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Forests
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Quaternary Forest Dynamics in Monsoon Asia
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Quaternary Forest Dynamics in Monsoon Asia

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2025 | Viewed by 2387

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Caiming Shen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plateau Geographical Processes and Environmental Changes, Faculty of Geography, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China
Interests: Quaternary palynology; charcoal analysis and forest fires; paleoecology and paleoclimatology
Dr. Deke Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Interests: palynology; paleovegetation dynamics; coastal paleoecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Only 15% of monsoon Asia is nowadays covered by forests, with more area being occupied by forests in the Quaternary as estimated by reconstructed and potential natural vegetation. Although a lot of paleoecological studies have been done for revealing the spatiotemporal distribution and dynamics of Quaternary forests in Asia, the actual forest coverage and dynamics in different periods (as evidenced by glacials/interglacials, stadials/interstadials) as well as the Holocene period of the Quaternary remain to be determined. More well-dated and high-resolution proxy records of forests are needed to develop a detailed picture of Quaternary forests in Asia so that we can better understand natural and anthropogenic forces driving Quaternary forest dynamics and provide high spatial and temporal resolution land cover maps that are essential for precise simulations of paleovegetation and paleoclimates as well as predictions of future vegetation and climate. This Special Issue invites paleoecological studies, syntheses, and reviews on Quaternary forest dynamics in monsoon Asia.

Prof. Dr. Caiming Shen
Dr. Deke Xu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • pollen analysis
  • phytolith analysis
  • plant macrofossil
  • stomata
  • charcoal
  • forest dynamics
  • paleoenvironment records
  • paleoecological reconstructions
  • Quaternary
  • Asia

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3146 KiB  
Article
Anthropogenic Impacts on a Temperate Forest Ecosystem, Revealed by a Late Holocene Pollen Record from an Archaeological Site in NE China
by Guangyi Bai, Keliang Zhao, Yaping Zhang, Junchi Liu, Xinying Zhou and Xiaoqiang Li
Forests 2024, 15(8), 1331; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15081331 - 31 Jul 2024
Viewed by 818
Abstract
Pollen records from archaeological sites provide a direct reflection of the vegetation in the immediate vicinity, enabling an accurate depiction of anthropogenic impacts on vegetation. In this study, we applied the biomization technique to fossil pollen data to reconstruct human impact on the [...] Read more.
Pollen records from archaeological sites provide a direct reflection of the vegetation in the immediate vicinity, enabling an accurate depiction of anthropogenic impacts on vegetation. In this study, we applied the biomization technique to fossil pollen data to reconstruct human impact on the biome at the Chengzishan archaeological site in western Liaoning, China, and hence to explore the response of temperate forest vegetation to human activities. The results indicate that the original vegetation at Chengzishan was warm temperate coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest (TEDE). The findings suggest a shift in biome dominance over time, with cool temperate steppe (STEP) replacing TEDE as the dominant biome in response to human activities. Combined with archaeobotanical records, we conclude that the observed vegetation changes in the pollen record were closely linked to deforestation, fire use, and agricultural activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Forest Dynamics in Monsoon Asia)
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20 pages, 10369 KiB  
Article
Vegetation Dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum in Central Yunnan, Southwest China
by Min Wang, Caiming Shen, Qifa Sun, Hongwei Meng, Linpei Huang, Hucai Zhang and Huiling Sun
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1075; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071075 - 21 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1083
Abstract
Vegetation dynamics data since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are essential for our understanding of ecosystem shifts and vegetation responses to climate change. Here, we present a pollen record covering the last 25,000 years from Lake Fuxian in central Yunnan, southwest China. Our [...] Read more.
Vegetation dynamics data since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are essential for our understanding of ecosystem shifts and vegetation responses to climate change. Here, we present a pollen record covering the last 25,000 years from Lake Fuxian in central Yunnan, southwest China. Our study shows seven stages of vegetation dynamics since the LGM: The early LGM (stage 7 of 25,000–21,200 cal. a BP) witnessed less dense regional vegetation dominated by pine forests, evergreen broadleaved forests (EBFs), deciduous broadleaved forests (DBFs), montane hemlock forests, and fir/spruce forests. The late LGM (stage 6 of 21,200–17,500 cal. a BP) saw an expansion of grasslands, wetlands, and montane fir/spruce forests as well as a shrinkage of EBFs and DBFs. During the last deglaciation (stage 5 of 17,500–13,300 cal. a BP), dense regional vegetation was dominated by EBFs as well as deciduous oak and alder forests. The densest regional vegetation occurred in stage 4 of 13,300–11,200 cal. a BP, roughly equal to the Younger Dryas Chron, when pine forests, DBFs, EBFs, grasslands, and wetlands grew in the Lake Fuxian catchment. During the early to mid-Holocene (stage 3 of 11,200–5000 cal. a BP), dense regional vegetation was dominated by sweetgum forests, in addition to some pine forests and EBFs. After 5000 cal. a BP, the regional vegetation density became lower and lower, and forests became thinner and thinner. Pine forests expanded to their maximum of the entire sequence in stage 2 of 5000–2500 cal. a BP. A big deforestation event occurred in stage 1 (the last 2500 years), when grasslands, wetlands, and cultivated vegetation dominated regional vegetation in the catchment of Lake Fuxian. The regional vegetation since the LGM in the catchment of Lake Fuxian also experienced six major transitions, five centennial shift events, and one big large-scale and long-term deforestation event. These resulted from the responses of regional vegetation to climate changes during the LGM, last deglaciation, and early–mid-Holocene, as well as human influence in the late Holocene. The vegetation density since the LGM has changed with the 25° N summer insolation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Forest Dynamics in Monsoon Asia)
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