Representation of modern pollen assemblage to vertical variations of vegetation and climate in the Yadong area, eastern Himalaya
2020
Zhang, Ran | Tian, Fang | Xu, Qinghai | Zhou, Xu | Liu, Xingqi | Cao, Xianyong
The presence of arboreal pollen grains in pollen assemblages collected from alpine meadow and steppe sites in the central Tibetan Plateau affects the reliability of pollen-based investigations of past vegetation and climate conditions, but their origin remains uncertain. In this study, we present a 39-sample modern pollen dataset from the Yadong area on the southern slope of the Himalayas and investigate the relationships between pollen assemblages and the vertical variations in vegetation and climate and the upward transport of arboreal pollen. Our results reveal that surface soil pollen assemblages were influenced heavily by local vegetation components; however, their variations along the elevation gradient generally reflect vertical variations in vegetation and climate. For instance, arboreal pollen abundances were high at low-elevation sites, whereas herbaceous pollen abundances were high at cold and dry sites. Arboreal pollen grains (dominantly Pinus, Betula and Picea) can be transported by wind to unforested areas, and the southern slope of the Himalayas is likely a source of the arboreal pollen grains in alpine meadows and alpine steppes in the central Tibetan Plateau. Thus the arboreal pollen grains should be treated with caution in the reconstructions of past vegetation and climate in the central Tibetan Plateau.
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