Publication Date:
2010-07-01
Description:
A high-resolution pollen record covering the last 40,000 yr (BIW95-4) from Lake Biwa, western Japan, shows regional vegetation responses to millennial-scale climate changes. From 40 to 30 ka,Cryptomeria japonicawas dominant around the lake among pinaceous conifers and deciduous broad-leaved trees. During this period, fluctuations ofC. japonicaare correlated with Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) cycles recognized from the anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) record. Increases in the abundance of this taxon may have been caused by wetter summer conditions influenced by the East Asian monsoon or increased snowfall on the Sea of Japan side of the Japanese archipelago. Between 29 and 14 ka, pinaceous conifer forests mainly composed ofPinussubgenusHaploxylon,Tsuga, andPiceatrees developed. At approximately 23 ka,Piceatrees increased in abundance as ARM values decreased. This expansion ofPiceatrees has been correlated with Heinrich event (HE) 2 in the North Atlantic. At about 14 ka, the distribution of broad-leaved forest (mainly composed of deciduous oaks) began to expand after D–O 1. Evidence of significant vegetation change related to the abrupt Younger Dryas cooling event has not been found.
Print ISSN:
0033-5894
Electronic ISSN:
1096-0287
Topics:
Geography
,
Geosciences
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