VEGETATION RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE ON JEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA, DURING THE LAST DEGLACIATION BASED ON POLLEN RECORD

Abstract

A pollen record (ca. 21,800 to 9,900 cal. yr BP) from a maar reveals a detailed history of vegetation and climate changes during the last deglaciation on Jeju Island, South Korea. During the LGM (ca. 21,800 to 14,400 cal. yr BP)Artemisia-dominated grassland with patches of cool temperate deciduous broadleaved forest developed under cold dry conditions. From ca. 14,400 to 11,800 cal. yr BP a vegetation transition from glacial type to interglacial is indicated by the expansion of temperate deciduous broadleaved forest and the retreat of grassland vegetation. The appearance of warm temperate evergreen and deciduous broadleaved forests with a fern understory after ca. 11,800 cal. yr BP suggests warm humid conditions, similar to modern climate of Jeju Island. Prominent fluctuations inArtemisia and Polypodiaceae indicate variability in humidity during the Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition. The pollen record reflects a vegetation response not only to the last deglacial warming but also to the influence of geographical change resulted from sea-level rise.