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Pollen record from red clay sequence in the central Loess Plateau between 8.10 and 2.60 Ma

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The Late Miocene and Pliocene are the key periods for understanding the origin and development of the present Asian monsoon circulations and ecologic environments. Here we present a pollen record from Chaona Red Clay section located in the central Loess Plateau in attempt to establish the histories of vegetation and associated climate changes between 8.10 and 2.60 Ma. Our results show that Gramineae-dominated woodland-grasslands developed in this region withCedrus- and Pinus-characterized montane coniferous forests distributing in higher elevations from 8.10 to 6.73 Ma, probably suggesting a semi-humid climate in a warm-temperate zone. A subsequent expansion ofUlmus-dominated deciduous forests and a synchronous increase of Gramineae-dominated grassland reflect a warmer and more humid climate between 6.73 and 5.67 Ma. The vegetation changed to anArtemisia- and Gramineae-characterized steppe in lower elevations and to a coniferous forest in higher elevations from 5.67 to 3.71 Ma, implying probably a warm and semiarid climate in lowland and hill, and a colder and moister climate in mountain. During this period, a considerable warmer and more humid climate occurred between 4.61 and 4.07 Ma as indicated by pollen assemblages. The period between 3.71 and 2.58 Ma was characterized by the disappearance ofCedrus andTsuga and also by an abrupt expansion of Cupressaceae, reflecting a drastic enhancement of monsoon-related climatic seasonality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (MOE) and College of Resources and Environment, Lanzhou University, 730000, Lanzhou, China

    Yuzhen Ma, Fuli Wu, Xiaomin Fang, Jijun Li & Wei Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 710054, Xi’an, China

    Zhisheng An

  3. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100085, Beijing, China

    Fuli Wu & Xiaomin Fang

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  1. Yuzhen Ma
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  2. Fuli Wu
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  3. Xiaomin Fang
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Correspondence to Xiaomin Fang.

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Ma, Y., Wu, F., Fang, X. et al. Pollen record from red clay sequence in the central Loess Plateau between 8.10 and 2.60 Ma. Chin.Sci.Bull. 50, 2234–2243 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03182675

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03182675

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