Vegetation and climate changes during the Late Pleistocene to Holocene inferred from pollen record in Jinju area, South Korea

Abstract

The pollen record from paleo-swamp deposits spanning the last ca. 26,000 yr reveals a detailed history of vegetation and climate changes of the Jinju area, South Korea. From ca. 26.2 to 23.9 cal. kyr BP, xerophytic Artentisia-dominated grassland an mixed suballpine coniferous and deciduous broadleaved forests occupied the study area, indicating a cool and dry condition during interstadial stage of the last glacial period. The period between ca. 23.9 and 14.7 cal. kyr BP exhibits the expansion of grassland and subalpine coniferous forest and the retreat of deciduous broadleaved forest, reflecting a cold and dry condition during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). During the period of ca. 14.7-11.2 cal. kyr BP, climatic amelioration comparable to the Boelling-Alleroed Event induced an enlargement of temperate deciduous broadleaved forest and a shrink of subalpine coniferous forest and grassland. Vegetation changes controlled by human impact occurred from ca. 4.7 to 0.7 cal. kyr BP, as indicated by an increase in Pinus and Gramineae pollen.