Pollen-based biome reconstruction at Middle Holocene (6 ka BP) and last glacial maximum (18 ka BP) in China

• Main Authors: Sun, XJ, Chen, XD, Song, CQ, Luo, YL, Yang, DA, Yu, G, Kong, ZC, Liu, PM, Liu, GX, Liu, JL (刘金陵), Yang, XD, Xu, QH, Wu, YS, Li, WY, Wang, PF, Zheng, Z, Ke, MH, Tang, LY, Xia, YM, Yan, S, Huang, CX, Han, HY, Liu, KB
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: SCIENCE PRESS 2000
• Subjects: Pollen; Biome; Middle Holocene; The Last Glacial Maximum; China; Terrestrial Biosphere; Simulation; Climate; Level; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Plant Sciences; taiga; Tundra
• Online Access: http://ir.nigpas.ac.cn/handle/332004/727

Biome (vegetation) reconstruction of the Middle Holocene ((6 000 +/- 500) a BP) and the Last Glacial Maximum ((18 000 +/- 2 000) a BP) in China was accomplished based on pollen data from "China Quternary Pollen data Base" and biomesation procedure. There are 116 pollen data used for 6 ka BP biome reconstruction. The 6 ka BP Biome shows the following differences as compared with the present vegetation: 1. Forests of eastern China expanded westwards to the steppe area, 2. Temperate deciduous forests shifted about 4 degrees latitudinally northwards and replaced by cool temperate mixed forest and taiga at present. 3. Tundra in Tibet Plateau was greatly shrunken. 4. Seasonal rainforest was replaced by rainforest in southern China. All these changes must be attributed to the increasing temperature and humidity during Middle Holocene, except some areas of southwestern and tropical areas of southern China where climate might be even cooler, but more humid than nowadays. Biome of 18 ka BP based on 39 pollen data displayed: 1. Steppe and desert expanded southwards and eastwards reaching the northern margin of the present evergreen broad-leaved forest. 2. Evergreen broad-leaved forest retracted southwards to the present tropical zone and the tropical forest banished completly. The vegetation changes must be resulted from cold and dry climate during the Last Glacial Maximum.