, 其中段南坡植被垂直带谱完整, 目前尚缺乏该垂直带谱孢粉现代过程研究。本研究通过喜马拉雅山脉中段南坡不同海拔26个表土样品(海拔梯度为3551~4444m)的孢粉分析并整合前人表土孢粉数据(n=138, 海拔梯度涵盖132~5000m), 系统分析了孢粉(包括组成、百分比含量、浓度及多样性)的垂直分异规律及其与气候、土地利用之间的关系。研究结果显示孢粉组合垂直分布特征能很好地代表植被垂直分布特征, 年降水和暖季气温是影响孢粉分布的重要气候要素。孢粉丰富度沿海拔梯度无明显分异特征; 而孢粉均匀度随海拔升高而显著降低(特别是海拔3500m以上区域), 能够代表植被群落随海拔的变化特征。常见乔木植物花粉(松属、云杉属、桦木属和栎属等)存在明显的向高海拔传播现象, 且不同类型间传播能力差异较大; 而柏科花粉传播能力差, 能很好地指示局地植被。表土样品孢粉浓度随海拔升高呈现降低趋势, 且高海拔地区较低的孢粉浓度一定程度上放大了由低海拔传播而来的乔木植物花粉对孢粉组合的影响。研究结果提示我们应注意乔木植物花粉传播能力差异对地层孢粉谱解释的可能影响。

     

Paleoenvironmental changes at the northern limit of the subantarctic Nothofagus forest,lat 37°S,Argentina

Paleoenvironmental changes dating back to before 10,000 yr B.P. at the northernmost occurrences of Nothofagus forests in Argentina at about latitude 37°S permit the reconstruction of past changes in the intensity of the winter rains, related to the southern westerlies that appear to determine the forest boundary. The paleoenvironmental interpretation is based on changes in the proportions of different Nothofagus species and changes in the ratio betwen forest and steppe taxa. The relatively most diverse and dense Nothofagus forest developed only during the last 4500 yr, prior to human impact during the last 300 yr. Before the middle Holocene, climatic conditions must have been different from the modern ones, with less overall precipitation judging from the overall lower amount of tree pollen and the reduction to primarily Nothfagus pumilio. An interval dated to older than 10,000 yr B.P. is characterized by co-occurrence of Prumnopitys andina, Nothofagus pumilio, and shrub-steppe taxa. Prumnopitys andina is known today only from scattered upper montane forest sites in Chile between 36° and 43°S lat and its ecological requirements are essentially unknown. The taxa combination, however, suggests that late-glacial climate must have been drier, and probably cooler than today. This implies that the winter rains and, consequently, the seasonal shift of the westerly circulation was reduced during the late Pleistocene and did not reach modern levels before 8500 yr B.P.     

长白山针阔叶混交林花粉通量及垂直散布特征年际变化研究

长白山针阔叶混交林2008年和2009年不同高度花粉通量和花粉垂直散布特征研究表明;花粉组合以乔木植物花粉为主,百分比多大于83%,对植被指示性良好;2009年乔木植物花粉通量较2008年低,可能与2009年乔木植物花期气温低,降水量较多,花粉产量低,风速较小.不利于花粉传播和散布等因素有关;两年花粉通量垂直高度上的变...     

Vegetation response to rapid climate change in central europe during the past 140,000 yr based on evidence from the Füramoos pollen record

The response of Central European vegetation to rapid climate change during the late Quaternary period (Eemian to Holocene) is assessed by data from the new pollen record of Füramoos, southwestern Germany. This record represents the longest late Quaternary pollen record north of the Alps as currently known. Its high degree of completeness allows detailed correlations with Greenland ice cores and sea-surface temperature records from the North Atlantic. Our data show that if climate deteriorations were not long or severe enough to extirpate refugia of arboreal taxa north of the Alps such as during marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 5 (i.e., Würm Stadial A, Stadial B, and Stadial C), reforestation with the onset of warmer conditions in Central Europe occurred on a centennial scale. If arboreal taxa became completely extinct north of the Alps such as during MIS 4 (i.e., Würm Stadial D), several thousand years were necessary for the reimmigration from refugia situated in regions south of the Alps. Thus, Dansgaard-Oeschger interstades (DOIS) 24 to 20 and 15 to 11 are expressed in Central European pollen records, whereas DOIS 19 to 16 are not recorded due to migration lags.     

Integrated mineral magnetic and lithologic studies to delineate dynamic modes of depositional conditions in the Leh valley basin, Ladakh Himalaya, India

We present here lithofacies and mineral magnetic results from a ～50 m thick composite record of fluvial, lacustrine and aeolian facies within the Leh valley basin of Indus River in Ladakh Himalaya. Mineral magnetic studies decipher interplay of two contrasting sediment sources viz., the unimodal ferrimagnetic source derived from Ladakh batholithic glacial domain and mixed ferri-to antiferromagnetic source derived from Indus sedimentary sequence. The lithofacies variability expresses dynamic changes in the depositional regimes controlled by base level fluctuations that are governed by the interaction of basin fill conditions and the response to Late Quaternary climatic perturbations. A three stage evolution of the Leh valley basin is proposed after comparison to other characteristic lithofacies changes within the valley as: (I) the basin under-fill conditions marked by fluvial and fluvio-lacustrine phase till ～24m (～64 Ka OSL age) above modern base level followed by (II) predominantly varved, glacio-lacustrine, basin overfill phase till 38m (～28 Ka) gradually passing into an aeolian phase; and (III) basin incision that began at the earliest Holocene warming. Advancement and retreat of glaciers from the transverse valleys, attributed to climatic oscillations, appears to have greatly controlled the basin-fill conditions in the Leh valley. The present approach demonstrates its larger scope in recording the Late Quaternary response of individual valley basins to delineate local and regional attributes of climate change in the Himalayan and Karakoram region.     

Stability of Holocene Climate Regimes in the Yellowstone Region

A 12,500-yr pollen record from Loon Lake, Wyoming provides information on the climate history of the southwestern margin of Yellowstone National Park. The environmental reconstruction was used to evaluate hypotheses that address spatial variations in the Holocene climate of mountainous regions. Loon Lake lies within the summer-dry/winter-wet climate regime. An increase in xerophytic pollen taxa suggests drier-than-present conditions between ca. 9500 and 5500 ¹⁴ C yr B.P. This response is consistent with the hypothesis that increased summer radiation and the expansion of the east Pacific subtropical high-pressure system in the early Holocene intensified summer drought at locations within the summer-dry/winter-wet regime. This climate history contrasts with that of nearby sites in the summer-wet/winter-dry region, which were under the influence of stronger summer monsoonal circulation in the early Holocene. The Loon Lake record implies that the location of contrasting climate regimes did not change in the Yellowstone region during the Holocene. The amplitude of the regimes, however, was determined by the intensity of circulation features and these varied with temporal changes in the seasonal distribution of solar radiation.     

陕西渭南北庄村晚更新世晚期古植被的再研究

通过渭南北庄村约31,000—18,000aB.P.沉积物中花粉百分含量、浓度和沉积率分析,对该时期古植被取得一些新认识,即当时云杉、冷杉等亚高山针叶树可能并未形成较大面积的森林,而是呈岛状分布于水体周围,并与区域性蒿草草原呈镶嵌状分布,植被并不稳定,亚高山针叶树曾两度出现又消失。从20,000aB.P.无乔木花粉出现,到18,000aB.P.难以找到任何花粉,本区变为无乔木生长的荒漠草原,气候曾经过数次冷偏湿与冷干的交替后,从18,000aB.P.起变得极度干燥和寒冷。     

殷墟地区土壤剖面孢粉组合特征及环境意义*

安阳地区3个土壤剖面孢粉分析揭示了殷墟文化前后的环境背景。取自安阳市区的茶店陂剖面灰黑色古土壤层(3400cal.aB.P.之前)孢粉组合是以乔木植物花粉为主,推测当时茶店陂剖面所在的安阳市附近是含常绿树的落叶阔叶林植被;取自安阳市东南20余公里广润陂的"广1"和"广2"两剖面孢粉组合特征相近,都以中湿生草本植物花粉为主,表明广润陂地区是以中湿生草本植物为主的草地和湿地景观,显示了与安阳市区不同的植被特征。古土壤层上部出现较高含量的禾本科花粉和中华卷柏孢子,反映当时安阳市附近已有人类定居并从事农业生产活动,森林植被已遭受人类砍伐破坏。黑色古土壤面以上地层(3400cal.aB.P.以后)是殷墟建都,殷商文化空前发展时期的沉积,孢粉组合中乔木花粉显著减少,表明殷商先人为了满足都城建设和生活需要,对安阳市周边的森林进行了大规模地砍伐和破坏。此后,乔木植物花粉含量进一步减少,中华卷柏孢子含量不断增加,可能反映了人类活动对安阳市及周边森林植被不断加剧的破坏过程。     

TRANSIT,an experimental archaeological program in periglacial environment: Problem,methodology, first results

The aim of the experimental archaeological program TRANSIT is to improve the scientific study of Paleolithic sites. This program is based on studies and experiments carried out at high altitudes in the French Alps. One of its goals is to assess the effects of periglacial processes on spatial distributions within archaeological assemblages and on artifacts and bones. Research on sedimentary environments elucidates stratogenesis in periglacial contexts. In particular, sedimentary models that are useful for interpreting fossil deposits were identified. The first results obtained from experimental artifact test plots emphasize the importance and speed of changes that occur in such a climatic and morphodynamic context. Mean lateral displacements from 1.66 to 4.75 cm yr⁻¹ were measured. Moreover, analysis of osseous and dental pieces showed that they experienced important damage. Works on pollen assemblages have shown that most of the pollen deposited on the ground surface is quickly removed and that, owing to the very uneven preservation of pollen taxa, an important distortion of the initial spectrum occurs. A model of spatial arrangement of artifacts linked to the action of solifluction processes is also proposed. Finally, application of these results to some Paleolithic sites in the Massif Central and southwest France are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Natural and anthropogenic rapid changes in the Kara-Bogaz Gol over the last two centuries reconstructed from palynological analyses and a comparison to instrumental records

Palynological analyses (pollen and dinocysts) of a sediment core taken in the Kara-Bogaz Gol have been used to reconstruct rapid and catastrophic environmental changes over the last two centuries (chronology based on ²¹⁰Pb). A natural cyclicity (65 years) of water level changes in the Caspian Sea (CS) and in the Kara-Bogaz Gol (KBG) and anthropogenic factors (building of a dam separating the CS and the KBG waters) combine to induce rapid changes in water levels of the KBG, in the salinity of its waters and in vegetation cover of its surroundings. The impact of low water levels on the dinocysts is marked by a lower diversity and the survival of two species that are typical of the KBG, the Caspian Sea species present in the KBG having disappeared. During periods of higher water levels (AD 1871–1878), the lake is surrounded by a steppe-like vegetation dominated by Artemisia; whereas during periods of low water levels (AD 1878–1913 and AD 1955–1998), the emerged shore are colonised by Chenopodiaceae. The period of AD 1913–1955 corresponding to decreasing water levels has an extremely low pollen concentration and a maximum of reworking of arboreal taxa. During the last low-level period, humans responded by abandoning the shores of the bay. What happened to the KBG can be used as an example of what may happen in the future for the Aral Sea.A problem of reworking of Tertiary dinocysts into modern deposits has been detected owing to the knowledge of the modern dinoflagellate assemblages recently made available through a water survey. A comparison to modern surface pollen samples from Central Asia (Anzali, Caspian Sea south and central basins, Aral Sea, Lake Balkhash, Lake Issyk-Kul and the Chinese Tien-Shan range) allows us to establish the potential reworking of at least five arboreal pollen taxa possibly by run-off and dust storms.     

Dynamic early Holocene vegetation development on the Faroe Islands inferred from high-resolution plant macrofossil and pollen data

Vegetation dynamics during the earliest part of the Holocene (11,250-10,250 cal yr BP) have been reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence on Sandoy, the Faroe Islands, using detailed plant macrofossil and pollen evidence. The plant macrofossils suggest the initial vegetation was sparse herb and shrub tundra, with Salix herbacea and open-ground species, followed by the development of a denser and more species-rich arctic heathland after 11,150 cal yr BP. Despite high pollen values for Betula nana, macrofossils are rare. The bulk of the macrofossils recorded are S. herbacea and Empetrum leaves with numerous herb taxa and an abundance of Racomitrium moss. Conditions start to change around 10,800 cal yr BP, with increased catchment erosion and sediment delivery to the lake from ca. 10,600 cal yr BP, and a transition to alternating Cyperaceae and Poaceae communities between ca. 10,450 and 10,250 cal yr BP. This vegetation change, which has been recorded throughout the Faroes, has previously been interpreted as a retrogressive shift from woody shrubs to a herbaceous community. The detailed plant macrofossil data show the shift is the replacement of an Empetrum arctic heathland by grassland and moist sedge communities. These taxa dominate the modern landscape.