Pollen flux and vertical dispersion in coniferous and deciduous broadleaved mixed forest in the Changbai Mountains

Abstract

The pollen flux in coniferous and deciduous broadleaved mixed forest in the Changbai Mountains is presented in one year’s experiments. The results indicate that arboreal pollen percentages are more than 65% and pollen flux is higher than 5000 grain·cm−2·a−1, while less than 2% and lower than 1000 grain·cm−2·a−1 for shrubby pollen, and less than 20% and lower than 3000 grain·cm−2·a−1 for herbaceous pollen for most samples at different heights. The pollen assemblages are similar to those in the samples under 8 m height where Pinus and Quercus are dominant and followed by the few non-local pollen types, and Fraxinus percentages are high with a few non-local pollen types at 16 m to 32 m height as well as non-local pollen clearly increased at 40 m height. Comparisons between pollen assemblages and vegetation composition suggest that similarities are higher for pollen trap samples than for surface moss samples.