Late Glacial and Holocene vegetation history in the southern part of Transylvania (Romania): pollen analysis of two sequences from Avrig

We present here the results of pollen analysis of two sequences of about 8.06 m and 11.90 m length, originating from two adjacent peat bogs in the southern part of Transylvania province, Romania (155 and 122 pollen spectra). The vegetation record, which is supported by 17 ¹⁴C dates, begins in the Late Glacial interstadial when forest recolonisation began with the development of Pinus, without a pioneer Betula phase. Picea began to expand from regional refuges. After a well‐defined Younger Dryas, the Holocene opens with the expansion of Betula, Ulmus and Picea, followed, at about 10 400 cal. yr BP, by Fraxinus, Quercus and Tilia. The Corylus optimum is correlated with the Atlantic chronozone (after 8600 cal. yr BP). The local establishment of Carpinus occurred at about 6500 cal. yr BP, with a maximum at about 5700 cal. yr BP. Fagus pollen is regularly recorded after 8200 cal. yr BP. This taxon became dominant at about 3700 cal. yr BP. The first indications of human activities appear at around 7200 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Holocene vegetational history,human impact and pollen representativity variations in northern Cumbria,England

The comparison of pollen diagrams and their inferred vegetational histories are an important component of palaeoecological research. Radiocarbon-dated pollen profiles from three cores taken from two adjacent mires located in northern Cumbria, Bolton Fell Moss and Walton Moss, have been used to reconstruct the Late Holocene vegetation history between the Bronze Age and the present day. The profiles have been interpreted in the light of available archaeological and historical records and, although the pollen records are broadly similar, there are some notable differences between them, particularly during Iron Age and medieval times. Dissimilarities between the diagrams are explored numerically, and the statistical and palynological results are discussed in relation to pollen representativity. The results suggest that it may be advantageous to construct more than one pollen diagram from a mire, or even adjacent mires, as extra-local pollen may be a more important part of the pollen rain than previously envisaged. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary vegetation and fire history in the northernmost Nothofagus forest region: Mallín Vaca Lauquen,Neuquén Province,Argentina

The last 16 000 cal. a of vegetation, fire and limnological history are described from the steppe‐forest ecotone in the northernmost Nothofagus forest region east of the Andes (Mallín Vaca Lauquen, Neuquén Province, Argentina, latitude 36° 51.336′ S, longitude 71° 02.538′ W). Between 16 000 and 14 800 cal. a BP, scrub steppe with substantial open ground expanded in formerly glaciated valleys, whereas Nothofagus–Prumnopitys andina woodland covered mountain slopes. The site was a relatively deep and unproductive small lake at this time. After 14 800 cal. a BP, both steppe and woodland vegetation became denser, indicating increased moisture and temperatures, although not to present levels. The lake was still relatively deep and dystrophic, but became more alkaline by 10 000 cal. a BP. Between 8900 and 5500 cal. a BP, conditions were markedly drier than before; a Cyperaceae marsh developed and disturbance taxa increased. After 5500 cal. a BP, moisture increased but varied greatly, as evidenced by fluctuating water levels and high fire activity from 5500 to 4400 cal. a BP and from 2300 to 1000 cal. a BP. Human activity, in terms of forest clearance and livestock grazing, is documented in the uppermost levels. The evidence of high environmental variability in the middle and late Holocene is consistent with the onset or strengthening of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, but differences in the timing of fire activity among sites on the west and east sides of the Andes suggest that fuel conditions were important in determining the local occurrence of fire. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene evolution of the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon area (Argentina) indicated by pollen analysis

Palynologycal information was integrated with the aim to study vegetation history and environmental changes in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon area (in the southeast of Buenos Aires province, Argentina) related to sea‐level fluctuations during the Holocene. Prior to 5000 yr BP a mosaic of psammophytic and halophytic communities developed on extensive sandy flats. Between 4000 and 2500 yr BP, during a period of sea‐level stabilisation, similar halophytic communities developed in the south and in the middle part of the present lagoon. Between 4500 and 3500 yr BP hydrophytic and halophytic communities developed in Laguna Hinojales. Beginning 2500 yr BP, when sea level was nearing its present position, modern plant communities became established. Pollen records suggest that littoral evolution of the area was much more complex than previous models have described, introducing new evidence of the geomorphological evolution of Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon. The estuarine environment was delimited by a system of barrier islands instead of a linear prograding barrier, as has been proposed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Abrupt vegetation changes during the last glacial to Holocene transition in mid‐latitude South America

A pollen record from the Huelmo site (ca. 41°30′S) shows that vegetation and climate changed at millennial time‐scales during the last glacial to Holocene transition in the mid‐latitude region of western South America. The record shows that a Nothofagus parkland dominated the landscape between 16 400 and 14 600 ¹⁴C yr BP, along with Magellanic Moorland and cupressaceous conifers. Evergreen North Patagonian rainforest taxa expanded in pulses at 14 200 and 13 000 ¹⁴C yr BP, following a prominent rise in Nothofagus at 14 600 ¹⁴C yr BP. Highly diverse, closed canopy rainforests dominated the lowlands between 13 000 and 12 500 ¹⁴C yr BP, followed by the expansion of cold‐resistant podocarps and Nothofagus at ca. 12 500 and 11 500 ¹⁴C yr BP. Local disturbance by fire favoured the expansion of shade‐intolerant opportunistic taxa between 10 900 and 10 200 ¹⁴C yr BP. Subsequent warming pulses at 10 200 and 9100 ¹⁴C yr BP led to the expansion of thermophilous, summer‐drought resistant Valdivian rainforest trees until 6900 ¹⁴C yr BP. Our results suggest that cold and hyperhumid conditions characterised the final phase of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), between 16 400 and 14 600 ¹⁴C yr BP. The last ice age Termination commenced with a prominent warming event that led to a rapid expansion of North Patagonian trees and the abrupt withdrawal of Andean ice lobes from their LGM positon at ca. 147 000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Hyperhumid conditions prevailed between 16 400 and 13 000 ¹⁴C yr BP, what we term the ‘extreme glacial mode’ of westerly activity. This condition was brought about by a northward shift and/or intensification of the southern westerlies. The warmest/driest conditions of the last glacial–interglacial transition occurred between 9100 and 6900 ¹⁴C yr BP. During this period, the westerlies shifted to an ‘extreme interglacial mode’ of activity, via a poleward migration of stormtracks. Our results indicate that a highly variable climatic interval lasting 5500 ¹⁴C years separate the opposite extremes of vegetation and climate during the last glacial‐interglacial cycle, i.e. the end of the LGM and the onset of the early Holocene warm and dry period. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

青藏高原全新世植被的时空分布

根据青藏高原 30个点湖泊的孢粉记录综合研究显示 :在进入全新世之前 (12kaBP以前 )除最东南部外 ,高原从东到西均发育为荒漠草原植被 .全新世早期 (12～ 9.0kaBP)高原东南部 (10 4°～ 98°E)为落叶阔叶林 /针阔叶混交林 ,季风已进入本区 ,气温比前期上升 2～ 4°C ,降水波动于 35 0～ 5 5 0mm之间 .中部 (98°～ 92°E)为草甸或灌丛草甸 ,再向西至 80°E左右为草原植被 ,气候寒冷干燥 ,平均气温比现在低 4.5～ 5 .5℃ .最西部 10 .5～ 9.9kaBP出现相当于欧洲新仙女木气候倒转事件 .全新世中期 (9.0～ 3.2kaBP)高原由东向西古植被依次发育为针阔混交林或硬叶阔叶林 (10 4°～ 98°E)→针阔混交林 (98°～ 80°E)→灌丛草甸→草原 (92°～ 80°E) .中期气候比早晚期温暖湿润 ,东南部 1月份气温高于现在 3℃ ,年降水量比现今多 2 5 0mm以上 .中西部气候温暖湿润 ,出现高湖面期 ,年均温高出现在 5℃以上 ;全新世晚期 (3.2kaBP以后 )由东向西古植被依次为硬叶阔叶林→针阔混交林→草甸→草原→荒漠 ,气温降水呈非线性下降 ,越向西下降幅度越大 .东南部 1月份气温比中期下降 4～ 4.5℃ ,年降水少 35 0mm ,东北部最冷月气温比中期下降 8℃左右 .中西部严重干旱 ,湖面降低 ,湖水变咸     

浙江田螺山遗址区孢粉学记录的中全新世植被、环境和人类活动初步研究

浙江宁绍平原是研究河姆渡文化与自然环境发展关系的热点区域。选取田螺山遗址附近的TLS1402钻孔上部16.16 m的沉积物进行AMS ¹⁴C测定、孢粉和微炭屑分析,旨在研究宁绍平原中全新世植被历史、环境变化和人类活动的变化规律。结果表明：1）约8460~7700 a B.P.,植被类型以落叶阔叶林为主,含有常绿成分和针叶成分,揭示了气候温凉偏干的特点;7700~6300 a B.P.期间,乔灌木整体有所下降,波动显著,植被类型为亚热带常绿落叶阔叶混交林,气候暖湿,在7600~7500 a B.P.、7300~7200 a B.P.和6700~6300 a B.P.,粒径＞38 μm的禾本科明显增加,可能显示了人类的3个农业发展阶段。另外,微炭屑增加对应栽培作物花粉的增加,暗示植被变化可能与人类活动有关;6300 a B.P.至今,木本花粉含量总体大幅度下降,草本花粉含量升高,气候稍温凉偏干,植被类型仍以亚热带常绿落叶阔叶混交林为主,但植被变化可能受人类干扰。2）淡水藻类和沟鞭藻类含量表明,TLS1402钻孔所在地8460~7700 a B.P.可能为浅海湾环境,但也受到淡水注入影响。7700~7200 a B.P.为过渡时期;7200 a B.P.后环境发生较大变化,海平面上升速率大幅度降低,陆地逐渐生长,7000~6900 a B.P.河姆渡文化逐步开始发育,水稻农业发展,但之后受到海水影响,在7200~6700 a B.P.、6600~6500 a B.P.都出现农业发展低谷,分析认为和海水入侵有关。

     

Vegetation history of the penultimate glacial period (Marine isotope stage 6) at Ioannina,north‐west Greece

The vegetational history of the penultimate glacial period, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 (c. 185–135 ka), has remained relatively unexplored. Here we present a new record from the Ioannina basin, north‐west Greece, which constitutes the highest‐resolution terrestrial pollen record for this interval produced to date. It shows that the vegetation history of MIS 6 in this region can be divided into two parts: an early period (185–155 ka) with pronounced oscillations in tree population extent, and a later period (155–135 ka) with much smaller tree populations and subdued oscillations. This pattern is analogous to the MIS 3/MIS 2 division during the last glacial in the same sequence, although the early part of MIS 6 had larger Pinus populations and fewer temperate trees relative to the equivalent interval in MIS 3. This implies cooler and wetter conditions, which is somewhat counterintuitive given the high summer insolation during MIS 6e, but is in line with other palaeoclimatic evidence from the Mediterranean. Comparison with North Atlantic records suggests that despite the absence of pronounced iceberg discharges during MIS 6, North Atlantic millennial‐scale variability had a significant downstream impact on tree populations in north‐west Greece. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late‐glacial and early Holocene changes in vegetation and lake‐level at Hauterive/Rouges‐Terres,Lake Neuchâtel (Switzerland)

Palynological and sedimentological analyses of a sedimentary sequence sampled at Hauterive/Rouges‐Terres, Lake Neuchâtel (Switzerland) provide documentation of changes in vegetation and lake‐level during the Bølling, Younger Dryas and Preboreal pollen zones, and have allowed a comparison with sequences covering the same period from other sites located in the western part of the Swiss Plateau. The Juniperus–Hippophaë zone (regional pollen assemblage zone (RPAZ) CHb‐2, first part of the Bølling, ca. 14 650–14 450 cal. yr BP) was characterised by a generally low lake‐level. A weak rise occurred during this zone. The Juniperus–Hippophaë to Betula zone transition coincided with a lake‐level lowering, interrupted by a short‐lived but marked phase of higher lake‐level recorded at the neighbouring site of Hauterive‐Champréveyres, but not present at Hauterive/Rouges‐Terres owing to an erosion surface. Shortly after the beginning of the Betula zone (RPAZ CHb‐3, second part of the Bølling, ca 14 450–14 000 cal. yr BP), a marked rise in lake‐level occurred. It was composed of two successive periods of higher level, coinciding with high values of Betula, separated by a short episode of relatively lower lake‐level associated with raised values in Artemisia and other non‐arboreal pollen. The last part of RPAZ CHb‐3 saw a fall in lake‐level. The lower lake‐levels during RPAZ CHb‐2 to early RPAZ CHb‐3 can be correlated with the abrupt warming at the beginning of the Greenland Interstadial (GI) 1e thermal maximum. The successive episodes of higher lake‐level punctuating the GI 1e might be linked to the so‐called Intra‐Bølling Cold Oscillations identified from several palaeoclimatic records in the North Atlantic area, and also documented in oxygen‐isotope data sets from Swiss Plateau lakes. The Hauterive/Rouges‐Terres lake‐level record provides evidence for marked climatic drying through the second part of the Younger Dryas event (GS1), during the GS1–Preboreal (RPAZ CHb‐4b–4c) transition (except for a rise at ca. 11 450–11 400 cal. yr BP), and at the RPAZ CHb‐4c–5 (Preboreal–Boreal) transition, following the Preboreal Oscillation (after 11 150 cal. yr BP). The Preboreal Oscillation coincided with higher lake‐levels, its end being followed by a rapid expansion of Corylus, Quercus, Ulmus and Tilia. The Hauterive/Rouges‐Terres lake‐level record suggests that radiocarbon plateau at 12 600, 10 000 and 9500 ¹⁴C yr BP corresponded to periods of generally lower lake‐level. This suggests that an increase in solar activity may have contributed to both climatic dryness and a decrease in atmospheric radiocarbon content. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Holocene vegetation history of the Khibiny Mountains: implications for the post‐glacial expansion of spruce and alder on the Kola Peninsula,northwestern Russia

Pollen and peat botanical investigations of the Lutnermayok peat bog, Kola Peninsula, northwestern Russia, were carried out, and 21 surface pollen samples were studied. Combined with previous studies our data form the basis for the vegetation history over the last 7000 yr of the Khibiny Mountains. Pinus sylvestris was the dominant species between 7000 and 5000 yr BP and Picea obovata penetrated to the Khibiny Mountains ca. 5500/5300 yr BP. Since 4500 yr BP, Picea replaced Pinus in major parts of the area and dominated the forest cover. Picea immigrated to the Kola Peninsula after 7000 yr BP. There were two paths of spruce migration: from the southeast and the southwest. Grey alder, Alnusincana, immigrated to the Kola Peninsula from the southwest and northwest about ca. 8000 yr BP. Grey alder has been restricted to its modern range since 4000 yr BP. The range of vertical movement of the treeline in Khibiny Mountains during the last 700 yr was 240–260 m, which corresponds to an amplitude of summer temperature change of 2°C. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late‐glacial and Holocene record of vegetation and climate from Cynthia Bay,Lake St Clair,Tasmania

A Late‐glacial–Holocene pollen record was obtained from a 3.96 m sediment core taken from Lake St Clair, central Tasmania. Modern vegetation and pollen analyses formed the basis for interpretation of the vegetation and climate history. Following deglaciation and before ca. 18450 yr BP Podocarpus lawrencei coniferous heath and Astelia–Plantago wet alpine herbfield became established at Lake St Clair. A distinct Poaceae‐Plantago peak occurs between 18450 and 11210 yr BP and a mean annual temperature depression from ca. 6.2°C to 3°C below present is inferred for this period. The marked reduction in Podocarpus and strong increase of Poaceae suggests reduced precipitation levels during the period of widespread deglaciation (ca. 18.5–11 kyr BP). The local Late Pleistocene–Holocene non‐forest to forest biostratigraphical boundary is dated at 11.2 kyr BP. It is characterised by expansion of the subalpine taxa Athrotaxis/Diselma with Nothofagus gunnii, and by the establishment of Nothofagus cunninghamii with Eucalyptus spp. A ‘Phyllocladus bulge’ prior to the expansion of Nothofagus cunninghamii, reported at other Tasmanian sites, is not present at Lake St Clair. Nothofagus cunninghamii cool temperate rainforest peaked at 7800 yr BP, probably under wetter climatic conditions than present. The maximum development of rainforest in the early–middle Holocene may indicate that the temperature was slightly warmer than present, but the evidence is not definitive. The expansion of Eucalyptus spp. and Poaceae after 6000 yr BP may be partly a disclimax effect as a result of Aboriginal burning, but appears also to reflect reduced precipitation. The changes in vegetation and inferred climate can be explained by major changes in synoptic patterns of southern Australia and the adjacent southwest Pacific. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The REVEALS model,a new tool to estimate past regional plant abundance from pollen data in large lakes: validation in southern Sweden

The REVEALS model was developed to reconstruct quantitatively regional vegetation abundance (in a 10⁴–10⁵ km² area) from pollen assemblages in large lakes (≥100–500 ha). This model corrects for biases in pollen percentages caused by inter‐taxonomic differences in pollen productivity and dispersal. This paper presents the first case study to validate REVEALS, using empirical data from southern Sweden. Percentage cover of modern regional vegetation in Skåne and Småland, two contrasting vegetation regions, was predicted with REVEALS for 26 key taxa, using pollen assemblages from surface sediments in 10 large lakes, and compared to the actual vegetation within 10⁴ km² compiled from satellite data, forestry inventories, crop statistics, aerial photographs, and vegetation inventories. REVEALS works well in predicting the percentage cover of large vegetation units such as total trees (wooded land), total herbs (open land), total conifers and total broad‐leaved trees, and it provides reasonable estimates for individual taxa, including Pinus, Picea, Betula, Corylus, Alnus, Tilia, Salix spp., Juniperus, Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Cerealia and Secale. The results show great potential for REVEALS applications, including (1) quantitative reconstructions of past regional land cover important for palaeoclimatology and nature conservation, and (2) local‐scale reconstruction of vegetation (<1 km² up to ～ 5 km² area) relevant for palaeoecology and archaeology. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.