Modern pollen-vegetation relationships in the Taihang Mountains: Towards the quantitative reconstruction of land-cover changes in the North China Plain

Abstract

Pollen-based land cover reconstructions are important for understanding the history of regional environmental responses to natural and anthropogenic factors, and for managing the ecological environment. The vegetation in the mountain landscape of North China has been significantly influenced by human activities, and evaluating the pollen-vegetation relationship for the region is important for reconstructing anthropogenic land-cover changes in the North China Plain. In this study, 35 sampling sites were randomly selected in representative vegetation zones of the Taihang Mountains in North China. Based on a detailed vegetation survey (field work combined with the analysis of remote sensing images), we evaluated the pollen-vegetation relationships in the area. In addition, the relevant pollen source area (RSAP) of the sampling sites and the relative pollen productivity (RPP) of the major plant taxa were estimated using ERV (Extended R-Value) models. The results show that the pollen spectra in the Taihang Mountains reliably reflect the vegetation landscape of different altitudinal zones. The estimated RSAP in the Taihang Mountains is ~ 600 m. Using Poaceae as a reference taxon (RPP = 1), the RPPs of the dominant plant taxa in the Taihang Mountains can be ordered as follows: Pinus > Hippophae > Caryophyllaceae > Betula > Quercus > Rhododendron > Artemisia > Asteraceae > Cyperaceae. Our results suggest the importance and complexity of RPP estimates in the Taihang Mountains, and provide valuable implications for improving the accuracy of reconstructions of land-cover changes in the North China Plain.