Abstract
Fifty-six surface pollen samples from different vegetation zones in the Yili Basin, western Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang were analyzed to examine the relationships between the surface pollen assemblages and the original vegetation. A pollen analysis and a vegetation investigation with a discriminant analysis show that the pollen assemblages greatly differ across disparate vegetation zones. Twelve pollen taxa can be used as significant types for vegetation reconstruction in the basin. These taxa were the most abundant in the surface pollen samples. Cupressaceae pollen percentages were greater than 1% in Cupressaceae shrubs. More than 5% of Picea pollen indicates the growth of a Picea forest within 5 km. The subalpine meadow that is distributed widely in the basin is characterized by high content of Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Picea, Asteraceae, Taraxacum and Arenaria pollen types. The Artemisia-Chenopodiaceae-Poaceae-Cannabaceae pollen assemblages indicate the presence of montane steppe in the area. Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae pollen dominate the desert steppe and Populus forest. Artemisia pollen percentages were greater than 60% in the Artemisia desert, whereas Chenopodiaceae pollen percentages exceeded 65% in the Chenopodiaceae desert. The Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) ratios reflect the vertical moisture changes in the Yili Basin. The mean A/C ratios were greater than 1.2 in the subalpine meadow and montane steppe that occupy the humid zone in the basin. These ratios were between 1 and 1.2 in the Cupressaceae shrubs, desert steppe, Populus forest and floodplain meadow. The ratios were less than 0.5 in the Chenopodiaceae desert, which is an arid environment.
References
Aderson P M, Bartlein P J, Brubaker B, et al. Modern analogues of late-Quternary pollen spectra from the western interior of North America. J Biogeogr, 1989, 16: 573–596
Zheng Z, Huang K Y, Xu Q H, et al. Comparison of climatic threshold of geographical distribution between dominant plants and surface pollen in China. Sci China Earth Sci, 2008, 51: 582–599
Zhao Y, Herzschuh U. Modern pollen representation of source vegetation in the Qaidam Basin and surrounding mountains, north-eastern Tibetan Plateau. Veget Hist and Archaeobot, 2009, 18: 245–260
Lu H Y, Wu N Q, Liu K, et al. Modern pollen distributions in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the development of transfer functions for reconstructing Holocene environmental changes. Quat Sci Rev, 2011, 30: 947–966
Xu Q H, Tian F, Bunting M J, et al. Pollen source areas of lakes with inflowing rivers: Modern pollen influx data from Lake Baiyangdian, China. Quat Sci Rev, 2012, 37: 81–91
Sun J M, Xu Q H, Huang B C. Late Cenozoic magnetochronology and paleoenvironmental changes in the northern foreland basin of the Tianshan Mountains. J Geophys Res, 2007, 112: 1–14
Liu X Q, Herzschuh U, Shen J, et al. Holocene environmental and climatic changes inferred from Wulungu Lake in northern Xinjiang, China. Quat Res, 2008, 70: 412–425
Chen F H, Yu Z C, Yang M L, et al. Holocene moisture evolution in arid central Asia and its out-of-phase relationship with Asian monsoon history. Quat Sci Rev, 2008, 27: 351–364
Li X Q, Zhao K L, Dodson J, et al. Moisture dynamics in central Asia for the last 15 kyr: New evidence from Yili Valley, Xinjiang, NW China. Quat Sci Rev, 2011, 30: 3457–3466
Yan S. The characteristics of Quaternary sporopollen assemblage and the vegetation succession in Xinjiang (in Chinese). Arid Land Geogr, 1991, 14: 1–9
Yan S. The discussion on the pollen of Pine familiy in surface soil in Xinjiang (in Chinese). Arid Land Geogr, 1993, 16: 1–9
Yan S, Xu Y Q. Sporopollen association in surface soil in Altai, Xinjiang (in Chinese). Arid Zone Res, 1989, 6: 26–33
Weng C Y, Sun X J, Chen Y S. Numerical characteristics of pollen assemblages of summer samples from the west Kunlun Mountains (in Chinese). Acta Bot Sin, 1993, 35: 69–79
Pan A D. Research on sporo-pollen assemblages in surface soil of various vegetation in northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains. Sci Geogr Sin, 1993, 13: 227–233
Xu Y Q, Yan S, Jia B Q, et al. Numerical relationship between the surface spore-pollen and surrounding vegetation on the southern slope of Tianshan Mountains (in Chinese). Arid Land Geogr, 1996, 19: 24–30
Yan S, Jia B C, Xu Y Q, et al. The surface sampleing of vegetation and pollen in the source area of the Urumqi River (in Chinese). J Glaciol Geocryol, 1996, 18(Special Issue): 264–273
Yang Z J, Kong Z C, Yan S, et al. Pollen distribution in topsoil along the Daxigou Valley in the Headwaters of the Urumqi River, the central Tianshan Mountains (in Chinese). Arid Land Geogr, 2004, 27: 543–547
Luo C X, Zheng Z, Tarasov P, et al. Characteristics of the modern pollen distribution and their relationship to vegetation in the Xinjiang region, northwestern China. Rev Palaeobot Palynol, 2009, 153: 282–295
Li J F. Climate in Xinjiang (in Chinese). Beijing: China Meteorological Press, 1991. 1–205
Ye W. Characteristics of physical environment and conditions of loess formation in Yili area, Xinjiang (in Chinese). Arid Land Geogr, 1999, 22: 9–16
Xinjiang Expedition Team, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Vegetation and Its Utilization in Xinjiang (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 1978. 1–266
Editorial Committee for Vegetation of China. Vegetation of China (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 1980. 749–1037
Faegri K, Ivrsen J. Textbook of Pollen Analysis. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1989. 295
Liu K B, Lam N S N. Paleovegetational reconstruction based on modern and fossil pollen data: An application of discriminant analysis. Ann Ass Am Geogr, 1985, 75: 115–130
Reese C A, Liu K B. A modern pollen rain study from the central Andes region of south America. J Biogeogr, 2005, 32: 709–718
Li Q, Ge Q S, Tong G B. Modern pollen-vegetation relationship based on discriminant analysis across an altitudinal transect on Gongga Mountain, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Chin Sci Bull, 2012, 57: 4600–4608
Li W Y. On dispersal efficiency of Picea pollen (in Chinese). Acta Bot Sin, 1991, 33: 792–800
Liu H Y, Cui H T, Pott R, et al. The surface pollen of the woodlandsteppe ecotone in southeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Rev Palaeobot Palynol, 1999, 105: 237–250
Yan S, Kong Z C, Yang Z J, et al. Seeking relationship between vegetation and Picea pollen in surface soils of Xinjiang, northeastern China (in Chinese). Acta Ecol Sin, 2004, 24: 2017–2023
Xu Q H, Li Y C, Yang X L, et al. Quantitative relationship between pollen and vegetation in northern China. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 2007, 50: 582–599
Lu H Y, Wu N Q, Yang X D, et al. Spatial pattern of Abies and Picea surface pollen distribution along the elevation gradient in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Xinjiang, China. Boreas, 2008, 37: 254–262
Li Y Y, Zhang X S, Zhou G S, et al. Quantitative relationships between vegetation and several pollen taxa in surface soil from North China. Chin Sci Bull, 2000, 45: 1519–1523
Li Y C, Xu Q H, Yang X L, et al. Pollen indication to source plants in the eastern desert of China. Chin Sci Bull, 2005, 50: 1631–1641
Campbell I D. Quaternary pollen taphonomy: Examples of differential redeposition and differential preservation. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol, 1999, 149: 245–256
El-Moslimany A P. Ecological significance of common nonarboreal pollen: Examples from drylands of the Middle East. Rev Palaeobot Palynol, 1990, 64: 343–350
Huang C X, Van Campo E, Duobuleimei F. A study on pollen in surface soil from the western Xizang (in Chinese). Arid Land Geogr, 1993, 15: 75–84
Cour P, Zheng Z, Duzer D, et al. Vegetational and climatic significance of modern pollen rain in northwestern Tibet. Rev Palaeobot Palynol, 1999, 104: 183–204
Herzschuh U, Tarasov P, Wünnemann B, et al. Holocene vegetation and climate of the Alashan Plateau, NW China, reconstructed from pollen data. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol, 2004, 211: 1–17
Shang X, Li X Q, An Z S, et al. Modern pollen rain in the Lake Qinghai basin, Sci China Earth Sci, 2009, 52: 1510–1519
Sun X J, Du N Q, Weng C Y, et al. Paleovegetation and paleoenvironment of Manas Lake, Xinjiang, Northwestern China during the last 14000 years (in Chinese). Quat Sci, 1994, 3: 239–248
Wang F Y, Song C Q, Sun X J. Study on surface pollen in middle Innermongolia, China (in Chinese). Acta Bot Sin, 1996, 38: 902–909
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, K., Li, X. Modern pollen and vegetation relationships in the Yili Basin, Xinjiang, NW China. Chin. Sci. Bull. 58, 4133–4142 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-5896-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-5896-x
Keywords
- Tianshan Mountains
- Yili Basin
- modern pollen and vegetation
- discriminant analysis
- A/C ratios