Late Glacial and Holocene vegetational changes on the Ulagan high-mountain plateau, Altai Mountains, southern Siberia

Blyakharchuk, T.A; Wright, H.E; Borodavko, P.S; van der Knaap, Willem Oscar; Ammann, Brigitta (2004). Late Glacial and Holocene vegetational changes on the Ulagan high-mountain plateau, Altai Mountains, southern Siberia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 209(1-4), pp. 259-279. Elsevier 10.1016/j.palaeo.2004.02.011

Text PaleogeogrPaleocl_209_259.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (1MB)

Three well-dated pollen diagrams from 1985 m, 2050 m, and at the tree line at 2150 m asl show the vegetational succession in the central Altai Mountains since 16 cal ka BP. Pioneer vegetation after deglaciation was recorded first at the lowest site. Subsequently, dense dry steppe vegetation developed coincident with the change from silt to organic sediments at the two lower sites, but silt lasted longer at the highest site, indicating the persistence of bare ground there. Forests of Pinus sibirica, Pinus sylvestris, Picea obovata, Larix sibirica, Abies sibirica, and Betula pendula started to develop about 12 cal ka BP with the change to a warmer and wetter climate at the beginning of the Holocene. Results indicate that the timberline did not rise above the highest site. Mesophilous dark-coniferous forests were fully developed by 9.5 cal ka BP. The role of Abies and Picea decreased by about 7.5 cal ka BP suggesting cooler climate, after which the forests changed little until today. The vegetational development in this portion of the central Altai Mountains is compatible with that described in neighbouring areas of the Altai, southern Siberia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

1 since deposited on 17 Dec 2015
0 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item