Late Pleistocene and Holocene Vegetation and Climate on the Taymyr Lowland, Northern Siberia

Abstract

Pollen records from perennially frozen sequences provide vegetation and climate reconstruction for the last 48,000 ¹⁴C years in the central part of Taymyr Peninsula. Open larch forest with Alnus fruticosa and Betula nana grew during the Kargin (Middle Weichselian) Interstade, ca. 48,000–25,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The climate was generally warmer and wetter than today. Open steppe-like communities with Artemisia, Poaceae, Asteraceae, and herb tundralike communities with dwarf Betula and Salix dominated during the Sartan (Late Weichselian) Stade, ca. 24,000–10,300 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The statistical information method used for climate reconstruction shows that the coldest climate was ca. 20,000–17,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. A warming (Allerød Interstade?) with mean July temperature ca. 1.5°C warmer than today occurred ca. 12,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The following cooling with temperatures about 3°–4°C cooler than present and precipitation about 100 mm lower corresponds well with the Younger Dryas Stade. Tundra–steppe vegetation changed to Betula nana–Alnus fruticosa shrub tundra ca. 10,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Larch appeared in the area ca. 9400 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and disappeared after 2900 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Cooling events ca. 10,500, 9600, and 8200 ¹⁴C yr B.P. characterized the first half of the Holocene. A significant warming occurred ca. 8500 ¹⁴C yr B.P., but the Holocene temperature maximum was at about 6000–4500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The vegetation cover approximated modern conditions ca. 2800 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Late Holocene warming events occurred at ca. 3500, 2000, and 1000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. A cooling (Little Ice Age?) took place between 500 and 200 ¹⁴C yr ago.