Modern pollen assemblages of the forest communities and their relationships with vegetation and climate in northern China

53 pollen traps and surface samples were collected in order to detect the characteristics of pollen assemblages and their relationships with vegetation and climate in 16 forest communities located in 10 mountains in northern China. The results show that 72% of the pollen taxa (80 taxa) are the same between the traps and the surface samples. The dominant taxa in the plant communities are consistent with the main pollen taxa in the pollen assemblages at the same sites. In Pinus plant communities, both Pinus pollen influx and concentration are higher, indicating the high pollen productivity and good pollen preservation ability of Pinus. In Picea and Abies plant communities, Picea and Abies have lower pollen influxes but higher concentrations, suggesting their low pollen productivities but better pollen preservation abilities. In Betula and Quercus plant communities, Betula and Quercus have higher pollen influxes but lower concentrations, revealing their high pollen productivities but poor pollen preservation abilities. The study of relationships between pollen and vegetation with discriminant analysis shows that pollen assemblages from both trap and surface samples can reflect the characteristics of different communities and distinguish different ecological areas, but surface samples can reflect the dominant components of communities much better than the traps. The study on correlations between pollen assemblages and climate with DCCA reveals that significant correlations exist between pollen assemblages and mean temperature of the coldest month (r = 0.84 for trap samples, r = 0.72 for surface samples), and then annual mean precipitation (r = 0.73 for trap samples, r = 0.71 for surface samples).

Modern pollen assemblages and their relationships with vegetation and climate on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China

The reconstruction of paleovegetation and paleoclimate requires an understanding of the relationships between surface pollen assemblages and modern vegetation and climate.Here,we analyzed the characteristics of surface pollen assemblages across different vegetation zones in the Tianshan Mountains.Using surface pollen analysis and vegetation sample surveys at 75 sites on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains,we determined the correlation between the percentage of dominant pollen types and the corresponding vegetation cover.Redundancy analysis was used to investigate the relationships between surface pollen assemblages and environmental factors.Our results show that the Tianshan Mountains contain several distinct ecological regions,which can be divided into five main vegetation zones from low to high altitudes:mountain desert zone(Hutubi County(HTB):500-1300 m;Qitai County(QT):1000-1600 m),mountain steppe zone(HTB:1400-1600 m;QT:1650-1800 m),mountain forest zone(HTB:1650-2525 m;QT:1850-2450 m),subalpine meadow zone(HTB:2550-2600 m;QT:2500-2600 m),and alpine mat vegetation zone(HTB:2625-2700 m;QT:2625-2750 m).The surface pollen assemblages of different vegetation zones can accurately reflect the characteristics of the mountainous vegetation patterns on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains when excluding the widespread occurrence of Chenopodiaceae,Artemisia,and Picea pollen.Both average annual precipitation(P_(ann))and annual average temperature(T_(ann))affect the distribution of surface pollen assemblages.Moreover,P_(ann) is the primary environmental factor affecting surface pollen assemblages in this region.A significant correlation exists between the pollen percentage and vegetation cover of Picea,Chenopodiaceae,Artemisia,and Asteraceae.Moreover,Picea,Chenopodiaceae,and Artemisia pollen are over-represented compared with their corresponding vegetation cover.The Asteraceae pollen percentage roughly reflects the distribution of a species within the local vegetation.These results have important implications for enhancing our understanding of the relationship between surface pollen assemblages and modern vegetation and climate.

Relationship between pollen assemblages and organic geochemical proxies and the response to climate change in the Zhuye Lake sediments

This paper examines the relationship among organic geochemical proxies （TOC, C/N ratio and ~13C） and pollen assemblages in Zhuye Lake sediments since the Late Glacial. Results show that the reaction extent of organic geochemical proxies and pollen as- semblages to environment changes are different. Organic geochemical proxies are sensitive to overall environmental change, while pollen assemblages indicate detailed information of environmental change. For the entire sedimentary section （except the sand layer fi＇om the bottom of the section）, when values of TOC, C/N ratio and total pollen concentrations are high, 813C values are low, and vice versa. The different responses of organic geochemical proxies and pollen records in Zhuye Lake are mainly due to their different sensitivity and diverse influencing factors in different environmental conditions.

Modern pollen assemblages from surface lake sediments in northwestern China and their importance as indicators of vegetation and climate

The modern pollen assemblages of surface lake sediments and topsoils in northwestern China were studied to understand the relationship of modem pollen data with contemporary vegetation and climate, and the differences between the pollen assem- blages of surface lake sediments and topsoils. The results show that Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia are dominant elements in the pollen assemblages of northwestern China. Additionally, Ephedra, Cyperaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae, Picea, Pinus, and Betula are also important pollen taxa. Both pollen assemblages and principal component analysis indicate that pollen data from surface lake sediments and topsoils can be used to differentiate the main vegetation types of this region （desert, steppe, mead- ow and forest）. However, differences exist between modern pollen assemblages of the two types of sediments due to the dif- ferent relevant source areas of pollen and degrees of pollen preservation. For example, the larger relevant source area of sur- face lake sediment results in a higher abundance of Betula in pollen assemblage from surface lake sediment, whereas the ten- dency to disintegrate thin-walled pollen types in topsoil leads to a higher proportion of resistant pollen, such as Asteraceae. Linear regression analysis indicates that the Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae （A/C） ratio in pollen assemblages of surface lake sedi- ments can be used to indicate humidity changes in the study area. However, the A/C ratio in topsoils should be used carefully. Our results suggest that pollen data from surface lake sediments would be better references for interpreting the fossil pollen assemblages of lake cores or lacustrine profiles.

Characteristics of the modern pollen assemblages from different vegetation zones in Northeast China:Implications for pollen-based climate reconstruction

Northeast China is an essential area for studying the strength of East Asian Summer Monsoon(EASM), due to its northernmost location in EASM domain. However, the lack of sufficient modern pollen data in this region hinders an effective interpretation of fossil pollen records and quantitative vegetation/climate reconstructions. Here, 44 surface pollen samples from forest, steppe, and meadow were used to explore pollen-vegetation-climate relationships. Cluster analysis, species indicator analysis, and principal components analysis, were used to identify the discontinuous and continuous trends in pollen dataset. In addition, correlation analysis and boosted regression trees were used to investigate primary explanatory variables, while coinertia analysis and redundancy analysis to examine pollen-vegetation and pollen-climate correlations respectively. Our results show that:(1) vegetation can be well represented by surface pollen assemblages, i.e. forest is characterized by a high proportion of tree pollen(>70%) dominated by Betula(>40%) along with Alnus, Larix, and Pinus, whereas Steppe by herb pollen(>80%),dominated by Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae;(2) significant correlations exist between pollen assemblages and mean annual temperature and then mean annual precipitation;(3) pollen ratios of Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae and arboreal/non-arboreal can respectively be used as good indicators of humidity and temperature in Northeast China.

Modern pollen assemblages of the surface lake sediments from the steppe and desert zones of the Tibetan Plateau

Modern pollen analysis is the basis for revealing the palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate changes from fossil pollen spectra.Many studies pertaining to the modern pollen assemblages on the Tibetan Plateau have been conducted,but little attention has been paid to pollen assemblages of surface lake sediments.In this study,modern pollen assemblages of surface lake sediments from 34 lakes in the steppe and desert zones of the Tibetan Plateau are investigated and results indicate that the two vegetation zones are dominated by non-arboreal pollen taxa and show distinctive characteristics.The pollen assemblages from the desert zone contain substantially high relative abundance of Chenopodiaceae while those from the steppe zone are dominated by Cyperaceae.Pollen ratios show great potential in terms of separating different vegetation zones and to indicate climate changes on the Tibetan Plateau.The Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae ratio and arboreal/non-arboreal pollen ratio could be used as proxies for winter precipitation.Artemisia/Cyperaceae ratio and the sum of relative abundance of xerophilous elements increase with enhanced warming and aridity.When considering the vegetation coverage around the lakes,hierarchical cluster analysis suggests that the studied sites can be divided into four clusters:meadow,steppe,desert-steppe,and desert.The pollen-based vegetation classification models are established using a random forest algorithm.The random forest model can effectively separate the modern pollen assemblages of the steppe zone from those of the desert zone on the Tibetan Plateau.The model for distinguishing the four vegetation clusters shows a weaker but still valid classifying power.It is expected that the random forest model can provide a powerful tool to reconstruct the palaeovegetation succession on the Tibetan Plateau when more pollen data from surface lake sediments are included.

Pollen assemblages of cultivated vegetation in central and southern Hebei Province

The study on 82 surface soil pollen samples from different types of cultivated vegetations in central and southern parts of Hebei Province indicates that the pollen assem- blages from farmlands in the plain have not only their own plant types, but also the pollen components from the nearby mountains. Arboreal pollen percentages and concentrations （dominated by Pinus） from farmlands in mountain area are higher than those in the plain, and it reduces gradually with the increasing distance away from the mountains. Taking Pinus pollen in Taihang Mountains as an example, its content is 20%-30%, 10%-20%, 20%-30% and below 16% respectively for the samples from the area of 0-50, 50-100, 100-150 and more than 150 km away from the east Taihang Mountains. The increase of Pinus pollen proportion in the central plain is probably related to the fohn effect. The spatial variation of AP from mountains to the plain in Hebei Province may be similar to the forests clearance by human activities in the early historical period. Shrubby pollen proportion is small both in mountains and in the plain, but their major components are different. Elaeagnaceae, Corylus, Ostryopsis and Oleaceae are common in mountain areas, while there are relatively high contents of Rosaceae and Vitaceae in the plain. Herbs content in the plain （about 60%） is 15% higher than that in mountains, among which the Cereals and Cruciferae pollen percentages are 5% and 2% higher respectively. Artemisia pollen percentage in the plain is lower than that in mountains. Since the human activities are weaker in mountains compared with that in the plain, the general trend is that Chenopodiaceae pollen increases from mountains to the plain gradually, reflecting the raising intensity of human activities. The fern spores of Selaginella sinensis in mountains are higher than that in the plain, but it still reaches to about 7% in the plain. The fern spores of Selaginella sinensis are not prone to be spread by wind, indicating that those in the surface soil of the plain may be carried by river water from mountains during the deposition of the plain.

Modern pollen-vegetation relationships along altitudinal vegetation belts in the Leigong Mountain of southwestern China

Understanding the distribution,dispersal,and correlation of modern pollen with vegetation in mountainous regions is essential for establishing accurate modern analogs for fossil pollen records.This study,conducted in Leigong Mountain on the YunnanGuizhou Plateau of southwestern China,involved the collection of 35 surface soil samples from diverse vegetation communities along an elevational gradient ranging from 1210 to 1875 meters.The results reveal a close correspondence between modern pollen assemblages and vegetation zones.Principal Component Analysis(PCA)results indicate that pollen assemblages can effectively distinguish between subtropical montane evergreen broad-leaved forest(SEBF)and subtropical montane deciduous broadleaved forest(SDBF).However,both SEBF and SDBF show significant overlap with subtropical montane evergreen-deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest(SEMF).Detrended Correspondence Analysis(DCA)results clearly distinguish the three vegetation zones,and the first axis of DCA shows a significant positive correlation with elevation(p<0.01,R=0.48).Discriminant Analysis(DA)successfully assigns 94.4%of the modern pollen samples to their respective vegetation zones.Pollen taxa such as Impatiens,Astertype,and Rosaceae exhibit significant indicative capabilities for the SEBF zone,effectively distinguishing this vegetation zone from others.Pinus and Alnus display overrepresentation in the Leigong Mountain region,while Quercus(D,deciduous-type)and Poaceae exhibit high representation in the SEBF zone.In the SEBF zone,both pollen diversity and richness are the lowest.Our study reveals the complex relationship between the richness and diversity of pollen and vegetation.The diversity and richness of tree and shrub pollen are found to be lower than those of the corresponding plants.The pollen-vegetation relationship elucidated in this study serves as a critical reference for reconstructing ancient environments from fossil pollen retrieved in this region.

Altitudinal changes of surface pollen and vegetation on the north slope of the Middle Tianshan Mountains,China

To provide information on vegetation patterns and altitudinal distributions of pollen assemblage in surface soil layers,their complicated relationships in a dryland mountain-basin system in northwestern China and a realistic basis for paleovegetational reconstruction,we investigated 86 vegetation quadrats and analyzed 80 soil samples from the surface soil layers along an altitudinal transect on the north slope of the Middle Tianshan Mountains from alpine cushion vegetation at 3,510 m near glacier to desert vegetation at 460 m in the Gurbantunggut Desert.According to surface pollen assemblages and the results of the detrended correspondence analysis,the transect can be divided into six major altitudinal pollen zones as alpine cushion vegetation,alpine and subalpine meadows,montane Picea forest,forest-steppe ecotone,Artemisia desert and typical desert,which basically reflect the characteristics of the mountainous vegetation patterns on the north slope of the Middle Tianshan Mountains.However,Picea pollen also exists outside the spruce forest,Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia pollen appeared above the elevation of 1,300 m,indicating that most of them might be introduced from lower elevations by upslope winds.Airborne pollen researches from three regions at different elevations further suggest that a high-frequency northwest anabatic wind has a remarkable influence on the transportation and dispersion of surface pollen in the area.

Relationship between Surface Pollen and Modern Vegetation in Southwestern China

Based on the pollen data obtained from thirty-five surface soil samples and investigated vegetation data from seven plant quadrats,the quantitative relationship between surface soil pollen and modern vegetation are studied in the longitudinal range-gorge region (LRGR) in Southwestern China.R-values (referring to pollen assemblages) are calculated with pollen percentage and plant abundance.The coefficients of similarity between pollen and vegetation are analyzed.The results show that the pollen assemblages on surface soil of all vegetation zones can basically represent the native vegetation,but the pollen assemblages are not fully according with the vegetation.This is due to the influencing factors including pollen preservation ability,pollen production,amount of exotic pollen and pollen identification.The pollen representation in surface soil is different in families and genera.The pollen of woody plants such as Pinus,Tsuga,Alnus,Fagus and Castanopsis are over-representative,but those of Quercus,Carpinus Myrica,Elaeocarpaceae,Ericaceae,Theaceae and Llex are underrepresentative;the pollen of herbaceous plants such as Artemisia and Rubiaceae are over-representative,while those of others including Gramineae and Araliaceae are under-representative.The R-values of the same taxon pollen in different vegetation zones are different,depending on their distances from the pollen sources.The coefficients of the similarity between plant communities and pollen assemblages are mostly over 70%,which indicate again that the surface soil pollen and spores assemblages can represent the vegetation.It is concluded that there is a good corresponding relationship between surface pollen assemblages and native vegetation in LRGR,and it is of great significance for reconstructing the past vegetation and paleoclimate using quantitative fossil pollen data in this region.

Vegetation and environmental changes in western Chinese Loess Plateau since 13.0 ka BP

Pollen records from the Chinese Loess Plateau revealed a detailed history of vegetation variation and associated climate changes during the last 13.0 ka BP. Before 12.1 ka BP, steppe or desert-steppe vegetation dominated landscape then was replaced by a coniferous forest under a generally wet climate （12.1-11.0 ka BP）. The vegetation was deteriorated into steppe landscape and further into a desert-steppe landscape between 11.0 and 9.8 ka BP. After a brief episode of a cool and wet climate （9.8-9.6 ka BP）, a relatively mild and dry condition prevailed during the early Holocene （9.6-7.6 ka BP）. The most favourable climate of warm and humid period occurred during mid-Holocene （7.6-4.0 ka BP） marked by forest-steppe landscape and vegetation alternatively changed between steppe and desert-steppe from -4.0 to -1.0 ka BP.

Palaeoclimate of the Paleogene Dongying Formation in Bozhong Sag of Bohai Bay Basin

It was showed that the sedimentary environment of lacustrine basins is more susceptible to basin size than that of marine basins,leading to frequent changes in sedimentary environment and large differences in sediment supply and types.Based on the comprehensive analysis of clay minerals,spore pollen,major elements and trace elements,the sedimentary environment of Dongying Formation and its evolution in Bozhong Sag were studied.The results showed that during the sedimentary period of Dongying Formation,the study area was in a subtropical warm and humid climate as a whole.In addition,the vertical distribution of spore pollen and algae was divided into four zones and each one represents different sedimentary environments.Combination zone I is characterized by a large number of spore pollen and algae,including juglanspollenites verus,ulmipollemites minor,abietineaepollenites and pinuspollenites,taxodiaceaepollenites hiatus,leiosphaeridia and granodiscus,and it indicates a relatively hot and dry climatic;Combination zone II mainly contains juglanspollenites verus,ulmipollemites minor,abietineaepollenites and pinuspollenites,pediastrum and leiosphaeridia.Compared with I,the number of spore pollen and algae decreases,but the number of pediastrum increases a lot,which represents warm and humid climate.The combination zone III is dominated by abietineaepollenites and pinuspollenites and chaetosphaeridium,and the species and quantity decrease significantly.It indicates a relatively hot and humid climate at that time.Combination zone IV contains a small amount of spore pollen and algae,and it means the climate was warm and humid at that period.The frequent changes of sedimentary environment in lacustrine basins are influenceded by regional tectonic environment and basin scale.Using S/A and E-T parameters,the paleoclimate in the study area was delineated and 10 sedimentary environment interfaces were identified,which further illustrated the characteristics of frequent fluctuations of sedimentary environment in lacustrine basins.