LATE QUATERNARY
; LATE PLEISTOCENE
; EAST-ASIA
; POLLEN
; RECONSTRUCTIONS
WOS学科分类:
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS研究方向:
Geology
英文摘要:
Reconstructing the spatial patterns of regional climate and vegetation during specific intervals in the past is important for assessing the possible responses of the ecological environment under future global warming scenarios. In this study, we reconstructed the history of regional vegetation and climate based on six radiocarbon-dated pollen records from the North China Plain. Combining the results with existing pollen records, we reconstruct the paleoenvironment of the North China Plain during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO). The results show that changes in the regional vegetation since the LGM were primarily determined by climatic conditions, the geomorphic landscape and by human activity. During the LGM, the climate was cold and dry; mixed broadleaf-coniferous forest and deciduous-evergreen broadleaf forest developed in the southern mountains, and cold-resistant coniferous forest and mixed broadleaf-coniferous forest were present in the northern mountains. The forest cover was relatively low, with mesophytic and hygrophilous meadow occupying the southern part of the plain, and temperate grassland and desert steppe were distributed in the north; Chenopodiaceae-dominated halophytes grew on the exposed continental shelf of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. During the HCO, the climate was warm and wet; deciduous broadleaf forest and deciduous-evergreen broadleaf forest, with subtropical species, developed in the southern mountains, and deciduous broadleaf forest with thermophilic species was present in northern mountains. Although the degree of forest cover was greater than during the LGM, the vegetation of the plain area was still dominated by herbs, while halophytes had migrated inland due to sea level rise. In addition, the expansion of human activities, especially the intensification of cultivation, had a significant influence on the natural vegetation. Our results provide data and a scientific basis for paleoclimate modelling and regional carbon cycle assessment in north China, with implications for predicting changes in the ecological environment under future global warming scenarios.
1.Hebei Normal Univ, Inst Nihewan Archaeol, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei, Peoples R China 2.Hebei Normal Univ, Coll Resources & Environm, Hebei Key Lab Environm Change & Ecol Construct, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei, Peoples R China 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geol & Geophys, Key Lab Cenozo Geol & Environm, Beijing 100029, Peoples R China 4.CAS Ctr Excellence Life & Paleoenvironm, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China 5.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Coll Earth & Planetary Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China
Recommended Citation:
Li, Manyue,Zhang, Shengrui,Xu, Qinghai,et al. Spatial patterns of vegetation and climate in the North China Plain during the Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene climatic optimum[J]. SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES,2019-01-01,62(8):1279-1287