Abstract
Paleoecological data can be used to inform nature conservation practice. Dream Lake (DL) is the best-preserved peat bog in the Tatun Volcanic Group of northern Taiwan. We analyzed continuous pollen and charcoal data from a well-dated sediment core from DL to reconstruct the changes in climate, lacustrine condition, and floristic diversity during the last 4500 cal BP. An absence of volcanic ash from all sediments indicates weak volcanic activity. Significant changes in lithology and pollen composition show that DL changed from a deep lake to a shallow peat bog from 3000 cal BP onwards. The palynological diversity index was negatively correlated with fire frequency. A substantial decline in Isoetes (quillwort) spores suggests increased vulnerability during the peat bog period. Natural terrestrialization will lower the mean water depth of DL below the minimum required for Isoetes taiwanensis survival within 300 years. Our findings indicate that winter precipitation driven by intense East Asian winter monsoons is the critical force determining the long-term variation in floristic diversity and abundance of I. taiwanensis. This long-term ecological history of DL, derived using paleoecological techniques, will be used to inform conservation practice in the Tatun Volcanic Group.
Highlights
Peat bogs are extremely sensitive to hydrological changes
An age–depth model for the Dream Lake (DL) sediment was derived from seven radiocarbon dates (Table 1), using Bayesian analysis to produce age estimations with best-fitting uncertainty estimates
The multidecadal pollen record from DL suggests that changes in local vegetation and lacustrine conditions in northern Taiwan are linked to regional climate patterns, driven mainly by East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensity
Summary
Peat bogs are extremely sensitive to hydrological changes. They preserve long-term records of the local and regional environment and can help explain trends in the stability, vulnerability, and potential of the ecosystem. The Tatun Volcanic Group (TVG) is located in northern Taiwan above the western boundary of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate. It includes more than twenty volcanoes with elevations of 200–1120 m. Because of the many topographical depressions caused by volcanic activity and high monsoonal precipitation, it is a region of wetland complexes, especially in the rainy season. In the central TVG, some of which have become peat bogs, and the largest and best-preserved of these is Dream Lake (DL)
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