Late Holocene vegetation and environment at Cauduntou, west of Yangtze Delta, SW Jiangsu Province, East China

This study presents vegetation and environmental history of the Subboreal to Subatlantic periods for Cauduntou, located ca. 200 km to the west of the southern Yangtze Delta, Southwest (SW) Jiangsu Province, East China. Relative and absolute pollen analyses and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) C-14 dating were performed. The Subboreal (prior to 2500 BP) vegetation was a well-diversified deciduous forest of Ulmus/Zelkova, Quercus (Lepidobalanus and Cyclobalanopsis), Celtis/Aphananthe, Sapindus, etc. The Subatlantic (following 2500 BP) vegetation was deciduous and evergreen broad-leaved mixed oak (Cyclobalanopsis) forest associated with Lepidobalanus and Liquidambar. No distinct influence of human activities is observed in the earliest Subatlantic palynoflora, showing that the mixed oak forest represents the natural vegetation of the Cauduntou area. Intense deforestation and spread of agriculture are recognised in the mid- to late Subatlantic period. Pollen of Artemisia, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Tubuliflorae, Polygonum and Fagopyrum increases indicating the onset of rapeseed and buckwheat cultivation. Reduction of total pollen concentration results from increased erosion and sediment supply to the study site, as a consequence of loss of vegetation cover from the surrounding hills. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.