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Reconstruction of paleovegetation and paleoclimate in the Early and Middle Eocene, Hainan Island, China

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Abstract

The Early–Middle Eocene palynoflora and paleoclimate of Changchang Basin, Hainan Island, South China, is described in the present paper and is compared with that of the Middle–Late Eocene, Hunchun City, Jilin Province, North China. The nearest living relatives (NLRs) of the recovered palynotaxa suggest a subtropical evergreen or deciduous broad-leaved forest at the center of the basin but a temperate evergreen or deciduous broad-leaved forest and needle-leaved forest growing in the peripheral part of the basin. Based on the climatic preferences of the NLRs, the climate in the Changchang Basin during the Early–Middle Eocene was warm and humid subtropical with a mean annual temperature of 14.2–19.8°C, a mean temperature of the warmest month of 22.5–29.1°C, a mean temperature of the coldest month of 1.7–11.9°C, a difference of temperature between coldest and warmest months of 12.1–24.6°C, a mean annual precipitation of 784.7–1,113.3 mm, a mean maximum monthly precipitation of 141.5–268.1 mm and a mean minimum monthly precipitation of 6.9–14.1 mm. A comparison of the palynoflora and paleoclimate between the Changchang Basin and Hunchun City, suggests essentially a similar climate in South and North China during Eocene time in contrast to the oceanic tropical climate in South China and cool dry temperate climate in North China as at present.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, People’s Republic of China

    Yi-Feng Yao & Cheng-Sen Li

  2. Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, 700019, India

    Subir Bera

  3. Department of Paleontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    David K. Ferguson

  4. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Volker Mosbrugger

  5. Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Khum N. Paudayal

  6. School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People’s Republic of China

    Jian-Hua Jin

Authors
  1. Yi-Feng Yao
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  2. Subir Bera
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  3. David K. Ferguson
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  4. Volker Mosbrugger
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  5. Khum N. Paudayal
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  6. Jian-Hua Jin
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  7. Cheng-Sen Li
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jian-Hua Jin or Cheng-Sen Li.

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Yao, YF., Bera, S., Ferguson, D.K. et al. Reconstruction of paleovegetation and paleoclimate in the Early and Middle Eocene, Hainan Island, China. Climatic Change 92, 169–189 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-008-9457-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-008-9457-2

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