High-resolution pollen record of ODP Hole 175-1078C

To address the connection between tropical African vegetation development and high-latitude climate change we present a high-resolution pollen record from ODP Site 1078 (off Angola) covering the period 50-10 ka BP. Although several tropical African vegetation and climate reconstructions indicate an impact of Heinrich Stadials (HSs) in Southern Hemisphere Africa, our vegetation record shows no response. Model simulations conducted with an Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity including a dynamical vegetation component provide one possible explanation. Because both precipitation and evaporation increased during HSs and their effects nearly cancelled each other, there was a negligible change in moisture supply. Consequently, the resulting climatic response to HSs might have been too weak to noticeably affect the vegetation composition in the study area. Our results also show that the response to HSs in southern tropical Africa neither equals nor mirrors the response to abrupt climate change in northern Africa.

Changes in the vegetation and trade winds in equatorial Northwest Africa 140,000-70,000 yr B.P., as deduced from two marine pollen records

The deep-sea cores M 16415-2 and M 16416-2 at about 9°N off Sierra Leone were analysed palynologically for the time interval 140,000-70,000 yr B.P. Results were presented in absolute (pollen concentration and pollen influx) and relative diagrams (pollen percentage). In a previous study it was evidenced that in northwest Africa pollen is mainly transported to the Atlantic by wind, so that the efficiency of aeolian pollen transport (pollen flux) could be used to evaluate changes in the intensity of the northeast trade winds. The glacial episodes (represented by the oxygen isotope stages 6 and 4) are characterized by strong northeast trade winds, whereas the last interglacial (stage 5) is characterized by weak trade winds. The pollen influx diagram shows that the intensity of the trade winds increased slightly during the relatively cool intervals of stage 5 (viz. 5.4 and 5.2). Tropical forest had maximally expanded around 124,000 yr B.P. (stage 5.5), around 98,000 yr B.P. (transition of stage 5.3 to 5.2), and around 70,000 yr B.P. (first part of stage 4): an increasing delay of the response of tropical forest to global intervals with maximum temperature is apparent during the last interglacial. As tropical forests need continuous humidity, the record of tropical forest monitors changes in climatic humidity south of the Sahara. During the last interglacial, the southern boundary of the Sahara shifted only little: expansions and contractions of the tropical forest area are correlated with contra-oscillations of the grass-dominated savanna zone. Great latitudinal shifts of the desert savanna boundary, on the contrary, occurred during the penultimate glacial interglacial transition (around 128,000 yr B.P.) to the north, and during the last interglacial-glacial transition (around 65,000 yr B.P.) to the south.

A forgalomban lévő fásszárú dísznövénytaxonok szárazságtűrésének értékelése a klímaváltozás tükrében (Evaluation of the impact climate change on current drought-tolerant woody plants)

Regionális klímaváltozási forgatókönyvek szerint hazánk éghajlata az elkövetkező 90 évben a mainál jóval melegebb, a nyári évszakban csapadékszegényebb, összességében pedig szárazabb lesz. Kutatásunk célja volt felmérni szárazságtűrésük szerint a legjelentősebb faiskolák katalógusában fellelhető fa- és cserjefajokat (a gyűjtésben nem szerepelnek a faj alatti taxonok). A vizsgálatainkban szereplő öt faiskola növénykínálatát a tudományos nevek ellenőrzése után összesítettük, majd ezt követően az egyes fajokat vízigény szerinti kategóriákba soroltuk. A tényleges statisztikai értékelésbe – a 451 összegyűjtött faj tudományos neveinek ellenőrzése után – 420 fajt vontunk be, melyek 20%-a vízigényes, 53%-a közepesen vízigényes és 27%-a szárazságtűrő. Várakozásainkkal ellentétben a vízigényes fajok részaránya kevésnek mondható, ugyanakkor a szárazságtűrő fajok magasabb aránya kívánatos lenne. Ezért, a gyakorlati alkalmazást elősegítve, kiemeltünk olyan nemzetségeket, melyek kereskedelmi forgalmazását meg kellene kezdeni vagy fokozni, mint pl a Cupressus, Eucommia, Halimodendron, Paliurus, Pyrus, Rhus, Yucca Zanthoxylum, Zelkova, illetve olyanokat, melyek telepítését a jövőben nem, vagy csak kellő körültekintéssel javasoljuk, mint például a Clematis, Hydrangea, Liquidambar, Magnolia, Rhododendron nemzetségek. _____ According to regional climate change scenarios, the climate in Hungary will be warmer. Less precipitation is predicted in the summer seasons so, on the whole, it will be drier over the next 90 years. Our research attempted to survey the ornamental plant species in the most important nurseries in Hungary, in terms of their drought tolerance. The intraspecifi c taxa are not included. The plant assortment of the fi ve nurseries was merged after researching their scientifi c names. We then categorized species to 3 groups of drought tolerance. Out of 451 species, 420 of them were used in the statistical research. 20% of them were water demanding, 53% were medium drought tolerant and 27% were drought tolerant. In contrast to our initial expectation, the proportion of water demanding species was not too high. Nevertheless, the proportion of drought tolerant species should have been greater. We classifi ed the genera to assist in practical application. The trade of some of these species, such as Cupressus, Eucommia, Halimodendron, Paliurus, Pyrus, Rhus, Yucca, Zanthoxylum, Zelkova should be initiated or increased in the future. Other species, especially Clematis, Hydrangea, Liquidambar, Magnolia, Rhododendron are not recommended due to either their drought intolerance or their high maintenance requirement.

Pollen distribution of sediment core MD96-2048 from the Western Indian Ocean

Glacial-interglacial fluctuations in the vegetation of South Africa might elucidate the climate system at the edge of the tropics between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. However, vegetation records covering a full glacial cycle have only been published from the eastern South Atlantic. We present a pollen record of the marine core MD96-2048 retrieved by the Marion Dufresne from the Indian Ocean ~120 km south of the Limpopo River mouth. The sedimentation at the site is slow and continuous. The upper 6 m (spanning the past 342 Ka) have been analysed for pollen and spores at millennial resolution. The terrestrial pollen assemblages indicate that during interglacials, the vegetation of eastern South Africa and southern Mozambique largely consisted of evergreen and deciduous forests. During glacials open mountainous scrubland dominated. Montane forest with Podocarpus extended during humid periods was favoured by strong local insolation. Correlation with the sea surface temperature record of the same core indicates that the extension of mountainous scrubland primarily depends on sea surface temperatures of the Agulhas Current. Our record corroborates terrestrial evidence of the extension of open mountainous scrubland (including fynbos-like species of the high-altitude Grassland biome) for the last glacial as well as for other glacial periods of the past 300 Ka.

Age model and pollen analysis from site GIK16867 in the northern Angola Basin

Sporomorphs and dinoflagellate cysts from site GIK16867 in the northern Angola Basin record the vegetation history of the West African forest during the last 700 ka in relation to changes in salinity and productivity of the eastern Gulf of Guinea. During most cool and cold periods, the Afromontane forest, rather than the open grass-rich dry forest, expanded to lower altitudes partly replacing the lowland rain forest of the borderlands east of the Gulf of Guinea. Except in Stage 3, when oceanic productivity was high during a period of decreased atmospheric circulation, high oceanic productivity is correlated to strong winds. The response of marine productivity in the course of a climatic cycle, however, is earlier than that of wind vigour and makes wind-stress-induced oceanic upwelling in the area less likely. Monsoon variation is well illustrated by the pollen record of increased lowland rain forest that is paired to the dinoflagellate cyst record of decreased salinity forced by increased precipitation and run-off.

Pollen flux off Cape Blanc

Fluxes of airborne freshwater diatoms (FD), phytoliths (PH), and pollen grains (PO) collected with sediment traps off Cape Blanc, northwest Africa, from 1988 till 1991 are presented. Both continental rainfall variations and wind mean strength and direction play a key role in the temporal fluctuations of the fluxes of eolian traces in the pelagic realm. Drier conditions in Northern Africa in 1987 could have preceded the high lithogenic input and moderate FD flux in 1988. The PH peak in summer 1988 was probably caused by increased wind velocity. Wetter rainy seasons of 1988/89 might have promoted a significant pollen production in summer 1989, and FD in late 1989 and early 1990, as well as contributed to the reduction of the lithogenic flux in 1989/90. Decreased fluxes of FD, PH and PO, and higher contribution of the 6-11 µm lithogenic fraction in 1991 would mainly reflect minor intensity and decreased amount of continental trade winds. Air-mass backward trajectories confirm that the Saharan Air Layer is predominantly involved in the spring/summer transport. Trade winds play a decisive role in the fall/winter months, but also contribute to the transport during late spring/summer. Origin of wind trajectories does not support a direct relationship between transporting wind-layers and material source areas in Northern Africa. High winter fluxes of eolian tracers and high amount of trade winds with continental origin in summer warn against a simplistic interpretation of the seasonal eolian signal preserved in the sediments off Cape Blanc, and the wind layer involved in its transport.

Pollen analyses of sediment core GeoB1711-4 in the eastern South Atlantic

Influx of aeolian pollen trapped in marine sediments off Namibia provides a wind variation record for the last 135 kyr. The influx of major pollen components is derived from the southwest African desert/semi-desert zone and shows six periods during which enhanced southeast trade winds contributed to strong upwelling and reduced sea surface temperatures. The most prominent of these occurred during 17-23 cal. kyr, 42-56 kyr and before 130 kyr B.P. Correspondence between the pollen influx record and the Vostok deuterium isotope record suggests that pronounced glacial Antarctic cooling was accompanied by intensification of the southeast trades throughout the Late Quaternary. However, during 42-23 kyr B.P. the combination of strong Antarctic glaciation with a decrease of wind zonality induced by low latitude precessional insolation changes caused strong alongshore winds and Ekman pumping that resulted in strong upwelling and reduced sea surface temperatures without pollen influx enhancement.

Pollen analysis of sediment core GeoB1023-5

A high resolution marine pollen record from site GeoB1023, west of the northern Namib desert provides data on vegetation and climate change for the last 21 ka at an average resolution of 185 y. Pollen and spores are mainly delivered to the site by the Cunene river and by surface and mid-tropospheric wind systems. The main pollen source areas are located between 13°S and 21°S, which includes the northern Namib desert and semi-desert, the Angola-northern Namibian highland, and the north-western Kalahari. The pollen spectra reflect environmental changes in the region. The last glacial maximum (LGM) was characterised by colder and more arid conditions than at present, when a vegetation with temperate elements such as Asteroideae, Ericaceae, and Restionaceae grew north of 21°S. At 17.5 ka cal. B.P., an amelioration both in temperature and humidity terminated the LGM but, in the northern Kalahari, mean annual rainfall in the interval 17.5-14.4 ka cal. B.P. was probably 100-150 mm lower than at present (400-500 mm/y). The Late-glacial to early Holocene transition includes two arid periods, i.e. 14.4-12.5 and 10.9-9.3 ka cal. B.P. The last part of the former period may be correlated with the Younger Dryas. The warmest and most humid period in the Holocene occurred between 6.3 and 4.8 ka cal. B.P. During the last 2000 years, human impact, as reflected by indications of deforestation, enhanced burning and overgrazing, progressively intensified.

Pollen record of sediment core GeoB1008-3 from the Congo fan

Palynological investigation of the marine core, GeoB1008-3, from near the mouth of the Congo river (6°35.6'S/10°19.1'E), provides information about the changes in vegetation and climate in West Equatorial Africa during the last 190 ka. The pollen diagram is divided into zones 1-6 which are considered to correspond in time with the marine isotope stages 1-6. Oscillations in temperature and moisture are indicated during the cold stage 6. During stage 5, two cooler periods (5d and 5b) can be shown with an expansion of Podocarpus forests to lower elevations on the expense of lowland rain forest. Extended mangrove swamps existed along the coast in times of high sea level (stages 5 and 1).