Late Holocene paleoenvironmental changes in subtropical Taiwan inferred from pollen and diatoms in lake sediments
Resource
Journal of Paleolimnology,41(2),315-327.
Journal
Journal of Paleolimnology
Pages
315-327
Date Issued
2009-02
Date
2009-02
Author(s)
Chen, SH
Wu, JT
Yang, TN
Chuang, PP
Huang, SY
Wang, YS
Abstract
We analyzed pollen, spores, diatoms, organic carbon, nitrogen, and δ13C of organic matter in lake sediments to infer climate changes and reconstruct the paleo-environment of subtropical Taiwan over the past ∼1300 years. A 31.5-cm sediment core that represents deposition from 650 AD to present was taken from a mountain lake, Duck Pond, located 760 m a.s.l. We differentiated five zones using cluster analysis on pollen and spore assemblages. Fluctuations in the relative abundances of arboreal taxa, herbaceous plants, and ferns reflect changes in the relative amounts of woody versus grassland vegetation. Such shifts are associated with changes in temperature and humidity and are consistent with climatic periods reported for the temperate region of central China. Climate changes inferred from the pollen assemblages are also correlated well with changes in the ratios of fern spores to pollen, with organic carbon to nitrogen, and with the δ13C values in the sediments. Fluctuations in these data throughout the entire core were in good agreement with the changes in pH inferred from diatom assemblages. This study provides evidence of climate change in northern Taiwan over the past 1.3 millennia, assuming that climate can be inferred from the ratio of arboreal to non-arboreal pollen and from the pH of the aquatic environment. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Subjects
Diatoms; Late Holocene; Paleoclimate; Paleolimnology; Paleopalynology; Subtropical Taiwan
SDGs
Other Subjects
climate change; diatom; environmental change; Holocene; lacustrine deposit; paleoenvironment; paleolimnology; palynology; sediment core; Asia; China; Eurasia; Far East; Taiwan; Bacillariophyta; Bacteria (microorganisms); Filicophyta; Oxyura vittata
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
901.pdf
Size
23.19 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):fffd697bd50d2599f9dc3c59ebb685bd