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Tomar N, Roy I, Shri S, Chinthala BD, Shekhar M, Srivastava A, Ranhotra PS, Singh CP, Bhattacharyya A. Modern pollen dispersal in relation to present vegetation distribution and land use in the Baspa valley, Kinnaur, western Himalayas. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:194. [PMID: 38265534 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12340-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Interpretation of a fossil pollen data for the vegetation and climate reconstruction of any region needs a modern pollen-vegetation analogue for its calibration. We analyzed the surface sediments and moss polsters for the pollen and microcharcoal records to understand the modern pollen-vegetation relationship and human activities in the Baspa Valley, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Presently, valley is occupied by the arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation of temperate to subalpine habitats and land use activities. The recovered pollen assemblages showed variability in the dispersal behavior of pollen of taxa growing along the valley transect and also captured the signals of human activities over land use. The overall dominance of arboreal pollen in the recovered pollen assemblage corresponds with the dominant growth of conifers and broadleaf tree taxa and represents the valley vegetation at a regional scale. However, the profuse pollen production of a few arboreal taxa and long distance pollen transport from one vegetation zone to other by the strong upthermic valley winds could bias the pollen representation of in-situ vegetation. The high pollen frequency of non-arboreal taxa in the open meadows represents the near vicinity to their plant source. Human activities like fire burning and cultivation by the local population are evident by the recovery of microcharcoal particles and pollen of plants belonging to Cerealia Poaceae, Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae, Polygonaceae, Rosaceae, Juglandaceae, etc. The dataset taken as modern pollen-vegetation analogue is useful to assess past changes in the vegetation and land cover in relation to climate and human factors for future sustenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nidhi Tomar
- Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Ipsita Roy
- Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune, India
| | - Shreya Shri
- Rajat P.G. College, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India
| | | | - Mayank Shekhar
- Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow, India
| | - Amber Srivastava
- Botanical Survey of India, Northern Regional Centre, Dehradun, India
| | - Parminder Singh Ranhotra
- Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow, India.
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India.
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Lézine AM, Izumi K, Kageyama M, Achoundong G. A 90,000-year record of Afromontane forest responses to climate change. Science 2019; 363:177-181. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aav6821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Pollen records from African highlands are scarce; hence, the paleoecology of the Afromontane forest and its responses to glacial cycles are poorly known. Lake Bambili (Cameroon) provides a record of vegetation changes in the tropical mountains of Africa over the past 90,000 years, with high temporal resolution. Pollen data and biome reconstructions show a diverging response of forests to climate changes; the upper tree line was extremely unstable, shifting substantially in response to glacial-interglacial climate alternation, whereas the transition between the montane and lowland forests remained remarkably stable. Such ecological instability may have had a critical influence on species richness in the Afromontane forests.
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Sigdel SR, Wang Y, Camarero JJ, Zhu H, Liang E, Peñuelas J. Moisture-mediated responsiveness of treeline shifts to global warming in the Himalayas. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:5549-5559. [PMID: 30153361 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Among forest ecosystems, the alpine treeline ecotone can be considered to be a simplified model to study global ecology and climate change. Alpine treelines are expected to shift upwards in response to global warming given that tree recruitment and growth are assumed to be mainly limited by low temperatures. However, little is known whether precipitation and temperature interact to drive long-term Himalayan treeline dynamics. Tree growth is affected by spring rainfall in the central Himalayan treelines, being good locations for testing if, in addition to temperature, precipitation mediates treeline dynamics. To test this hypothesis, we reconstructed spatiotemporal variations in treeline dynamics in 20 plots located at six alpine treeline sites, dominated by two tree species (birch, fir), and situated along an east-west precipitation gradient in the central Himalayas. Our reconstructions evidenced that treelines shifted upward in response to recent climate warming, but their shift rates were primarily mediated by spring precipitation. The rate of upward shift was higher in the wettest eastern Himalayas, suggesting that its ascent rate was facilitated by spring precipitation. The drying tendency in association with the recent warming trends observed in the central Himalayas, however, will likely hinder an upslope advancement of alpine treelines and promote downward treeline shifts if moisture availability crosses a critical minimum threshold. Our study highlights the complexity of plant responses to climate and the need to consider multiple climate factors when analyzing treeline dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shalik Ram Sigdel
- Key laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yafeng Wang
- Key laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Colleges of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jesus Julio Camarero
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPE-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Haifeng Zhu
- Key laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Eryuan Liang
- Key laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Zhao Y, Herzschuh U, Li Q. Complex vegetation responses to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau: a paleoecological perspective. Natl Sci Rev 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwv057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhao
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | | | - Quan Li
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
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Guiot J, Boucher E, Gea-Izquierdo G. Process models and model-data fusion in dendroecology. Front Ecol Evol 2014. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2014.00052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Wu H, Guo Z, Guiot J, Hatté C, Peng C, Yu Y, Ge J, Li Q, Sun A, Zhao D. Elevation-induced climate change as a dominant factor causing the late Miocene C(4) plant expansion in the Himalayan foreland. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2014; 20:1461-1472. [PMID: 24123607 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2013] [Accepted: 08/14/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
During the late Miocene, a dramatic global expansion of C4 plant distribution occurred with broad spatial and temporal variations. Although the event is well documented, whether subsequent expansions were caused by a decreased atmospheric CO2 concentration or climate change is a contentious issue. In this study, we used an improved inverse vegetation modeling approach that accounts for the physiological responses of C3 and C4 plants to quantitatively reconstruct the paleoclimate in the Siwalik of Nepal based on pollen and carbon isotope data. We also studied the sensitivity of the C3 and C4 plants to changes in the climate and the atmospheric CO2 concentration. We suggest that the expansion of the C4 plant distribution during the late Miocene may have been primarily triggered by regional aridification and temperature increases. The expansion was unlikely caused by reduced CO2 levels alone. Our findings suggest that this abrupt ecological shift mainly resulted from climate changes related to the decreased elevation of the Himalayan foreland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haibin Wu
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 9825, Beijing, 100029, China
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Impact of climate change on aeroallergens. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2012; 108:294-9. [PMID: 22541397 DOI: 10.1016/j.anai.2011.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2011] [Revised: 11/28/2011] [Accepted: 11/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Peng C, Guiot J, Wu H, Jiang H, Luo Y. Integrating models with data in ecology and palaeoecology: advances towards a model-data fusion approach. Ecol Lett 2011; 14:522-36. [PMID: 21366814 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01603.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Changhui Peng
- Laboratory for Ecological Forecasting and Global Change, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
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Rull V, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Nogué S, Huber O. Conservation of the unique neotropical vascular flora of the Guayana Highlands in the face of global warming. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2009; 23:1323-1327. [PMID: 19549217 DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01266.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Valentí Rull
- CSIC-Botanic Institute of Barcelona, Palynology & Paleoecology, Pg. del Migdia s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Spain.
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