Journal
HOLOCENE
Volume 22, Issue 12, Pages 1385-1392Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/0959683612449762
Keywords
A/C ratio; climate variables; dryland; vegetation types
Funding
- National Basic Research Program of China (973 Programs) [2012CB956102, 2010CB950202]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41071126, 41125006]
- 100 Talents Programme of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Humboldt Fellowship
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The Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) ratio is assumed to be a useful index for reconstructing moisture changes in arid and semi-arid regions. Thorough modern pollen studies are still lacking to understand the reliability and limitation of A/C ratio as a moisture indicator, however. Here we review how well this ratio can be applied in arid and semi-arid China on the basis of new surface pollen data, previous data synthesis and other publications. Results indicate that variance in the A/C ratio can permit identification of modern vegetation types and that the A/C ratio generally has a positive relationship with annual precipitation. However, soil salinity, vegetation community composition, human activity and sample provenance (e.g. soil and lake sediments) will affect the values of the A/C ratio in different vegetation zones and therefore the A/C ratio is not comparable in different regions. We argue that the A/C ratio can only be used to reconstruct vegetation types and climate change in regions with precipitation < 450-500 mm, and in steppe, steppe desert and desert areas. Careful studies should be undertaken to understand the modern pollen-vegetation-climate relationships in various regions before using the A/C ratio to interpret vegetation and climate.
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