Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:29:01.029Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Vegetation responses to the last glacial and early Holocene environmental changes in the northern Leizhou Peninsula, south China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jibin Xue
Affiliation:
School of Geographical Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Wei Zhong
Affiliation:
School of Geographical Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Lichun Xie
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Tourism, Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, Guangzhou 510320,China
Ingmar Unkel
Affiliation:
Institute for Ecosystem Research, Kiel University, Olshausenstr. 75, Kiel D-24118 Germany

Abstract

A well-dated palynological record spanning the interval ~ 40,500–7060 cal yr BP, retrieved from a peatland on the Leizhou Peninsula in south China, clearly shows regional vegetation and climate changes during the last glacial period. Pollen data showed that the study region was mainly covered by subtropical evergreen trees during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), indicating a subtropical climate with relatively high temperature and precipitation. During MIS 2, subtropical evergreen-deciduous forest with large areas of grassland occurred, implying cooler and drier conditions. Some tropical forest elements increased during the early Holocene, indicating a warm and wet trend. Several millennial-scale oscillations of the pollen records appeared to correlate with the cold anomalies in the North Atlantic region. Our records agree well with many records from other regions, but they are a bit different than that inferred from the neighboring Huguang Maar Lake. Furthermore, our results suggest that the vegetation surrounding Xialu peatland was strongly influenced by the migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and variability in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). Changes of atmospheric CO2 concentration (pCO2) levels may have also affected the long-term vegetation changes in the study region.

Type
Articles
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahn, J. Brook, E.J. Atmospheric CO2 and climate change on millennial time scales during the last glacial period Science 322 2008 8385 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
An, Z.S. Kukla, G. Porter, S.C. Ziao, J. Magnetic susceptibility evidence of monsoon variation on the Loess Plateau of Central China during the last 130,000 years Quat. Res. 36 1991 2936 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackford, J. Palaeoclimatic records from peat bogs Trends Ecol. Evol. 15 2000 193198 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bond, G. Broecker, W.S. Johnson, S. McManus, J. Labeyrie, L. Jouzel, J. Bonani, G. Correlations between climate records from North Atlantic sediments and Greenland ice Nature 365 1993 143147 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronk, R.C. Deposition models for chronological records Quat. Sci. Rev. 27 2008 4260 Google Scholar
Bronk, R.C. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates Radiocarbon 51 1 2009 337360 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cacho, I. Grimalt, J.O. Pelejero, C. Canals, M. Sierro, F.J. Flores, J.A. Shackleton, N. Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich event imprints in Alboran sea paleotemperatures Paleoceanography 14 1999 698705 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerling, T.E. Harris, J.M. MacFadden, B.J. Leakey, M.G. Quade, J. Eisenmann, V. Ehleringer, J.R. Global vegetation change through the Miocene/Pliocene boundary Nature 389 1997 153158 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, F.H. Bloemendal, J. Wang, J.M. Li, J.J. Oldfield, F. High-resolution multi-proxy climate records from Chinese loess: evidence for rapid climatic changes over the last 75 kyr Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 130 1997 323335 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, H. Edwards, R.L. Broecker, W.S. Denton, G.H. Kong, X. Wang, Y. Zhang, R. Wang, X. Ice age terminations Science 326 2009 248252 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Committee, Editorial, for Physical Geography of China Physical Geography of China—A General Note 1985 Science Press Beijing (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Dykoski, C.A. Edwards, R.L. Cheng, H. Yuan, D.X. Cai, Y.J. Zhang, M.L. Lin, Y.S. Qing, J.M. An, Z.S. Revenaugh, J. A high-resolution, absolute-dated Holocene and deglacial Asian monsoon record from Dongge Cave, China Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 233 2005 7186 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuhrmann, A. Mingram, J. Lücke, A. Lu, H.Y. Horsfield, B. Liu, J.Q. Negendank, J.F.W. Schleser, G.H. Wilkes, H. Variations in organic matter composition in sediments from Lake Huguang Maar (Huguangyan), south China during the last 68 ka: implications for environmental and climatic change Org. Geochem. 34 2003 14971515 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grimm, E.C. CONISS: a Fortran 77 program for stratigraphically constrained cluster analysis by the method of incremental sum of squares Compt. Rendus Geosci. 13 1987 1335 Google Scholar
Grootes, P.M. Stuiver, M. White, J.W.C. Johnsen, S. Jouzel, J. Comparison of oxygen isotope records from the GISP2 and GRIP Greenland ice cores Nature 366 1993 552554 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, S.P. Sanchez Goñi, M.F. Global patterns of vegetation response to millennial-scale variability and rapid climate change during the last glacial period Quat. Sci. Rev. 29 2010 29572980 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayashi, R. Takahara, H. Hayashida, A. Takemura, K. Millennial-scale vegetation changes during the last 40,000 yr based on a pollen record from Lake Biwa, Japan Quat. Res. 74 2010 9199 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinrich, H. Origin and consequences of cyclic ice rafting in the northeast Atlantic Ocean during the past 130,000 years Quat. Res. 29 1988 142152 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herzschuh, U. Palaeo-moisture evolution in monsoonal Central Asia during the last 50,000 years Quat. Sci. Rev. 25 2006 163178 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Y. Street-Perrott, F.A. Metcalfe, S.E. Brenner, M. Moreland, M. Freeman, K.H. Climate change as the dominant control on glacial-interglacial variations in C3 and C4 plant abundance Science 293 2001 16471651 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huang, Y. Shuman, B. Wang, Y. Webb, T. Grimm, E.C. Jacobson, G.L. Climatic and environmental controls on the variation of C3 and C4 plant abundances in central Florida for the past 62,000 years Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 237 2006 428435 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Institute of Bontany and South China Institute of Bontany Academia Sinica Angiosperm Pollen Flora of Tropic and Subtropic China 1982 Science Press Beijing (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Jiang, H.C. Ding, Z.L. Temporal and spatial changes of vegetation cover on the Chinese Loess Plateau through the last glacial cycle: evidence from spore-pollen records Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 133 2005 2337 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, H.C. Mao, X. Xu, H.Y. et al. Last glacial pollen record from Lanzhou (Northwestern China) and possible forcing mechanisms for the MIS 3 climate change in Middle to East Asia Quat. Sci. Rev. 30 2011 769781 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kamenik, C. Van der Knaap, W.O. Van Leeuwen, J.F.N. Goslar, T. Pollen/climate calibration based on a near-annual peat sequence from the Swiss Alps J. Quat. Sci. 24 2009 529546 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambeck, K. Chappell, J. Sea level change through the last glacial cycle Science 292 2001 679686 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, J. Zheng, Z. Huang, K.Y. Yang, S.X. Brian, C. Verushka, V. Matthieu, C. Rachid, C. Vegetation changes during the past 40,000 years in Central China from a long fossil record Quat. Int. 310 2013 221226 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liew, P.M. Kuo, C.M. Huang, S.Y. Tseng, M.H. Vegetation change and terrestrial carbon storage in eastern Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum as indicated by a new pollen record from central Taiwan Glob. Planet. Chang. 16 1998 8594 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linsley, B.K. Oxygen-isotope record of sea level and climate variations in the Sulu Sea over the past 150,000 years Nature 380 1996 234237 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, J.L. Additional remarks on vegetation types in south China during the last glacial maximum (LGM) Acta Microbiol. Sin. 24 1 2007 105112 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Liu, J.L. Wang, W.M. A discussion on the vegetation types during LGM time in south China Quat. Sci. 24 1 2004 213216 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Mingram, J. Schettler, G. Nowaczyk, N. Luo, X.J. Lu, H.Y. Liu, J.Q. Negendank, J. The Huguang Maar Lake—a high-resolution record of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes over the last 78,000 years from South China Quat. Int. 122 2004 85107 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mix, A.C. Bard, E. Schneider, R. Environmental processes of the ice age: land, oceans, glaciers (EPILOG) Quat. Sci. Rev. 20 2001 627657 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monnin, E. Steig, E.J. Siegenthaler, U. Kawamura, K. Schwander, J. Stauffer, B. Stocker, T.F. Morse, D.L. Barnola, J.M. Bellier, B. Raynaud, D. Fischer, H. Evidence for substantial accumulation rate variability in Antarctica during the Holocene through synchronization of CO2 in the Taylor Dome, Dome C and DML ice cores Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 224 2004 4554 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakagawa, T. Brugiapaglia, E. Digerfeldt, G. Reille, M. de Beaulieu, J.L. Yasuda, Y. Dense-media separation as a more efficient pollen extraction method for use with organic sediment samples: comparison with the conventional method Boreas 25 1998 1524 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North Greeland Ice Core Project members (NGRIP members), High resolution climate record of the Northern Hemisphere back into the last Interglacial period Nature 431 2004 147151 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petertson, G.M. Webb, T. Kutzbach, J.E. van der Hammen, T. Wijmstra, T.A. Street, F.A. The continental record of environmental conditions at 18,000 yr B.P.: an initial evaluation Quat. Res. 12 1979 4782 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reimer, P.J. Bard, E. Bayliss, A. Beck, J.W. Blackwell, P.G. Bronk Ramsey, C. Brown, D.M. Buck, C.E. Edwards, R.L. Friedrich, M. Grootes, P.M. Guilderson, T.P. Haflidason, H. Hajdas, I. Hatte, C. Heaton, T.J. Hogg, A.G. Hughen, K.A. Kaiser, K.F. Kromer, B. Manning, S.W. Reimer, R.W. Richards, D.A. Scott, E.M. Southon, J.R. Turner, C.S.M. van der Plicht, J. Selection and treatment of data for radiocarbon calibration: an update to the International Calibration (INTCAL) Criteria Radiocarbon 55 4 2013 123 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schefuß, E. Schouten, S. Jansen, J.H. Damsté, J.S. Africa vegetation controlled by tropical sea surface temperatures in the mid-Pleistocene period Nature 422 2003 418421 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siddall, M. Rohling, E.J. Thompson, W.G. Waelbroeck, C. Marine isotope stage 3 sea level fluctuations: data synthesis and new outlook Rev. Geophys. 46 2008 RG4003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, X.J. Li, X. A pollen record of the last 37 ka BP in deep core 17940 from the northern slope of the South China Sea Mar. Geol. 156 1999 227244 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, X.J. Luo, Y.L. From pollen record to paleovegetation: reply to “A discussion on the vegetation types during LGM time in south China” Quat. Sci. 24 2 2004 217221 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Sun, X.J. Li, X. Luo, Y.L. Chen, X.D. The vegetation and climate at the last glaciation on the emerged continental shelf of the South China Sea Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 160 2000 301316 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, Q.Y. Zhang, C.X. Data Processing System (DPS) software with experimental design, statistical analysis and data mining developed for use in entomological research Insect Sci. 20 2013 254260 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, L.G. Yao, T.D. Davis, M.E. Henderson, K.A. Mosley-Thompson, E. Lin, P.N. Beer, J. Synal, H.A. Cole-Dai, J. Bolzan, J.F. Tropical climate instability: the last glacial cycle from a Qinghai–Tibetan ice core Science 276 1997 18211825 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Asch, N. Hoek, W.Z. The impact of summer temperature changes on vegetation development in Ireland during the Weichselian Lateglacial Interstadial J. Quat. Sci. 27 2012 441450 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, F.S. Chien, N.F. Zhang, Y.L. Yang, H.Q. Pollen Flora of China Second edition 1995 Science Press Beijing (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Wang, Y.J. Cheng, H. Edwards, R.L. An, Z.S. Wu, J.Y. Shen, C.C. Dorale, J.A. A high-resolution absolute-dated late Pleistocene monsoon record from Hulu Cave, China Science 294 2001 23452348 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Y.J. Cheng, H. Edwards, R.L. He, Y.Q. Kong, X.G. An, Z.S. Wu, J.Y. Kelly, M.J. Dykoski, C.A. Li, X.D. The Holocene Asian monsoon: links to solar changes and North Atlantic climate Science 308 2005 854857 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, X. Auler, A.S. Edwards, R.L. Cheng, H. Ito, E. Wang, Y. Kong, X.G. Solheid, M. Millennial-scale precipitation changes in southern Brazil over the past 90,000 years Geophys. Res. Lett. 34 2007 L23701CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, S.Y. Lu, H.Y. Han, J.T. Chu, G.Q. Liu, J.Q. Negendank, F.W. Palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate in low-latitude southern China during the Last Glacial Maximum Quat. Int. 248 2012 7985 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xiao, J. Porter, S.C. An, Z.S. Kumai, H. Yoshikawa, S. Grain size of quartz as an indicator of winter monsoon strength on the Loess Plateau of Central China during the last 130,000 yr Quat. Res. 43 1995 2229 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, D.K. Lu, H.Y. Wu, N.Q. Liu, Z.X. Li, T.G. Shen, C.M. Wang, L. Asynchronous marine-terrestrial signals of the last deglacial warming in East Asia associated with low- and high-latitude climate changes Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 110 2013 96579662 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xue, J.B. Zhong, W. Cao, J.Y. Changes in C3 and C4 plant abundances reflect climate changes from 41,000 to 10,000 years ago in northern Leizhou Peninsula, South China Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 396 2014 173182 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yu, K.F. Zhong, J.L. Zhao, J.X. Shen, C.D. Chen, T.G. Zhong, J.L. Zhao, H.T. Song, C.J. Biological-geomorphological zones in a coral reef area at southwest Leizhou Peninsula unveil multiple sea level high-stands in the Holocene Mar. Geol. Quat. Geol. 22 2002 2733 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Yue, Y.F. Zheng, Z. Huang, K.Y. Manuel, C. Brian, C. Matthieu, C. Marie-Pierre, L. Rachid, C. A continuous record of vegetation and climate change over the past 50,000 years in the Fujian Province of eastern subtropical China Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 365–366 2012 115123 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, Y. Yu, Z.C. Zhao, W.W. Holocene vegetation and climate histories in the eastern Tibetan Plateau: controls by insolation-driven temperature or monsoon-derived precipitation changes? Quat. Sci. Rev. 30 2011 11731184 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zheng, Z. Lei, Z.Q. A 400,000 year record of vegetational and climatic changes from a volcanic basin, Leizhou Peninsula, southern China Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 145 1999 339362 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zheng, Z. Li, Q.Y. Vegetation, climate, and sea level in the past 55,000 years, Hanjiang Delta, Southeastern China Quat. Res. 53 2000 330340 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhong, W. Ma, Q.H. Xue, J.B. Zheng, Y.M. Cai, Y. OuYang, J. Humification degrees of a limnologic sediment sequence in eastern Nanling Mountains as an indicator of past climatic changes in the last c.49,000 years in South China Boreas 39 2010 286295 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, W.J. Yu, X.F. Timothy, Jull A.J. Burr, G. Xiao, J.Y. Lu, X.F. Xian, F. High-resolution evidence from southern China of an early Holocene optimum and a mid-Holocene dry event during the past 18,000 years Quat. Res. 62 2004 3948 CrossRefGoogle Scholar