Quantitative relationship between modern surface pollen and plant community at quadrat scale

Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2021 Feb;32(2):441-452. doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.202102.005.

Abstract

Establishing a precise relationship between modern vegetation and surface pollen is the basis and key to quantitatively reconstruct paleovegetation and paleoclimate based on pollen records. The record of plant community plots has been less considered in the statistical analysis of modern vegetation and surface pollen, which limits the quantitative estimation of its precise relationship. In this study, the quantitative relationships of compositions and quantities between modern surface pollen and plant community were analyzed, based on the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity, through the analysis of 33 surface soil samples and corresponding vegetation plots from forest, meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe on the Northeast China Transect. Results showed that, in a single plot, the relationships between vegetation and pollen in compositions and quantities were different across all families and genera, dominant and common families and genera, and less common and rare families and genera, respectively, due to the differences in pollen dispersal and pollen productivity. There were significant differences among different vegetation types. The compositions of meadow steppe differed greatly, while all families and genera, dominant and common families and genera differed greatly in the quantitative relationship in forest. Less common and rare families and genera differed greatly in the compositions in meadow steppe. The vegetation-pollen relationship of different families and genera was basically the same in terms of composition and quantities. According to the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity, pollen taxa could be divided into three types: over-representative, under-representative and representative types. This dissimilarity index represented both the species composition and quantity relationship between vegetation and pollen both at quadrat scale and at specie level, which could be used as an indicator to quantitatively describe the modern vegetation-pollen relationship.

建立现代植被与表土花粉的精确关系,是基于孢粉记录定量重建古植被与古气候的基础与关键。截止目前,植物群落样方记录较少参与到现代植被与花粉的统计分析中,限制了其精确关系的定量表达。本文通过中国东北样带的森林、草甸草原、典型草原和荒漠草原33个表土样品分析及植被样方调查,基于Bray-Curtis相异系数,研究了东北样带现代表土花粉与植物群落组成和数量之间的定量关系。结果表明: 由于花粉传播距离和花粉产量大小的不同,单个样点的所有科属、优势和常见科属、少见和稀有科属,在组成和数量上的关系存在差异。不同植被类型间差异显著,草甸草原在组成上差异较大,而所有科属、优势和常见科属的数量关系在森林中差异较大,少见和稀有科属的数量关系则在草甸草原中差异较大。不同科属的植被-花粉关系在组成和数量上的趋势基本一致,根据Bray-Curtis相异系数可将该地区花粉类群划分为3类: 超代表性类型、低代表性类型和适中代表性类型。该系数可以获得样方水平和物种水平上植被-花粉的物种组成和数量关系,是定量描述植被-花粉关系的有效指标之一。.

Keywords: Bray-Curtis dissimilarity; forest; pollen-vegetation relationship; quadrat; steppe.

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Ecosystem*
  • Humans
  • Plants
  • Pollen*