Palaeoclimate reconstruction based on pollen records from the Tangke and Riganqiao peat sections in the Zoige Plateau, China

Palynological analysis was performed to characterize the Holocene paleoflora of China's Zoige Plateau and the implications for the plateau's palaeoclimate, using the Tangke and Riganqiao peat sections. Atomic mass spectrometry 14C dates and modern surface soil pollen materials were used to reconstruct the palaeoclimate parameters. From 7940 to 6420 cal. BP, the climate under which the Tangke section formed was slightly warm and humid; from 6420 to 6030 cal. BP, the climate was warm and humid; from 6030 to 3790 cal. BP, the climate was slightly cold and dry; from 3790 to 1580 cal. BP, the climate was cold and dry; and from 1580 cal. BP to the present, the climate was very warm and humid. From 7320 to 6955 cal. BP, the climate under which the Riganqiao section formed was warm and humid; from 6955 to 5467 cal. BP, the climate was very cold and dry; from 3641 to 5467 cal. BP, the climate was slightly cold and dry; from 2337 to 3641 cal. BP, the climate was warm and slightly humid; and from 2337 to 615 cal. BP, the climate was warm and slightly humid. Several cold and dry events have therefore occurred since 8000 cal. BP in both sections. There is a close relationship between peat mire development and paleoenvironmental change during the five periods recorded in the two sections.