A late Miocene-early Pleistocene palynological record and its climatic and tectonic implications for the Yunnan Plateau, China

Abstract

In this paper, we provide a late Miocene (Tortonian) to early Pleistocene (Gelasian) palynological record from the Eryuan Basin, Yunnan Plateau, China, to investigate plant diversity over this time. Between 7.6 and 4.3 Ma, the palynological assemblage was dominated by coniferous trees (70.2% on average), with subordinate amounts of broadleaved trees (8.8% on average). This suggests that the vegetation mainly comprised mixed forests, and that the climate was relatively warm and humid. After 4.3 Ma, the proportion of conifer pollen increased overall, and amount of cold-temperate coniferous forest Picea and Abies pollen, in particular, increased significantly (from 19.1% to 41.9%), concurrent with decreases in the pollen of broadleaved trees, shrubs, herbs, and other plant taxa. We suggest that these plant variations and overall reduced diversity may be responses to the tectonic uplift of the Yunnan Plateau and global cooling.