Central China as LGM plant refugia: Insights from biome reconstruction for palaeoclimate information.

Autor: Song M; State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia., Dodson J; State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia., Lu F; State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China., Yan H; State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Sep 10; Vol. 942, pp. 173783. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 06.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173783
Abstrakt: The demonstration of survival of forest stands in relatively stable refugia during cold glacial stages has offered an increased understanding of the response of vegetation to climate change, but also provides insight into considerations for the conversation of biodiversity hotspots. However, refugia studies in China remain in question due to the lack of plant macrofossils, especially those of endemic and relict species. Palynology, while more broad brush, provides a method for exploring whether refugia occur, and can provide some details of palaeovegetation composition and temporal dynamics. Here, three pollen records derived from subalpine wetlands in central China, spanning the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), have been coupled with biome and mean annual precipitation (MAP) reconstructions to identify the presence of trees that endured cold climate. The results indicated that some forest, including temperate deciduous broadleaf forest and cool mixed forest, survived the LGM at the three locations, and was thus at odds with the hypothesis that forests were replaced by herbs and grasses in central China at that time. Refugia favored by protection from cold air drainage and the availability of adequate water can explain the survival of the trees during otherwise harsh episodes. Our findings are consistent with other records from central China that argue for tree dominated refugia during the LGM.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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