Palynological evidence for vegetational and climatic changes from the HQ deep drilling core in Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

The high-resolution pollen study of a 737.72-m-long lake sediment core in the Heqing Basin of Yunnan Province shows that the vegetation and climate of mountains around the Heqing Basin went through six obvious changes since 2.780 Ma B.P. Namely, Pinus forest occupied most mountains around the studied area and the structure of vertical vegetational belt was simple between 2.780 and 2.729 Ma B.P., reflecting a relatively warm and dry climate. During 2.729–2.608 Ma B.P., the areas of cold-temperate conifer forest (CTCF) and Tsuga forest increased and the structure of vertical vegetational belt became clear. According to percentages of tropical and subtropical elements growing in low-altitude regions rifely increased, we speculate that the increase of CTCF and Tsuga forest areas mainly resulted from strong uplift of mountains which provided upward expanding space and growing condition for these plants. Thus, the climate of the low-altitude regions around the basin was relatively warm and humid. Between 2.608 and 1.553 Ma B.P., Pinus forest occupied most mountains around the studied area and forest line of CTCF rose, which reflects a moderately warm-dry climate on the whole. During 1.553–0.876 Ma B.P., the structure of vertical vegetational belt in mountains around the studied area became complicated and the amplitude of vegetational belts shifting up and down enlarged, which implies that the amplitude of climatic change increased, the climatic associational feature was more complex and the climate was moderately cold at a majority of the stage. During 0.876–0.252 Ma B.P., there were all vertical vegetational belts existing at present in mountains around the studied area. The elements of each belt were more abundant and complex than earlier. At different periods in the stage vertical vegetational belts occurred as expanding or shrinking, and alternated each other. The amplitude of vegetational belts shifting up and down was the maximum in the whole section. This change suggests that the amplitude of climatic change was evidently larger than earlier, but the frequency reduced and the climatic associational feature was more complex. From 0.252 Ma B.P. to the present, the most time was characteristic of the expanding of Pinus forest and semi-humid evergreen broad-leaved forest (SEBF) in mountains around the studied area, while expanding time of other vegetational belts was very short, which reflects a smaller amplitude of cold and warm fluctuation. On the basis of the six obvious cycles of vegetational and climatic changes, there were still many times of secondary vegetational successions and climatic oscillations. Based on the above analysis, the forcing mechanism of vegetational succession and climatic change in the Heqing Basin is further discussed. It is primarily considered that main influential factors were exterior factors such as orbital parameters, etc., but the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau played a very important function for environmental changes in the Heqing Basin at two times obvious increase of vertical vegetational belts and three climatic transitions.