Vegetation and climate changes in the forest of Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil, during the last 25,000 cal yr BP

Adriana Mercedes Camejo Aviles,Luís Carlos Bernacci,Fresia Ricardi-Branco,Marie-Pierre Ledru

doi:10.1590/2317-4889201920190040

Adriana Mercedes Camejo Aviles, Luís Carlos Bernacci + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-4889201920190040

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Abstract

Abstract A paleoenvironmental reconstruction was performed in a Riparian Forest near Campinas to improve knowledge of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. A sediment core of 182 cm depth was collected in a swamp located within a Cerrado/Seasonal Semi-deciduous ecotone forest. The chronological frame is given by eight radiocarbon dating methods. Pollen and stable isotope analyses (δ 13C and δ 15N) were performed all along the core. Modern pollen rain is based on five surface samples collected along the Riparian Forest. Results show a sequence of changes in vegetation and climate between 25 and 13 cal kyr before present (BP), and from 4 cal kyr BP to the present time, with a hiatus between 11 and 4 kyr cal BP. Drier climatic conditions characterized the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, although they had moisture peaks able to maintain an open forest. The Riparian Forest became fully installed from 4 cal kyr BP onward. Our results are in agreement with other regional studies and contribute to build a regional frame for past climatic conditions at the latitude of Sao Paulo.

Highlights

Palynology applications in paleoenvironmental reconstruction studies have allowed us to understand the main processes involved in the distribution of species during global climatic fluctuations in the Quaternary (Bennett 1997)
In Brazil, the Quaternary researches with emphasis on paleoenvironmental reconstructions in climate change are significantly important, considering the country has the world’s largest number of tropical species (IBGE 2004), consisted of
New studies are starting to be developed, and preliminary results indicate that sediments collected 14 meters deep present age approximately to 180 cal kyr before present (BP), which is an important record for Brazil and South America Quaternary (Ledru et al 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Palynology applications in paleoenvironmental reconstruction studies have allowed us to understand the main processes involved in the distribution of species during global climatic fluctuations in the Quaternary (Bennett 1997). Studies underwent a significant change from monoproxy to multiproxy in the last decades, in which pollen grains incorporate anthropological, sedimentological and isotopic data, allowing more realistic inferences, as well as environment and climate reconstructions (Flantua et al 2015). New studies are starting to be developed, and preliminary results indicate that sediments collected 14 meters deep present age approximately to 180 cal kyr before present (BP), which is an important record for Brazil and South America Quaternary (Ledru et al 2015)

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