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1.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2007,26(11-12):1455-1475
This paper uses a palynological sequence to examine the Holocene (8390–160 cal yr BP) environmental history of the Sierra de Baza (Granada, southeastern Spain) with the goal of establishing the mechanisms exerting control over vegetation change. During the period ca 8390–6320 cal yr BP, Pinus dominated the pollen spectra, indicating a forested landscape over the high-elevation areas of the Sierra. From ca 6320–3800 cal yr BP, an expansion of deciduous oaks and other broad-leaf trees took place. After an optimum around 5800–5600 cal yr BP, mesophytes decreased in the 3800–2560 cal yr BP interval while a fire-prone scrub became established. The main loss of forest accompanied the spread of thorny matorral after ca 2560 cal yr BP. Overall, this mountain region has shown itself to be sensitive to a range of influences, among which a continental climate that has become increasingly arid over the last 5000 years, the scarcity of soils suitable for cultivation, a geology that includes sources of copper and other metals and, especially, the incidence of grazing as well as the repeated appearance of fires during the last 4000 years, are highlighted. The history of the vegetation of the Sierra de Baza seems clearly influenced by changes in local economy. Here we discuss how ecological transitions have interacted with cultural changes, with emphasis on the locally highly populated Chalcolithic (5700–4400 cal yr BP) and Argaric (4400–3550 cal yr BP) periods, as well as the Iberian period (3200–2220 cal yr BP). The sierra was abandoned during the Iberian Period which was, paradoxically, when the highest human impact on mountain vegetation is noticeable.  相似文献   

2.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2005,24(12-13):1463-1478
The aragonite mineralogy and geochemistry of the mollusc faunas preserved at Navan and Bearbrook, Ontario, serve as proxies of original seawater chemistry. The composite section spanning 12,980–10,980 cal yr BP includes the Younger Dryas (YD) paleoclimatic oscillation. Oxygen isotopes demonstrate the onset of cooling with the YD event, in addition to the lowering of marine values by the influx of isotopically light glacial meltwater from Lake Agassiz. Impact of cooling and dilution is reduced or eliminated with the start of the Holocene, when water temperatures and salinities for Champlain Sea (CS) seawater were 8–16 °C and 27–34 ppt, respectively. Overall, oxygen isotope values deceased to −3.5% during the YD mainly due to freshening by glacial meltwater. Carbon isotopes confirm the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration at the YD–Holocene transition. Marine strontium isotope values for the Allerød–YD–earliest Holocene range from 0.709151 (16,210 cal yr BP) to 0.709145 (12,980 cal yr BP) and 0.709142 (10,950 cal yr BP). The oceanographic changes recorded for the CS are in agreement with the evolutionary phases of Lake Agassiz and deglaciation dynamics of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The volume and direction of meltwater discharge from Lake Agassiz alternated between the Gulf of Mexico during the Allerød, via the Great Lakes through the CS to the North Atlantic during the YD, and back to the Gulf of Mexico during the early Holocene, but with diminished impact.  相似文献   

3.
Pollen analysis from a peat-bog sequence located at 50° 24′ S, 72° 42′ W in the Subantarctic forest – Patagonian steppe ecotone gives information about vegetation and climate changes in Southwestern Patagonia since the glacier retreat. After 11 000 cal yr BP a change from grass steppe to open Nothofagus forest indicates that climatic conditions became rapidly warmer. Development of a closed Nothofagus forest between 5800 and 3200 cal yr BP is interpreted as precipitation increase. During the late Holocene colder climate conditions prevail in response to Neoglacial events. After ca 3000 cal yr BP Nothofagus forest became opener, and after 800 cal yr BP grass steppe expanded. Changes in the forest-steppe ecotone composition as well as the ecotone longitudinal shifts suggest changes in temperature and precipitation. Present-day mean annual precipitation between 300 and 400 mm is associated with grass steppe, and 500–600 mm with a greater forest representation. During the last century, low presence of forest in the area may be related to European settlement and repeated flooding caused by periodic advances of Perito Moreno glacier.  相似文献   

4.
Excavations at Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, Nevada recovered rodent remains from stratified deposits spanning the past ca. 12,500 14C yr BP (14,800 cal yr BP). Specimens from horizons dating to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene include species adapted to montane and moist and cool habitats, including yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) and bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea). Shortly after 9000 14C BP (10,200 cal yr BP) these mammals became locally extinct, or nearly so, taxonomic diversity declined, and the region became dominated by desert woodrats (Neotoma lepida) and other species well-adapted to xeric, low-elevation settings. The timing and nature of changes in the Bonneville Estates rodent fauna are similar to records reported from nearby Homestead and Camels Back caves and provide corroborative data on terminal Pleistocene–early Holocene environments and mammalian responses to middle Holocene desertification. Moreover, the presence of northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) at Bonneville Estates adds to a sparse regional record for that species and, similar to Homestead Cave, it appears that the ca. 9500 14C yr BP (10,800 cal yr BP) replacement of the northern pocket gopher by Botta's pocket gopher in the Great Salt Lake Desert vicinity was also in response to climate change.  相似文献   

5.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2007,26(5-6):793-807
The environmental history of a talus-derived rockglacier located in northern Norway has been reconstructed through the Last Glacial–Interglacial transition based on two cores retrieved from an adjacent lake. The methods used to quantify sedimentary properties include rock magnetism, grain size analyses, loss-on-ignition (LOI) and bulk density, which when combined has enabled an unmixing of the various sediment components and their corresponding sources. Rockglaciers signify mean annual air temperatures (MAAT) of −4 °C or colder, but little is known about their dynamical response to changing thermal regimes. We document here for the first time that a permafrost regime did exist in northern Norway during the lateglacial period, and that it required a lowering equivalent of at least 7 °C compared to present-day MAAT. The lake sediments suggest that the rockglacier existed prior to the local deglaciation of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (>14 800 cal yr BP), and continued its expansion until the end of the Younger Dryas whereupon it became fossil. The cool climate of the lateglacial was intersected by brief warming spells that caused a systematic release of sedimentladen meltwater from the rockglacier. During the Holocene the minerogenic influx to the lake was driven by spring snowmelting, which are related to the magnitude of winter precipitation. Three phases are recognised: (1) 9800–6500 cal yr BP when wet winters prevailed, (2) 6500–4000 cal yr BP with dry winters, and (3) the last 4000 cal yr BP with a return to wetter winters.  相似文献   

6.
The Kolkheti lowlands of western Georgia have a unique vegetation and a rich cultural history. Palynological and macrofossil analysis accompanied by AMS 14C-dates of the deposits of the Ispani 2 mire near Kobuleti allow the reconstruction of regional vegetation, environmental history and local peatland development within the context of Black Sea level and cultural changes. Comparison of two adjacent peatland cores confirms spatial differences in wetland development. Prior to 5400 cal yr BP, the Ispani basin was a floodplain of an active river system where overbank deposits with fluvially transported Castanea pollen were deposited. Subsequently, a lake or lagoon developed in which reeds expanded. These were succeeded by herb-rich open alder carrs. After 1900 cal yr BP, Carpinus and Fagus expanded on the dry grounds, where formerly Quercus was more abundant. Also Castanea declined. Local reedbeds, that burned regularly, succeeded the alder carr. After 1000 cal yr BP, a percolation bog developed resulting in the formation of 4 m of loose, porous, and largely undecomposed Sphagnum austinii peat with Molinia roots. The upper 50 cm of the analysed section show extensive human impact on the landscape during the 20th century.  相似文献   

7.
Located on a mountain pass in the west-central Pyrenees, the Col d'Ech peat bog provides a Holocene fire and vegetation record based upon nine 14C (AMS) dates. We aim to compare climate-driven versus human-driven fire regimes in terms of frequency, fire episodes distribution, and impact on vegetation. Our results show the mid-Holocene (8500–5500 cal yr BP) to be characterized by high fire frequency linked with drier and warmer conditions. However, fire occurrences appear to have been rather stochastic as underlined by a scattered chronological distribution. Wetter and colder conditions at the mid-to-late Holocene transition (4000–3000 cal yr BP) led to a decrease in fire frequency, probably driven by both climate and a subsequent reduction in human land use. On the contrary, from 3000 cal yr BP, fire frequency seems to be driven by agro-pastoral activities with a very regular distribution of events. During this period fire was used as a prominent agent of landscape management.  相似文献   

8.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2007,26(19-21):2661-2673
Extensive areas in the southern part of the Duero Tertiary Basin (Central Spain) are covered by aeolian sands. Presently, the aeolian system is relict but in its origin and development it can be described as a “wet aeolian system”. Climatic and environmental changes during the Holocene are typified by alternating humid and arid periods. These are recorded in the sedimentary record as either organic-rich sandy palaeosols or clean aeolian sand, respectively. Palaeosol dating (12 radiocarbon dated samples) and stratigraphical and sedimentological analysis of several dunefields in quarries and boreholes allow the distinction of four periods of palaeosol development since the Allerød.Aeolian sediments commonly rest on fluvial deposits, which were themselves the major source area for aeolian sands. These fluvial deposits have an age of about 14,000 cal yr BP. The first phase of aeolian activity postdates these fluvial sediments and has an upper age of about 12,000–11,700 cal yr BP, probably corresponding to the last cold oscillation of the Lateglacial (Younger Dryas). The second phase ranges from about 11,500 to 9500 cal yr BP, during which period the majority of dunes in the Tierra de Pinares area formed. This is also a major phase of aeolian activity in other areas of the Iberian Peninsula. A third and probably discontinuous phase of aeolian activity took place between 6800 and about 3000 cal yr BP. The age for this phase is supported by the presence of Visigothic burial sites covered by aeolian sands. The presence of charred material and degraded slipfaces clearly indicate stabilisation by vegetation and the final degradation of the aeolian system at the end of the fourth aeolian phase (990–540 cal yr BP). Minor aeolian activity has also occurred subsequently in this area, since aeolian sand movement was even reported in the 20th century.The aeolian phases can be tentatively correlated with aeolian phases in Europe. Aeolian activity tends to occur regionally during specific time-intervals, especially in dunefields with little human disturbance. This argues for a broad climatic forcing in Holocene aeolian accumulation, such has been previously suggested for the little ice age. The precise timing of these phases, however, is not strictly coincident, probably due to the delayed responses of aeolian environments to climatic and subsequent vegetation change.  相似文献   

9.
Here we report results from a high-resolution palynological record and stratigraphic/geochronologic data related to a Neoglacial event in Torres del Paine National Park, southern Chile (51°S, 71°W), to investigate climatic variations in Southwest Patagonia during the last 5000 years. The record reveals a stepwise expansion of Nothofagus-dominated woodlands and forests with discrete pulses at 4400, 2900, 1300, and 570 cal yr BP. Superimposed upon this trend we identify a relative opening of the woodlands between 4100–2900 and 2300–1300 cal yr BP. Closed-canopy forests dominated the landscape between 570–60 cal yr BP, followed by a rapid decline at the end of the 19th century that coincided with intense fire activity and the appearance of Rumex cf. acetocella, an exotic species introduced by European settlers. We interpret these changes as variations in the intensity and/or position of the southern margin of the westerly winds, which culminated with a net eastward shift of the forest–steppe ecotone during the Little Ice Age. We propose that millennial-scale changes in either the latitudinal position and/or the overall strength of the southern westerlies may be responsible for vegetation changes, fire occurrence, and the dynamic behavior of Patagonian glaciers during the last 5000 years. Because the modern maximum in near-surface wind velocities and precipitation is located between 48° and 50°S, we suggest that the core of the southern westerlies may have achieved this modern position ~570 years ago.  相似文献   

10.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2007,26(3-4):500-516
We use lake sediment records from an epishelf lake on Alexander Island to provide a detailed picture of the Holocene history of George VI Ice Shelf (GVI-IS). Core analyses included; micropaleontology (diatoms/foraminifera), stable isotope (δ18O, δ13C), geochemistry (total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N ratios) and grain-size analyses. These data provide robust evidence for one period of past ice shelf absence during the early Holocene. The timing of this period has been constrained by 10 AMS 14C dates performed on mono-specific foraminifera samples. These dates suggest that GVI-IS was absent between c 9600 cal yr BP and c 7730 cal yr BP. This early Holocene collapse immediately followed a period of maximum Holocene warmth that is recorded in some Antarctic ice cores and coincides with an influx of warmer ocean water onto the western Antarctic Peninsula (AP) shelf at c 9000 cal yr BP. The absence of a currently extant ice shelf during this time interval suggests that early Holocene ocean-atmosphere variability in the AP was greater than that measured in recent decades.  相似文献   

11.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2003,22(5-7):541-554
The ecotone between the boreo-nemoral (hemiboreal) and the southern boreal vegetation zones constitutes the northern distributional limit of a number of thermophilous tree species in northern Europe and is, to a large extent, controlled by climatic conditions. We present a quantitative annual mean temperature reconstruction from a high-resolution pollen stratigraphy in southern boreal Finland, using a pollen-climate calibration model with a cross-validated prediction error of 0.9°C. Our model reconstructs low but steadily rising annual mean temperature from 10,700 to 9000 cal yr BP. At 8000–4500 cal yr BP reconstructed annual mean temperature reaches a period of highest values (Holocene thermal maximum) with particularly high temperatures (2.0–1.5°C higher than at present) at 8000–5800 cal yr BP. From 4500 cal yr BP to the present-day, reconstructed annual mean temperature gradually decreases by ca 1.5°C. Comparison of present results with palaeotemperature records from the Greenland ice cores, notably with the NorthGRIP δ18O record, shows marked similarities, suggesting parallel large-scale Holocene temperature trends between the North Atlantic and North European regions. The verification of the occurrence, timing, and nature of the short-term temperature fluctuations during the Holocene in the southern boreal zone in Europe requires replicate, high-resolution climate reconstructions from the region.  相似文献   

12.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2007,26(11-12):1650-1669
We reconstruct the vegetational history of the southern side of the Alps at 18,000–10,000 cal yr BP using previous and new AMS-dated stratigraphic records of pollen, stomata, and macrofossils. To address potential effects of climatic change on vegetation, we compare our results with independent paleoclimatic series (e.g. isotope and chironomid records from the Alps and the Alpine forelands). The period before 16,000 cal yr BP is documented only at the lowland sites. The previous studies used for comparison with our new Palughetto record, however, shows that Alpine deglaciation must have started before 18,000–17,500 cal yr BP south of the Alps and that deglaciated sites were colonized by open woods and shrublands (Juniperus, tree Betula, Larix, Pinus cembra) at ca 17,500 cal yr BP. The vegetational history of a new site (Palughetto, 1040 m a.s.l.) is consistent with that of previous investigations in the study region. Our results show three conspicuous vegetational shifts delimited by statistically significant pollen zones, at ca 14,800–14,400, 13,300–12,800 and 11,600–11,200 cal yr BP. At sites situated above 1000 m a.s.l. (e.g. Palughetto, Pian di Gembro) forests expanded in alpine environments at ca 14,500 cal yr BP (onset of Bølling period, GI-1 in the Greenland ice record). At the same time, rather closed treeline communities of the lowlands were replaced by dense stands of Pinus sylvestris and Betula. These early forests and shrublands consisted of Larix, P. cembra, Juniperus, P. sylvestris, Pinus mugo, and Betula, and had become established at ca 16,000 cal yr BP, probably in response to a temperature increase. If combined with other records from the Southern Alps, our data suggest that treeline ascended by ca 800–1000 m in a few centuries at most, probably as a consequence of climatic warming at the beginning of the Bølling period. At 13,100–12,800 cal yr BP the onset of a long-lasting decline of P. sylvestris was accompanied by the expansion of Quercus and other thermophilous tree taxa below ca 600 m a.s.l. This vegetational change was probably induced by a shift to warmer climatic conditions before the onset of the Younger Dryas, as indicated by independent paleoclimatic records. Only a few centuries later, at ca 12,700–12,500 cal yr BP, an expansion of herbaceous taxa occurred in the lowlands as well as at higher altitudes, documenting an opening of forested habitats. This change coincided with the beginning of the Younger Dryas cooling (GS-1), which according to the paleoclimatic series (e.g. oxygen isotope series), started at 12,700–12,600 cal yr BP and lasted for about 1000 years. Environments south of the Alps responded markedly to climatic warming at the onset of the Holocene (11,600–11,500 cal yr BP). Thermophilous trees that had declined during the Younger Dryas re-expanded very rapidly in the lowlands and reached the high altitude sites below ca 1500 m a.s.l. within a few centuries at most. Our study implies that the synchronous vegetational changes observed over wide areas were probably a consequence of abrupt climatic shifts at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and during the Lateglacial. We emphasize that important vegetational changes such as the expansion of forests occurred millennia before the onset of similar processes in northwestern and central Europe.  相似文献   

13.
This research aims at uncovering the stand-scale Holocene fire history of balsam fir forest stands from two bioclimatic zones of the boreal forest and assessing the existence of a sub-continental shift in past fire activity that could have triggered a change in the Holocene zonal pattern. In eastern Canada, the extant closed-crown boreal forest corresponds to two ecological regions separated along 49°N, the northern black spruce zone and the southern balsam fir zone. We sampled balsam fir stands from the southern fir zone (n = 7) and among the northernmost patches of fir forest located far beyond the fir zone boundary, into the spruce zone (n = 6). Macrofossil analysis of charcoal in mineral soils was used to reconstruct both the stand-scale and regional Holocene fire histories. Data were interpreted in the context of published palaeoecological evidence. Stands of the balsam fir zone were submitted to recurrent fire disturbances between c. 9000 and 5000 cal. yr B.P. Local fire histories suggested that four sites within the fir zone escaped fire during the Holocene. Such fire protected sites allowed the continuous maintenance of the balsam fir forest in the southern boreal landscape. Stands of the spruce zone have been affected by recurrent fires from 5000 cal. yr B.P. to present. Local fire histories indicated that no site escaped fire in this zone. Published palaeoecological data suggested that balsam fir migrated to its current northern limit sometime between 7300 and 6200 cal. yr B.P. A change of the fire regime 5000 years ago caused the regional decline of an historical northern balsam fir forest and its replacement by black spruce forest. The consequence was a sub-continental reshuffling of the fir and spruce zones within the closed-crown boreal forest. The macrofossil analysis of charcoal in mineral soils was instrumental to the reconstruction of stand-scale Holocene fire history at sites where no other in situ fire proxies were available.  相似文献   

14.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2007,26(13-14):1736-1758
This paper presents a high-resolution lake-level record for the Holocene at Lake Accesa (Tuscany, north-central Italy) based on a range of sedimentological techniques validated in previous studies, with a chronology derived from 43 radiocarbon dates and four tephra layers. It gives evidence of centennial-scale fluctuations with major highstands at ca 11 500, 11 100, 10 200, 9400, 8200, 7300, 6200, 5700–5200, 4850, 4200, 3400, 2600, 1200 and 400 cal BP. Except for the Early Holocene until ca 10 500 cal BP, this pattern of hydrological changes appears to be in agreement with the regional pattern established for west-central Europe. Correlations with the Preboreal oscillation and the 8.2 ka event as well as with the atmospheric 14C residual series suggest that lake-level fluctuations developed at Accesa in response to (1) final steps of the deglaciation in the North Atlantic area and (2) variations in solar activity. For the period after 4500 cal BP, correlations with other palaeohydrological records from central Italy indicate that lake-level changes reconstructed at Accesa were mainly driven by climatic variations while anthropic activities and local geomorphological factors only played a secondary role. The Accesa lake-level record also highlights millennial-scale variations with a maximal lowstand at ca 9200–7700 cal BP contemporaneous with Sapropel event 1 in the Mediterranean. It was followed by generally higher lake-level conditions. This appears to be the opposite of that observed in Sicily (southern Italy) where a lake-level maximum developed at ca 9000–8200 cal BP and was followed by a general trend towards aridification. These opposite patterns were interpreted as contrasting hydrological responses to orbitally induced changes in summer insolation. This interpretation has to be tested by further lake-level studies in the central Mediterranean region. Finally, correlations between major lowstands and periods of maximal representation of Quercus ilex point to convergences between climate oscillations and Holocene vegetation history in the Accesa region. However, the maximal representation of Abies during the first half of the Holocene, including a time window where lake level reached a minimal level, suggests a more subtle impact of seasonality processes.  相似文献   

15.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2005,24(1-2):141-154
Late Quaternary changes in North American vegetation and geography reflect the influence of changing climate induced by the retreating ice sheets, orbitally-driven seasonal insolation patterns, increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, and relatively rapid internal variations. At regional scales, these climate changes resulted in ecosystem variability that impacted human access to resources. We use paleoenvironmental and archaeological records from 14,000 to 10,000 cal yr BP for New England and Maritime Canada (NE/M) to propose the impact of rapid climate change on human resource-procurement and technology. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions for the Younger Dryas chronozone (YDC; 12,900–11,600 cal  yr BP) show ecologic responses to colder-than-earlier conditions. At roughly the same time (13,000–11,000 cal yr BP), we surmise that fluted points were used to hunt large mammals, including caribou, which inhabited regions with sub-arctic-like vegetation. Environmental changes, associated with rapid regional warming at the end of the YDC, coincided with the abandonment of fluting technology. As conditions warmed, vegetation changes led to shifts in animal populations, which may be reflected in the development of other point styles by Paleoindians and subsequent human groups.  相似文献   

16.
Germania Havn Sø is located at the outermost coast of northeastern Greenland. According to radiocarbon dating, the lake basin was deglaciated in the early Holocene, around 11,000 cal yr BP. At that time the lake was a marine bay, but the lake was isolated soon after deglaciation at ~ 10,600 cal yr BP. The marine fauna was species-poor, indicating harsh conditions with a high sedimentation rate and lowered salinity due to glacial meltwater supply. The pioneer vegetation around the lake was dominated by mosses and herbs. Deposition of relatively coarse sediments during the early Holocene indicates erosion of the newly deglaciated terrain. Remains of the first woody plant (Salix herbacea) appear at 7600 cal yr BP and remains of other woody plants (Salix arctica, Dryas octopetala, Cassiope tetragona and Empetrum nigrum) appear around one millennium later. Declining concentrations of D. octopetala and the caddis fly Apatania zonella in the late Holocene probably imply falling summer temperatures. Only moderate changes in the granulometric and geochemical record during the Holocene indicate relatively stable environmental settings in the lake, which can probably be explained by its location at the outer coast and the buffering effect of the neighboring ocean.  相似文献   

17.
We present chironomid and pollen records from the Huelmo site (~41°30′S), NW Patagonia, to examine in detail the timing and structure of climate changes during the Last Glacial Termination in the southern mid-latitudes. The chironomid record has the highest temporal and taxonomic resolution for this critical interval, and constitutes the first account of midge faunas at the culmination of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) for the region. The chironomid record suggests cold and wet conditions during the LGM, followed by deglacial warming between 17.6 and 16.8 cal kyr BP. Relatively warm conditions prevailed between ~15–14 cal kyr BP, followed by a reversal in trend with cooling pulses at ~14 and 13.5 cal kyr BP, and warming at the beginning of the Holocene. Cool-temperate conditions prevailed during the Huelmo Mascardi Cold Reversal (HMCR) which, according to chironomid data, exhibits a wet phase (13.5–12.8 cal kyr BP) followed by a conspicuous drier phase (12.8–11.5 cal kyr BP). The chironomid and pollen records from the Huelmo site indicate step-wise deglacial warming beginning at 17.6 cal kyr BP, in agreement with other paleoclimate records from NW Patagonia and isotopic signals from Antarctic ice cores. Peak warmth during the Last Glacial Termination was achieved by ~14.5 cal kyr BP, followed by a cooling trend that commenced during the Antarctic Cold Reversal, which later intensified and persisted during the HMCR (13.5–11.5 cal kyr BP). We observe a shift toward drier conditions at ~12.8 cal kyr BP superimposed upon the HMCR, coeval with intense fire activity and vegetation disturbance during Younger Dryas time.  相似文献   

18.
This study presents the results of the palynological and diatom analyses of the sediment core recovered in Hoton-Nur Lake (48°37′18″N, 88°20′45″E, 2083 m) in 2004. Quantitative reconstruction of the Holocene vegetation and climate dynamics in the semiarid Mongolian Altai suggests that boreal woodland replaced the primarily open landscape of northwestern Mongolia at about 10 kyr BP (1 kyr = 1000 cal yr) in response to a noticeable increase in precipitation from 200–250 mm/yr to 450–550 mm/yr. A decline of the forest vegetation and a return to a predominance of open vegetation types occurred after 5 kyr BP when precipitation sums decreased to 250–300 mm/yr. Prior to 11.5 kyr BP diatom concentrations are relatively low and the lake is dominated by planktonic Cyclotella and small Fragilariaceae, suggesting the existence of a relatively deep and oligotrophic/mesotrophic lake. The great abundance of Staurosirella pinnata from the beginning of the record until 10.7 kyr BP might imply intensified erosion processes in the catchment and this is fully consistent with the presence of scarce and dry vegetation and the generally arid climate during this period. From about 10.7 kyr BP, more planktonic diatom taxa appeared and increased in abundance, indicating that the lake became more productive as diatom concentration increased. This change correlates well with the development of boreal woodland in the catchment. Decrease in precipitation and changes in the vegetation towards steppe are reflected by the rapid increase in Aulacoseira distans from about 5 kyr BP. The Holocene pollen and diatom records do not indicate soil and vegetation cover disturbances by the anthropogenic activities, implying that the main transformations of the regional vegetation occurred as a result of the natural climate change. Our reconstruction is in agreement with the paleomonsoon records from China, demonstrating an abrupt strengthening of the summer monsoon at 12 kyr BP and an associated increase in precipitation and in lake levels between 11 and 8 kyr BP, followed by the stepwise attenuation of the monsoon circulation and climate aridization towards the modern level. The records from the neighboring areas of Kazakhstan and Russia, situated west and north of Hoton-Nur, demonstrate spatially and temporally different Holocene vegetation and climate histories, indicating that the Altai Mountains as a climate boundary are of pivotal importance for the Holocene environmental and, possibly, habitation history of Central Asia.  相似文献   

19.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2007,26(17-18):2229-2246
A sediment core recovered from Garba Guracha, a glacial lake at 3950 m altitude in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, at the boundary of the Ericaceous and Afroalpine vegetation belts, provides a 16,700-year pollen record of vegetation response to climatic change. The earliest vegetation recorded was sparse and composed mainly of grasses, Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia, indicating an arid climate. At 13,400 cal BP, Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae pollen declined sharply and Cyperaceae increased, suggesting a change to moister conditions. The Younger Dryas interval is represented by a small increase in Artemisia and reduced Cyperaceae, indicating aridity. Just after the start of the Holocene (11,200 cal BP), the upper altitudinal limit of the Ericaceous belt rose, and woody Ericaceous vegetation extended across the Sanetti plateau, in response to increased moisture and temperature. The marked change from clastic to organic lake sedimentation at this time reflects the increase in woody vegetation cover in the lake catchment, accompanied by soil stabilisation, and increased leaf litter and soil humus content. From about 6000 cal BP, and especially after 4500 cal BP, mid-altitude dry Afromontane Juniper–Podocarpus forests developed on the northern slopes of the mountains in response to reduced rainfall in a shortened wet season. Erica shrub and forest decreased in area and altitude, and the Afroalpine ecosystem expanded on the plateau. Podocarpus declined from about 2000 cal BP, as Juniperus increased to its present dominance at 2500–3300 m altitude. Human impact on the high-altitude Afroalpine and Ericaceous vegetation has been relatively minor, confirming that the endemic biodiversity of the Ethiopian mountains is a legacy of natural Holocene vegetation change, following repeated expansion and contraction of the upland ecosystems during the Quaternary.  相似文献   

20.
In order to understand human response to Holocene ashfall events, tephra layers found in archaeological sites along the upper Limay River basin, Northern Patagonia, Argentina were bracketed with radiocarbon dates and correlated with tephra from a lacustrine sediment core and from outcrops and the archaeological evidence was analyzed.A dark tephra associated with seismic activity was identified in the El Trébol rockshelter filling interstices between fallen blocks together with remains of human activity and bones of extinct fauna, marking a seismo-volcanic event occurring between 11 758 and 12 866 cal yr BP. This same seismic event affected the Cuyín Manzano site, where the roof collapse made the site uninhabitable for a time. A white tephra, present in Epullán Grande, Epullán Chica and Traful I caves is correlated with Nahuel Huapi tephra (NHT), equivalent to Laya's Río Blanco and Río Pereyra members, (Río Pireco Formation). NHT is considered to have been derived from the same eruptive event, with dates ranging between ca. 1950–2500 cal yr BP. A dark tephra from Ortega's cave and several tephra from Puerto Tranquilo I rockshelter ranging between 521 and 2069 cal yr BP show how the mobile hunters–gatherers of Northern Patagonia were able to cope with the changing circumstances.  相似文献   

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