Paleoclimatic Implications of Palynoflora from the Quaternary Sediments at Seogwipo, Jeju Island, Korea

Abstract

Palynoflora from a core (BH-4) drilled on the Quaternary sediments in the vicinity of Seogwipo, Jeju Island,provide an unusual opportunity to reveal vegetational transition from the last glacial to the Holocene in Korea. It consistsmainly of ferns, deciduous broad-leaved angiosperms, and herbs, and is represented by Polypodiaceae, Gramineae,Castanea/Castanopsis, Quercus and Compositae. A distinct vegetational change is observed at a core depth of 200 cm.The interval of 30 to 190 cm in depth yields mainly arboreal pollen and warm temperate taxa such as Polypodiaceae,Ceratopteris, and Taxodiaceae - Cupressaceae - Taxaceae, whereas the interval of 200 to 800 cm is dominated byherbaceous pollen and a decrease of warm temperate taxa, reflecting the influence of cold climate. This palynofloralclimatic signature closely corresponds to paleoclimate proxy records such as magnetic susceptibility.