Quantitative study on pollen-based reconstructions of vegetation history from central Canada

Based on high-resolution pollen records from lake cores in central Canada, the present study instructed pollen taxa assignations in ecosystem groups and modern analogue technique, reported major results of quantitative reconstructions of vegetation history during the last 1000 years, and discussed the validation of simulated vegetation. The results showed that in central America (115°–95°W, 40°–60°N), best analogue of the modern vegetation is 81% for boreal forest, 72% for parkland, and 94% for grassland-parkland, which are consistent with vegetation distributions of the North American Ecosystem II. Simulations of the past vegetation from the sedimentary pollen showed climate changes during the past 1000 years: it was warm and dry in the Medieval Warm period, cold and wet in the earlier period and cold and dry in the later period of the Little Ice Age. It became obviously increasing warm and drought in the 20th century. The present studies would provide us scientific basis to understand vegetation and climate changes during the last 1000 years in a characteristic region and in 10–100 year time scales.