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Land
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Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover
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Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 16263

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Qiao-Yu Cui

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Guest Editor
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: palaeoecology; landscape change; fire history; charcoal analysis; pollen analysis; vegetation dynamics
Dr. Laurent Marquer

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Guest Editor
Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: pollen-based land cover; modelling vegetation dynamic; plant composition and diversity; landscape change; land use
Dr. Anneli Poska

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
2. Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Interests: palaeoecology; paleogeography biostratigraphy; climate reconstruction; palynology; radiocarbon dating; environment climate change; paleoclimate; paleoenvironment
Dr. Furong Li

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
School of Ecology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
Interests: palaeoecology; biogeography; past land-cover reconstruction based on pollen
Dr. Florence Mazier

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Geography, Toulouse Jean Jaures University, UMR GEODE 5602, Toulouse, France
Interests: pollen-based land-cover and land-use reconstruction; vegetation and landscape dynamics; modern and past plant and landscape diversity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Land cover is a principal component of the earth system, which influences global and regional climate through biogeophysical and biogeochemical feedback processes. In addition, the application of pollen-based land-cover reconstructions in a regional climate model shows that anthropogenic deforestation has a significant effect on mean temperatures in both summer and winter. As the basis of the terrestrial ecosystem, vegetation is directly linked to landscape-scale biodiversity. Understanding the long-term interactions between climate, vegetation, and human activities is crucial for assessing future biodiversity and climate change and decision making for adaption. Recent advances in palaeoecological research have produced a number of different pollen-based quantitative land-cover reconstruction methods (LRA, MAT, Biome, etc.). Studies from northern Europe show a good correlation between pollen-based estimates and plant diversity, suggesting that palaeo-proxies can successfully be used to assess the dynamics of past vegetation diversity.

However, to date, the palaeoecological proxy-based quantitative reconstructions of Holocene land cover change have, thus far, only been available for Europe and some parts of Asia and northern China, based on REVEALS estimates. Furthermore, the pollen-based biodiversity assessments of mostly European origin have not been thoroughly tested in variable plant diversity conditions.

These shortcomings hinder our understanding of the past and predictions of future vegetation dynamics and their interaction with anthropogenic and natural drivers at local to regional to continental scales worldwide. Therefore, we encourage the publishing of new studies to fill the gaps in our knowledge of long-term land cover changes.

For this Special Issue, we are interested in contributions that are linked to pollen-based reconstruction of Holocene land-cover, including but not limited to:

  • Quantifying modern pollen–vegetation relationships;
  • Regional–continental scales vegetation reconstructions based on REVEALS model;
  • Local vegetation reconstruction based on the LRA approach;
  • Vegetation response to Holocene climate change;
  • Distinguishment of the effect of anthropogenic and natural land-cover change on climate;
  • Holocene plant diversity study based on pollen;
  • Novel methods in the quantitative reconstruction of past land-cover, based on pollen;
  • Feedback of land-cover changes on the climate system: perspective from climate modeling.

Dr. Qiao-Yu Cui
Dr. Laurent Marquer
Dr. Anneli Poska
Dr. Furong Li
Dr. Florence Mazier
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • past land use and anthropogenic land cover changes
  • vegetation and land cover reconstruction
  • pollen-based climate reconstruction
  • holocene vegetation–climate interactions
  • holocene vegetation dynamics
  • climate–human interactions
  • plant diversity and biodiversity

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 10778 KiB  
Article
Potentials and Limitations of Fluviomarine Pollen Records to Reconstruct Spatiotemporal Changes in Coastal Ecosystems During the Holocene: A Case of Study from Ría de Vigo (NW Iberia)
by Alberto Castro-Parada, Nerea Cazás, Víctor Cartelle, Javier Ferreiro da Costa, Natalia Martínez-Carreño, Soledad García-Gil and Castor Muñoz Sobrino
Land 2025, 14(3), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14030540 - 5 Mar 2025
Viewed by 550
Abstract
The study of marine and terrestrial palynomorphs in fluviomarine environments has been successfully used in combination with different geophysical approaches to understand high-resolution relative sea-level oscillations and to reconstruct the environmental changes affecting estuaries and adjacent inland ecosystems. However, erosion during the postglacial [...] Read more.
The study of marine and terrestrial palynomorphs in fluviomarine environments has been successfully used in combination with different geophysical approaches to understand high-resolution relative sea-level oscillations and to reconstruct the environmental changes affecting estuaries and adjacent inland ecosystems. However, erosion during the postglacial marine transgression frequently causes sedimentary discontinuities or may lead to the redeposition of ancient upland sediments, including secondary, recycled and rebedded pollen. Therefore, a robust seismic and chronological control of the sedimentary facies is essential. In addition, studies of modern pollen sedimentation and its relationship to contemporaneous vegetation are valuable for obtaining a more realistic interpretation of the sedimentary evidence. To explore the significance of the experimental evidence obtained and to support the interpretation of sedimentary records from the same basin, we analysed a large set of modern pollen data from the Ría de Vigo (NW Iberia). The pollen samples derived from different sedimentary environments were compared with the local and regional vegetation cover. Pollen evidence from the various limnetic systems studied allows the identification of major vegetation types in the basin. However, in all the cases, the reconstructed relative pollen contributions of each vegetation unit are often distorted by the overrepresentation of certain anemophilous pollen types, the underrepresentation of some entomophilous species, and the specific taphonomy of each site of sedimentation. The ability of the seabed pollen evidence to represent the modern deciduous and alluvial forests, as well as the saltmarsh vegetation onshore, increases in the shallowest points of the ria (shallower than −10 m). Conversely, pastures and crops are better represented at intermediate depths (shallower than −30 m), while scrubland vegetation is better represented in samples at more than 20 m below modern sea level. It is concluded that shallow seabed pollen can provide information on the main elements of the modern vegetation cover of the emerged basin, including the main elements of the vegetation cover. However, the selection of the most suitable subtidal sites for coring, combined with pollen data from several environmental contexts, is critical for achieving an accurate reconstruction of the changing conditions of the emerged basin over time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover)
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23 pages, 11614 KiB  
Article
Environment of European Last Mammoths: Reconstructing the Landcover of the Eastern Baltic Area at the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition
by Ivan Krivokorin, Anneli Poska, Jüri Vassiljev, Siim Veski and Leeli Amon
Land 2025, 14(1), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14010178 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1057
Abstract
The Eastern Baltic area stands out as a unique location due to the finds of Europe’s youngest dated mammoth remains (12.6–11.2 ka cal BP). Our study explores the drastic climate and landcover changes during the extinction of these gigantic herbivores at the Pleistocene/Holocene [...] Read more.
The Eastern Baltic area stands out as a unique location due to the finds of Europe’s youngest dated mammoth remains (12.6–11.2 ka cal BP). Our study explores the drastic climate and landcover changes during the extinction of these gigantic herbivores at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. We used macrofossil analysis to determine the major contemporary terrestrial plant genera present in the area and used corresponding pollen taxa for REVEALS model-based landcover reconstructions. Our results indicate that these last mammoths utilised the open landcover of the Eastern Baltic, which developed as the continental ice sheet retreated during the termination of the last glaciation. Due to climate warming during the initial stages of the Holocene interglacial, the Eastern Baltic became speedily populated by birch and pine forests. The abrupt disappearance of typical forb-dominated tundra indicators, such as Dryas octopetala, and the fast increase in tree birch marked a shift from an open, tundra-like landscape to a forested one, making the environment inhospitable for mammoths even in northernmost Estonia by the beginning of the Holocene. A comparison between the isotopic values of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) obtained from mammoths’ molars from 14.3 and 11.3 to 43.5 and 39.1 ka cal BP showed that mammoths experienced a decline in the nutritional value of their diet, resulting in their demise in the Eastern Baltic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover)
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19 pages, 6994 KiB  
Article
Modern Pollen–Vegetation Relationships: A View from the Larch Forests of Central Siberia
by Elena Novenko, Natalia Mazei, Anton Shatunov, Anna Chepurnaya, Ksenia Borodina, Mikhail Korets, Anatoly Prokushkin and Alexander V. Kirdyanov
Land 2024, 13(11), 1939; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13111939 - 17 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1186
Abstract
Understanding how pollen assemblages represent the local and regional vegetation composition is crucial for palaeoecological research. Here, we analyze 102 surface moss/soil pollen samples collected from four study regions located in various boreal forest vegetation types in Central Siberia. Despite Larix being the [...] Read more.
Understanding how pollen assemblages represent the local and regional vegetation composition is crucial for palaeoecological research. Here, we analyze 102 surface moss/soil pollen samples collected from four study regions located in various boreal forest vegetation types in Central Siberia. Despite Larix being the most prevalent tree generus in the study area, the proportion of Larix pollen can be as low as 0.6–1.5% (0.4–4.7% on average) even in localities with a high canopy density of the species. No relationship between the quantity of Larix pollen in the spectra and the abundance of Larix in the local vegetation was found. The dominant components of the pollen assemblages are Betula and Alnus fruticosa. The pollen value of Picea is low (2.6–8.2% on average), with higher proportions at sample plots where spruce is abundant in forests. Pinus is a highly prevalent pollen species within its geographical range, comprising up to 40% of pollen assemblages. Outside of the range, the ratio of Pinus pollen was higher in habitats with low canopy density and in treeless ecosystems. The composition of herbaceous pollen and spores is significantly affected by the local plant community, offering more comprehensive insights into past vegetation patterns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover)
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19 pages, 11351 KiB  
Article
The Pollen Representation of Vegetation and Climate Along an Altitudinal Gradient on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau
by Weihe Ren, Min Liu, Feng Qin, Quan Li, Guitian Yi, Weiyu Chen, Shuming Li, Zijian Liu, Qing Peng, Chen Liang and Yan Zhao
Land 2024, 13(11), 1866; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13111866 - 8 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1066
Abstract
Understanding the relationship between modern pollen assemblages and vegetation/climate for various elevations is essential for accurately interpreting fossil pollen records and conducting quantitative climate reconstructions in mountainous regions. However, these relationships for the Tibetan Plateau, which is the highest and one of the [...] Read more.
Understanding the relationship between modern pollen assemblages and vegetation/climate for various elevations is essential for accurately interpreting fossil pollen records and conducting quantitative climate reconstructions in mountainous regions. However, these relationships for the Tibetan Plateau, which is the highest and one of the most ecologically sensitive regions globally, are still scarce. We present modern pollen assemblages from 78 topsoil samples collected along altitudinal gradients from 498 to 4046 m above sea level on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. They were distributed in alpine shrub meadows, coniferous forests, and mixed broad-leaved and coniferous forest vegetation types. Multivariate statistical methods, including discriminant analysis, indicator species analysis, logistic regression, and redundancy analysis, were employed to identify relationships among modern pollen assemblages, vegetation types, and climate along an altitudinal gradient. The results revealed that (1) vegetation types along the altitudinal gradient can be effectively differentiated by comparing pollen assemblages, discriminant analysis, and indicator species analysis; (2) the conifer/broadleaf pollen ratio (C/B) efficiently distinguished coniferous forests (C/B > 5) from mixed forests (C/B < 5); and (3) variations in modern pollen assemblages are primarily influenced by temperature, with pollen ratios, such as Artemisia/Cyperaceae (Art/Cy) and Tsuga/(Tsuga + Abies + Picea) (T/TAP), displaying notable altitudinal and temperature differences. These findings demonstrate that variations in modern pollen assemblages on the eastern Tibetan Plateau differentiate between vegetation types and correlate with temperature variations associated with elevation. The results provide insights for future paleovegetation and paleoclimatic reconstructions for similar mountainous regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover)
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18 pages, 5165 KiB  
Article
Holocene Vegetation Dynamics Revealed by a High-Resolution Pollen Record from Lake Yangzonghai in Central Yunnan, SW China
by Min Wang, Qifa Sun, Hongwei Meng, Linpei Huang, Huayong Li, Hucai Zhang and Caiming Shen
Land 2024, 13(6), 782; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060782 - 31 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1305
Abstract
Long-term regional vegetation dynamics is essential for the understanding of past land cover changes. High-resolution pollen analysis of a 1020 cm core from a large lake, Lake Yangzonghai (YZH), in central Yunnan, SW China, was conducted to reveal regional vegetation dynamics in the [...] Read more.
Long-term regional vegetation dynamics is essential for the understanding of past land cover changes. High-resolution pollen analysis of a 1020 cm core from a large lake, Lake Yangzonghai (YZH), in central Yunnan, SW China, was conducted to reveal regional vegetation dynamics in the lake catchment over the past 13,400 years. Pollen record, principal component analysis (PCA) of pollen percentages of major arboreal taxa, and plant abundances estimated from the “Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites” (REVEALS) model show five successional stages of vegetation dynamics since 13,400 cal. a BP: regional vegetation with high coverages in the lateglacial (13,400–11,400 cal. a BP) was dominated by evergreen broadleaved forest (EBF) and deciduous broadleaved forest (DBF), together with some grass meadows and marshes; pine forest and alder forest expanded in the early Holocene (11,400–9000 cal. a BP) when vegetation coverages were still high; regional vegetation with low coverages was dominated by sweetgum forest, together with some pine forest during the mid-Holocene (9000–4200 cal. a BP); more pine forest, grass meadows and marshes occupied the lake catchment during the late Holocene (4200–800 cal. a BP), when vegetation coverages were higher than the average of the past 13,400 years; regional vegetation with low coverage was dominated by grass meadows and marshes, great deforestation happened in the last 800 years. Regional vegetation dynamics over the past 13,400 years in the Lake YZH catchment was the result of regional vegetation response to climate changes during the lateglacial and early–mid Holocene, and to human activities mainly during the late Holocene. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover)
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13 pages, 7364 KiB  
Article
Relative Pollen Productivity Estimates for Major Plant Taxa in Middle Subtropical China
by Qiuchi Wan, Kangyou Huang, Cong Chen, Yongjie Tang, Xiao Zhang, Zhong Zhang and Zhuo Zheng
Land 2023, 12(7), 1337; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071337 - 3 Jul 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1666
Abstract
Relative pollen productivity (RPP) is a key parameter for quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation cover. However, RPP estimates are rarely obtained in the subtropical and tropical regions. In this study, the extended R-value (ERV) model was used to estimate RPP for major [...] Read more.
Relative pollen productivity (RPP) is a key parameter for quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation cover. However, RPP estimates are rarely obtained in the subtropical and tropical regions. In this study, the extended R-value (ERV) model was used to estimate RPP for major plant taxa in the evergreen broadleaved and mixed forests in middle subtropical China based on soil samples and vegetation data from 23 sites. The best result was obtained with the combinations of ERV sub-model 3 and Prentice’s or 1/d vegetation distance-weighting method. The relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) of the soil samples was estimated to be ca. 500 m. RPP on the basis of ERV sub-model 3 and Prentice’s model was obtained for seven taxa and the ranking is as follows: Castanopsis (1 ± 0), Ilex (0.352 ± 0.031), Mallotus (0.221 ± 0.028), Liquidambar (0.115 ± 0.007), Cyclobalanopsis (0.107 ± 0.006), Camelia (0.033 ± 0.001), Symplocos (0.010 ± 0.002). RPPs for Cyclobalanopsis, Camelia, Ilex, and Symplocos which are dominant elements in the subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests were first obtained. Our result demonstrates a significant effect of pollen dispersal models on the estimates of RPPs. The RPPs obtained in this study provide an important basis for quantitative vegetation reconstruction in the subtropical region of China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover)
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27 pages, 5988 KiB  
Article
Testing the Effect of Relative Pollen Productivity on the REVEALS Model: A Validated Reconstruction of Europe-Wide Holocene Vegetation
by M. A. Serge, F. Mazier, R. Fyfe, M.-J. Gaillard, T. Klein, A. Lagnoux, D. Galop, E. Githumbi, M. Mindrescu, A. B. Nielsen, A.-K. Trondman, A. Poska, S. Sugita, J. Woodbridge, D. Abel-Schaad, C. Åkesson, T. Alenius, B. Ammann, S. T. Andersen, R. Scott Anderson, M. Andrič, L. Balakauskas, L. Barnekow, V. Batalova, J. Bergman, H. John B. Birks, L. Björkman, A. E. Bjune, O. Borisova, N. Broothaerts, J. Carrion, C. Caseldine, J. Christiansen, Q. Cui, A. Currás, S. Czerwiński, R. David, A. L. Davies, R. De Jong, F. Di Rita, B. Dietre, W. Dörfler, E. Doyen, K. J. Edwards, A. Ejarque, E. Endtmann, D. Etienne, E. Faure, I. Feeser, A. Feurdean, E. Fischer, W. Fletcher, F. Franco-Múgica, E. D. Fredh, C. Froyd, S. Garcés-Pastor, I. García-Moreiras, E. Gauthier, G. Gil-Romera, P. González-Sampériz, M. J. Grant, R. Grindean, J. N. Haas, G. Hannon, A.-J. Heather, M. Heikkilä, K. Hjelle, S. Jahns, N. Jasiunas, G. Jiménez-Moreno, I. Jouffroy-Bapicot, M. Kabailienė, I. M. Kamerling, M. Kangur, M. Karpińska-Kołaczek, A. Kasianova, P. Kołaczek, P. Lagerås, M. Latalowa, J. Lechterbeck, C. Leroyer, M. Leydet, M. Lindbladh, O. Lisitsyna, J.-A. López-Sáez, John Lowe, R. Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, E. Lukanina, L. Macijauskaitė, D. Magri, D. Marguerie, L. Marquer, A. Martinez-Cortizas, I. Mehl, J. M. Mesa-Fernández, T. Mighall, A. Miola, Y. Miras, C. Morales-Molino, A. Mrotzek, C. Muñoz Sobrino, B. Odgaard, I. Ozola, S. Pérez-Díaz, R. P. Pérez-Obiol, C. Poggi, P. Ramil Rego, M. J. Ramos-Román, P. Rasmussen, M. Reille, M. Rösch, P. Ruffaldi, M. Sanchez Goni, N. Savukynienė, T. Schröder, M. Schult, U. Segerström, H. Seppä, G. Servera Vives, L. Shumilovskikh, H. W. Smettan, M. Stancikaite, A. C. Stevenson, N. Stivrins, I. Tantau, M. Theuerkauf, S. Tonkov, W. O. van der Knaap, J. F. N. van Leeuwen, E. Vecmane, G. Verstraeten, S. Veski, R. Voigt, H. Von Stedingk, M. P. Waller, J. Wiethold, K. J. Willis, S. Wolters and V. P. Zernitskayaadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Land 2023, 12(5), 986; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12050986 - 29 Apr 2023
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7966
Abstract
Reliable quantitative vegetation reconstructions for Europe during the Holocene are crucial to improving our understanding of landscape dynamics, making it possible to assess the past effects of environmental variables and land-use change on ecosystems and biodiversity, and mitigating their effects in the future. [...] Read more.
Reliable quantitative vegetation reconstructions for Europe during the Holocene are crucial to improving our understanding of landscape dynamics, making it possible to assess the past effects of environmental variables and land-use change on ecosystems and biodiversity, and mitigating their effects in the future. We present here the most spatially extensive and temporally continuous pollen-based reconstructions of plant cover in Europe (at a spatial resolution of 1° × 1°) over the Holocene (last 11.7 ka BP) using the ‘Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites’ (REVEALS) model. This study has three main aims. First, to present the most accurate and reliable generation of REVEALS reconstructions across Europe so far. This has been achieved by including a larger number of pollen records compared to former analyses, in particular from the Mediterranean area. Second, to discuss methodological issues in the quantification of past land cover by using alternative datasets of relative pollen productivities (RPPs), one of the key input parameters of REVEALS, to test model sensitivity. Finally, to validate our reconstructions with the global forest change dataset. The results suggest that the RPPs.st1 (31 taxa) dataset is best suited to producing regional vegetation cover estimates for Europe. These reconstructions offer a long-term perspective providing unique possibilities to explore spatial-temporal changes in past land cover and biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollen-Based Reconstruction of Holocene Land-Cover)
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