Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relative pollen productivity estimates for alpine meadow vegetation, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A promising method of reconstructing past vegetation from pollen records uses mathematical models of the relationship between pollen and vegetation. These can be calibrated using the extended R-value (ERV) approach on datasets of modern pollen assemblages and related vegetation surveys. This study presents the results of calibrating the pollen-vegetation models for non-arboreal pollen types in alpine meadow habitats on the Tibetan Plateau. Surface soil samples were analysed for pollen and the surrounding vegetation was recorded at 30 randomly located sites in the Zoige basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau. ERV analysis found that the most reliable results were obtained when using ERV sub-models 1 and 2, and distance-weighting the vegetation data by applying the taxon-specific Prentice–Sutton method. The relevant source area of pollen for these soil samples was found to be ca. 200 m. Relative pollen productivities (RPP) of 15 non-arboreal taxa were estimated relative to Cyperaceae (RPPCyp). The taxa can be divided into three groups according to their RPPs, those with high RPPCyp values > 1.68 (Thalictrum, Artemisia, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Plantago), those with moderate values (0.42–0.62) (Taraxacum-type, Apiaceae, Polygonum and Aster-type), and those with low values < 0.4 (Gentianaceae, Potentilla, Brassicaceae, Saussurea-type and Poaceae). The RPP values obtained from our study differ from those of previous studies in other parts of China, and form the basis for future reconstruction of palaeovegetation on the Tibetan Plateau through model-based methods, such as the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm, or Multiple Scenario Approach.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abraham V, Kozáková R (2012) Relative pollen productivity estimates in the modern agricultural landscape of Central Bohemia (Czech Republic). Rev Palaeobot Palynol 179:1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • An ZS, Kutzbach JE, Prell WL, Porter SC (2001) Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalayan Tibetan Plateau since Late Miocene times. Nature 411:62–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersen ST (1970) The relative pollen productivity and pollen representation of North European trees, and correction factors for tree pollen spectra (Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelse, 2. række nr 96). Reitzel, København

  • Baker AG, Zimny M, Keczyński A, Bhagwat SA, Willis KJ, Latałowa M (2016) Pollen productivity estimates from old-growth forest strongly differ from those obtained in cultural landscapes: evidence from the Białowieża National Park, Poland. Holocene 26:80–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Birks HJB, Birks HH, Ammann B (2016) The fourth dimension of vegetation. Science 354:412–413

    Google Scholar 

  • Broström A, Sugita S, Gaillard M-J (2004) Pollen productivity estimates for the reconstruction of past vegetation cover in the cultural landscape of southern Sweden. Holocene 14:368–381

    Google Scholar 

  • Broström A, Sugita S, Gaillard M-J, Pilesjö P (2005) Estimating the spatial scale of pollen dispersal in the cultural landscape of southern Sweden. Holocene 15:252–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Broström A, Nielsen AB, Gaillard M-J et al (2008) Pollen productivity estimates of key European plant taxa for quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation: a review. Veget Hist Archaeobot 17:461–478

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ (2003) Pollen-vegetation relationships in non-arboreal moorland taxa. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 125:285–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ (2008) Pollen in wetlands: using simulations of pollen dispersal and deposition to better interpret the pollen signal—a PolLandCal contribution. Biodivers Conser 17:2,079–2,096

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ, Hjelle KL (2010) Effect of vegetation data collection strategies on estimates of relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) and relative pollen productivity estimates (relative PPE) for non-arboreal taxa. Veget Hist Archaeobot 19:365–374

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ, Middleton D (2005) Modelling pollen dispersal and deposition using HUMPOL software, including simulating windroses and irregular lakes. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 134:185–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ, Middleton R (2009) Equifinality and uncertainty in the interpretation of pollen data: the multiple scenario approach to reconstruction of past vegetation mosaics. Holocene 19:799–803

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ, Gaillard M-J, Sugita S, Middleton R, Broström A (2004) Vegetation structure and pollen source area. Holocene 14:651–660

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ, Armitage R, Binney HA, Waller M (2005) Estimates of ‘relative pollen productivity’ and ‘relevant source area of pollen’ for major tree taxa in two Norfolk (UK) woodlands. Holocene 15:459–465

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ, Farrell M, Broström A et al (2013) Palynological perspectives on vegetation survey: a critical step for model-based reconstruction of quaternary land cover. Quat Sci Rev 82:41–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting MJ, Farrell M, Bayliss A, Marshall P, Whittle A (2018) Maps from mud—using the multiple scenario approach to reconstruct land cover dynamics from pollen records: a case study of two Neolithic landscapes. Front Ecol Evol 6:36. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2018.00036

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calcote R (1995) Pollen source area and pollen productivity: evidence from forest hollows. J Ecol 83:591–602

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao XY, Ni J, Herzschuh U, Wang YB, Zhao Y (2013) A late quaternary pollen dataset from eastern continental Asia for vegetation and climate reconstructions: set up and evaluation. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 194:21–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaput MA, Gajewski K (2018) Relative pollen productivity estimates and changes in Holocene vegetation cover in the deciduous forest of southeastern Quebec, Canada. Botany 96:299–317

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen H, Xu QH, Zhang SR, Sun YH, Wang M, Zhou ZZ (2019) Relative pollen productivity estimates of subtropical evergreen and deciduous broadleaved mixed forest in Ta-pieh Mountains (in Chinese with English abstract). Quat Sci 39:469–482

    Google Scholar 

  • Commerford JL, McLauchlan KK, Sugita S (2013) Calibrating vegetation cover and grassland pollen assemblages in the Flint Hills of Kansas, USA. Am J Plant Sci 4:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis MB (1963) On the theory of pollen analysis. Am J Plant Sci 261:897–912

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffin KI, Bunting MJ (2008) Relative pollen productivity and fall speed estimates for southern African savanna taxa. Veget Hist Archaeobot 17:507–525

    Google Scholar 

  • Fægri K, Iversen J (1989) Textbook of pollen analysis (4th edn by Fægri K, Kaland PE, Krzywinski K). Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagerlind F (1952) The real signification of pollen diagrams. Bot Notiser 105:185–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Fang YM, Ma CM, Bunting MJ (2019) Novel methods of estimating relative pollen productivity: a key parameter for reconstruction of past land cover from pollen records. Prog Phys Geogr. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133319861808

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaillard M-J, Sugita S, Bunting MJ et al (2008) The use of modelling and simulation approach in reconstructing past landscapes from fossil pollen data: a review and results from the POLLANDCAL network. Veget Hist Archaeobot 17:419–443

    Google Scholar 

  • Ge YW, Li YC, Li Y, Yang XL, Zhang RC, Xu QH (2015) Relevant source area of pollen and relative pollen productivity estimates in Bashang steppe (in Chinese with English abstract). Quat Sci 35:934–945

    Google Scholar 

  • Ge Y, Li Y, Bunting MJ, Li B, Li Z, Wang J (2017) Relation between modern pollen rain, vegetation and climate in northern China: implications for quantitative vegetation reconstruction in a steppe environment. Sci Total Environ 586:25–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory PH (1973) The microbiology of the atmosphere, 2nd edn. Leonard Hill, Aylesbury

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimm EC (2011) Tilia 1.7.16. Illinois State Museum, Springfield

    Google Scholar 

  • Han Y, Liu HY, Hao Q, Liu X, Guo WC, Shangguan HL (2017) More reliable pollen productivity estimates and relative source area of pollen in a forest-steppe ecotone with improved vegetation survey. Holocene 27:1,567–1,577

    Google Scholar 

  • He F, Li YY, Wu J, Xu YZ (2016) A comparison of relative pollen productivity from forest steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe in Inner Mongolia (in Chinese with English abstract). Chin Sci Bull 61:3,388–3,400

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutzbach JE, Guetter PJ, Ruddiman WF, Prell WL (1989) Sensitivity of climate to late Cenozoic uplift in southern Asia and the American west: numerical experiments. J Geophys Res Atmos 94:18,393–18,407

    Google Scholar 

  • Li YC, Bunting MJ, Xu QH, Jiang SX, Ding W, Hun LY (2011) Pollen-vegetation-climate relationships in some desert and desert-steppe communities in northern China. Holocene 21:997–1,010

    Google Scholar 

  • Li YY, Nielsen AB, Zhao XQ et al (2015) Pollen production estimates (PPEs) and fall speeds for major tree taxa and relevant source areas of pollen (RSAP) in Changbai Mountain, northeastern China. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 216:92–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Li FR, Gaillard M-J, Sugita S et al (2017a) Relative pollen productivity estimates for major plant taxa of cultural landscapes in central eastern China. Veget Hist Archaeobot 26:587–605

    Google Scholar 

  • Li YC, Ge YW, Bunting MJ et al (2017b) Relative pollen productivities and relevant source area of pollen in the forest-steppe ecotone of northern China. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 244:1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Li FR, Gaillard M-J, Xu QH et al (2018) A review of relative pollen productivity estimates from temperate China for pollen-based quantitative reconstruction of past plant cover. Front Plant Sci 9:1,214. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthias I, Nielsen AB, Giesecke T (2012) Evaluating the effect of flowering age and forest structure on pollen productivity estimates. Veget Hist Archaeobot 21:471–484

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazier F, Broström A, Gaillard M-J, Sugita S, Vittoz P, Buttler A (2008) Pollen productivity estimates and relevant source area of pollen for selected plant taxa in a pasture woodland landscape of the Jura Mountains (Switzerland). Veget Hist Archaeobot 17:479–495

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazier F, Gaillard M-J, Kuneš P, Sugita S, Trondman AK, Broström A (2012) Testing the effect of site selection and parameter setting on REVEALS-model estimates of plant abundance using the Czech Quaternary Palynological Database. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 187:38–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Molnar P, Boos WR, Battisti DS (2010) Orographic controls on climate and paleoclimate of Asia: thermal and mechanical roles for the Tibetan Plateau. Ann Rev Earth Planet Sci 38:77–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore PD, Webb JA, Collinson ME (1991) Pollen analysis, 2nd edn. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen AB, Sugita S (2005) Estimating relevant source area of pollen for small Danish lakes around AD 1800. Holocene 15:1,006–1,020

    Google Scholar 

  • Niemeyer B, Klemm J, Pestryakova LA, Herzschuh U (2015) Relative pollen productivity estimates for common taxa of the northern Siberian Arctic. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 221:71–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons RW, Prentice IC (1981) Statistical approaches to R-values and the pollen-vegetation relationship. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 32:127–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Poska A, Meltsov V, Sugita S, Vassiljev J (2011) Relative pollen productivity estimates of major anemophilous taxa and relevant source area of pollen in a cultural landscape of the hemi-boreal forest zone (Estonia). Rev Palaeobot Palynol 167:30–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Prentice IC (1985) Pollen representation, source area, and basin size: toward a unified theory of pollen analysis. Quat Res 23:76–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Prentice IC, Parsons RW (1983) Maximum likelihood linear calibration of pollen spectra in terms of forest composition. Biometrics 39:1,051–1,057

    Google Scholar 

  • Räsänen S, Suutari H, Nielsen AB (2007) A step further towards quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation in Fennoscandian boreal forests: pollen productivity estimates for six dominant taxa. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 146:208–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjögren P, van der Knaap WO, Huusko A, van Leeuwen JFN (2008) Pollen productivity, dispersal, and correction factors for major tree taxa in the Swiss Alps based on pollen-trap results. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 152:200–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjögren P, van der Knaap WO, van Leeuwen JFN (2015) Pollen dispersal properties of Poaceae and Cyperaceae: first estimates of their absolute pollen productivities. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 216:123–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Soepboer W, Sugita S, Lotter AF, van Leeuwen JFN, van der Knaap WO (2007) Pollen productivity estimates for quantitative reconstruction of vegetation cover on the Swiss Plateau. Holocene 17:65–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugita S (1993) A model of pollen source area for an entire lake surface. Quat Res 39:239–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugita S (1994) Pollen representation of vegetation in quaternary sediments—theory and method in patchy vegetation. J Ecol 82:881–897

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugita S (2007a) Theory of quantitative reconstruction of vegetation I: pollen from large sites REVEALS regional vegetation composition. Holocene 17:229–241

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugita S (2007b) Theory of quantitative reconstruction of vegetation II: all you need is LOVE. Holocene 17:243–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugita S, Gaillard M-J, Broström A (1999) Landscape openness and pollen records: a simulation approach. Holocene 9:409–421

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugita S, Hicks S, Sormunen H (2010) Absolute pollen productivity and pollen-vegetation relationships in northern Finland. J Quat Sci 25:724–736

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton OG (1953) Micrometeorology. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang LY, Mao LM, Shu JW, Li CH, Shen CM, Zhou ZZ (2016) An illustrated handbook of quaternary pollen and spores in China (in Chinese). Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor JR (1997) An introduction to error analysis: the study of uncertainties in physical measurements, 2nd edn. University Science Books, Sausalito, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Trondman AK, Gaillard M-J, Mazier F et al (2015) Pollen-based quantitative reconstructions of Holocene regional vegetation cover (plant-functional types and land-cover types) in Europe suitable for climate modelling. Glob Chang Biol 21:676–697

    Google Scholar 

  • Twiddle CL, Jones RT, Caseldine CJ, Sugita S (2012) Pollen productivity estimates for a pine woodland in eastern Scotland: the influence of sampling design and vegetation patterning. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 174:67–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Post L (1916) Forest tree pollen in south Swedish peat bog deposits: translated by Davis MB and Fægri K (1967). Pollen Spores 9:375–401

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Stedingk H, Fyfe RM, Allard A (2008) Pollen productivity estimates from the forest-tundra ecotone in west-central Sweden: implications for vegetation reconstruction at the limits of the boreal forest. Holocene 18:23–332

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang YB, Herzschuh U (2011) Reassessment of Holocene vegetation change on the upper Tibetan Plateau using the pollen-based REVEALS model. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 168:31–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang FX, Chien NF, Zhang YL, Yang HQ (1995) Pollen flora of China, 2nd edn (in Chinese). Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Q, Bao WK, Yan ZL, Kumpula T, Colpaert A, Manderscheid A (2002) Basic types and characters of the western Zoige meadows and their changes in recent decades Chinese (in Chinese with English abstract). J Appl Environ Biol 8:133–141

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Ma YZ, Sang YL, Meng HW, Hu CL (2013) Quantitative reconstruction of paleovegetation and development R-value model: an application of R-value and ERV model in Xinglong Mountain natural protection region (in Chinese with English abstract). Quat Sci 33:554–564

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu GX, Duan AM, Liu YM et al (2015) Tibetan Plateau climate dynamics: recent research progress and outlook. Nat Sci Rev 2:100–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Xi YZ, Ning JC (1994) Pollen morphology of plants from Chinese arid and semiarid areas (in Chinese with English abstract). Yushania 11:119–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu QH, Cao XY, Tian F et al (2014) Relative pollen productivities of typical steppe species in northern China and their potential in past vegetation reconstruction. Sci Chin Earth Sci 57:1,254–1,266

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XS (2007) Vegetation of China and its geographic patterns (in Chinese). China Geology Publishing House, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang PP, Xu QH, Gaillard M-J, Mu HS, Zhang YH, Lu JY (2017) Research of main plant species’s relative pollen productivities and relevant source area of temperate coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest in northern China (in Chinese with English abstract). Quat Sci 37:1,430–1,443

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Y, Herzschuh U (2009) Modern pollen representation of source vegetation in the Qaidam Basin and surrounding mountains, north-eastern Tibetan Plateau. Veget Hist Archaeobot 18:245–260

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Graham Ferrier and Rodney M. Forster (University of Hull, UK) for their help with constructing the zone C land cover map, Yiman Fang (University of Hull, UK) for her helpful discussions, Furong Li (Linnaeus University, Sweden) for her helpful suggestions on fieldwork and Hanfei Yang and Rongwei Geng (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, China) for their assistance with fieldwork. This research was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA20070101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41671202, 41690113, 41630753), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0600501).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Feng Qin, Yan Zhao, Quan Li, Qiaoyu Cui & Weihe Ren

  2. Department of Geography and Geology, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK

    Feng Qin & M. Jane Bunting

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yan Zhao & Weihe Ren

Authors
  1. Feng Qin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Jane Bunting
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yan Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Quan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Qiaoyu Cui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Weihe Ren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Feng Qin.

Additional information

Communicated by M.-J. Gaillard.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 737 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Qin, F., Bunting, M.J., Zhao, Y. et al. Relative pollen productivity estimates for alpine meadow vegetation, northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Veget Hist Archaeobot 29, 447–462 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00751-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00751-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation