Olesia V. Bondarenko & Torsten Utescher. Quantitative dynamics of the early Pliocene climate and vegetation in the Lena River Delta (northern Yakutia, Eastern Siberia)

Research paper

Botanica Pacifica. A journal of plant science and conservation 2022. 11(2):3-17
Article first published online: 01 SEP 2022 | DOI: 10.17581/bp.2022.11212

Quantitative dynamics of the early Pliocene climate and vegetation in the Lena River Delta (northern Yakutia, Eastern Siberia)

Olesia V. Bondarenko ¹ & Torsten Utescher ^2,3

¹ Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia
² Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt M., Germany
³ Steinmann Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Early Pliocene climate and vegetation evolution in the Lena River Delta (northern Yakutia, Eastern Siberia) are quantitatively studied for the first time in detail, based on a palaeobotanical record. Palaeobotanical data for this time-interval were obtained on 28 palynofloras from the Sardakh Formation in the coastal cliffs of the Sardakh-Sise Island (Lena River Delta). In this first integrative study we apply the Coexistence Approach (CA) for quantification of palaeoclimate, the Plant Functional Types (PFT) approach and Integrated Plant Record (IPR) vegetation analysis for quantification of palaeovegetation. Our investigation documents the persistence of temperate climate with two warmer and colder phases. Moreover, our reconstructions show significantly higher mean values of all temperature parameters in comparison to previous estimations. Overall humid climate conditions (up to 1500 mm) prevailed throughout the early Pliocene correspond to an oceanic climate. Our reconstruction indicates relatively strong temperature and precipitation seasonality. Our data for vegetation show more open vegetation in comparison to previous studies reconstructing mixed coniferdeciduous forests for the early Pliocene of northeast of Russia. Based on PFT, the early Pliocene vegetation of northern Yakutia in Lena River Delta mainly was presented by more or less open mixed deciduous woodlands of warmer or colder temperate type. The results obtained from the PFT approach generally are in accordance with our data obtained from IPR approach. However, based on IPR, periodically forests and grasslands were obtained in addition to open woodlands.

Бондаренко О.В., Утешер Т. Количественная динамика раннеплиоценового климата и растительности в дельте реки Лена (северная Якутия, Восточная Сибирь). Климат и эволюция растительности раннего плиоцена в дельте реки Лены (северная Якутия, Восточная Сибирь) впервые количественно детально изучены на основе палеоботанической летописи. Палеоботанические данные для этого временного интервала получены по 28 палинофлорам сардахской свиты в прибрежных скалах острова Сардах-Сисе (дельта р. Лены). В этом первом интегративном исследовании мы применяем подход сосуществования (CA) для количественной оценки палеоклимата, подход функциональных типов растений (PFT) и анализ растительности с интегрированным реестром растений (IPR) для количественной оценки палеорастительности. Наше исследование документирует постоянство умеренного климата с двумя более теплыми и более холодными фазами. Более того, наши реконструкции показывают значительно более высокие средние значения всех температурных параметров по сравнению с предыдущими оценками. Общие влажные климатические условия (до 1500 мм), преобладавшие на протяжении всего раннего плиоцена, соответствуют океаническому климату. Наша реконструкция указывает на относительно сильную сезонность температуры и осадков. Наши данные по растительности показывают более открытую растительность по сравнению с предыдущими исследованиями, реконструирующими смешанные хвойно-широколиственные леса для раннего плиоцена северо-востока России. По данным PFT раннеплиоценовая растительность северной Якутии в дельте Лены была представлена в основном более или менее открытыми смешанными лиственными редколесьями более теплого или более холодного умеренного типа. Результаты, полученные с помощью подхода PFT, в целом согласуются с нашими данными, полученными с помощью подхода IPR. Однако, на основании IPR, периодически в дополнение к редким редколесьям существовали леса и луга.

Keywords: temperature evolution, precipitation pattern, climate seasonality, structure of plant assemblages, vegetation type, динамика температуры, характер осадков, сезонность климата, структура растительных сообществ, тип растительности

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SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS: SEI 1 - SEI 2 - SEI 3

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