Vegetation succession, climate change and cold events during 9.2–8.0 cal kyr BP in eastern China: High-resolution pollen evidence from the Yangtze delta plain area

Abstract

High resolution pollen records in the northern edge of subtropical China are crucial to understand the pattern of postglacial vegetation change and climate transition. Here we present vegetation succession and climate change during 9.2–8.0 cal kyr BP based on sub-decennial scale pollen data. Pollen spectra show that Quercus (evergreen) &Cyclobalanopsis were relatively stable during the whole period, while Quercus (deciduous) were gradually decreased. Pollen-based climate change shows gradual warming during this period, and noticeably, the rapid warming during 8610–8545 cal yr BP can be detected according to the sharp decrease of Quercus (deciduous). Our results show two cold and dry events at 8.5 ka and 8.2 ka. The 8.5 ka event is rarely reported in the East Asian Monsoon area, while the 8.2 ka event is frequently mentioned. In this study, the 8.2 ka event has two peaks, similar to the previous reports from the Yangtze delta area and Dongge Dong Cave. In the Yangtze delta area, the vegetation and climate change show a strong relationship with the high latitude area, indicating that they are not only related to solar activity, but also impacted by the high latitude climate events. However, the impacts of these events on the Asian monsoon area still need further studies to verify.