Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation and climate on the Taymyr lowland, northern Siberia

Pollen records from perennially frozen sequences provide vegetation and climate reconstruction for the last 48,000 C-14 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 C-14 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 C-14 yr B.P The statistical information method used for climate reconstruction shows that the coldest climate was ca. 20,000-17,000 C-14 yr B.P A warming (Allerod Interstade?) with mean July temperature ca. 1.5degreesC warmer than today occurred ca. 12,000 C-14 yr B.P. The following cooling with temperatures about 3degrees-4degreesC 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 (1)4C 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 C-14 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 C-14 yr B.P A cooling (Little Ice Age?) took place between 500 and 200 C-14 y 1. ago. (C) 2002 University of Washington.