Modern vegetation, pollen and climate relationships on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus

This research investigates patterns of plant species distributions, modern pollen deposition, and climate on the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, and explores the potential for using these modern pollen-vegetation-climate relationships for paleoenvironmental interpretation. Vegetation and pollen data were collected at 56 locations along elevational gradients from the southern coast across the Troodos Mountains, to the Kyrenia Range, and to the northern coast of Cyprus. Elevation, mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature were interpolated for each sample locale. Discriminant analysis, cluster analysis. non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and indices of plant-pollen fidelity and dispersibility are used to characterize the vegetation and pollen of Cyprus. The main vegetation types in Cyprus oak forests, pine forests, orchards, and coastal scrub and salt lake vegetation can be distinguished in modern pollen samples; samples from disturbed garigue vegetation could not be separated from surrounding vegetation types. Pollen taxa demonstrate clear relationships with climatic variables. Pinus, Cyperaceae, Cistus, Quercus and Prunus are found associated with greater amounts of precipitation and higher elevations. Higher temperatures are linked particularly to Cupressaceae, Olea, Cerealia-type, Liguliflorae, and Chenopodiaceae pollen. The majority of the pollen taxa show moderate to moderately high fidelity, signifying the close link between the vegetation of Cyprus and its pollen. Many pollen taxa also reflect high dispersibility, which in some cases demonstrates over representation in the pollen rain. The relationships between the main modern pollen taxa of Cyprus and broad climatic variables can provide the basis for interpreting paleoenvironmental records. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.