A unique Middle Pleistocene beech (Fagus)-rich deciduous broad-leaved forest in the Yangtze Delta Plain, East China: Its climatic and stratigraphic implication

Pollen analysis of Middle Pleistocene sediments from the Yangtze Delta Plain provides a paleoecological reconstruction and has implications for stratigraphic correlation in East China. The pollen assemblage is characterized by high values of Fagus (16.8% on average), which is unusual because Fagus is generally present only sporadically in other lowland Quaternary pollen records from the region. In addition to Fagus, the assemblage has a rich diversity of broad-leaved deciduous trees, including Quercus, Ulmus, Carpinus/Ostrya, Juglans, Betula, and Liquidambar, as well as conifers, including Pinus, Picea, Abies, Larix, and Tsuga. Thus, the pollen flora suggests a broad-leaved deciduous forest mixed with abundant conifers, which developed under cooler and more humid conditions than present. The stable pollen sequence throughout the studied section suggests a stable environment. Beech forests also characterize the Middle Pleistocene of Taiwan and Japan, and thus may be a stratigraphic indicator of the Middle Pleistocene in East Asia. The Yangtze Delta Plain may have been an important refugium for the last survival of Fagus in the lowlands.

► We present the first Fagus-rich Middle Pleistocene pollen flora in mainland of China.
► The flora shows a cool and humid temperate climate.
► Coastal lowlands could be a refugium for the last survival of Fagus.
► Fagus layers are proposed as an age indicator for stratigraphic correlations.