Hahne and Melles: Climate and Ve~etation History oUhe Taymvr Peninsuln
421
graminoid tundra at Levinson-Lessing Lake (Figure 5). The Aller0d warming was even more
pronounced. At Lama Lake, a shrub tundra, and at Levinson Lessing Lake, a graminoid tundra
with sparsely occurring birch shrubs, were established. A larch forest tundra occupied the
Kokora Lake area, presumably at the same time. Possible larch settlement to the north of the
still larch-free Lama Lake area may indicate restricted spreading routes (e.g., along the northern
rim of the Putoran Plateau) or restricted larch source habitats (e.g., the upper Lena River) at the
end of the last glacial, but could also be due to especially favourable local climates in the
Taymyr Lowland. This observation agrees with Khotinskiy (1984), who assumed that the Late
Weichselian in Russia was characterized by the appearance of a hyperzonality or a "zone
mixing". In contrast to today, the major vegetation zones (tundra, taiga, and southern steppes)
were not established in global belts but widely distributed over the same areas.
Starting at the Weichselian/Holocene boundary, a clear zonal vegetation pattern developed
within a very short time (Figure 5). It led from forest on the southern Taymyr Peninsula, via
forest tundra and shrub tundra on the central and northern peninsula, to graminoid tundra on
Severnaya Zemlya. This zonality change may be traced back to the establishment of a zonal
atmospheric circulation system, as described by Khotinskiy (1984). During the Holocene
climatic optimum in late Preboreal and Boreal times, larch and birch trees spread to Kokora
Lake forming a forest tundra. Spruce (Picea obovata), in contrast, probably did not advance so
far northward. The vegetation zones gradually shifted to the south, mainly during the Atlantic
period. The current location of vegetation zones was widely established at the beginning of the
Sub boreal period. Subsequent distinct vegetation changes are recorded in the Lama Lake area
only leading to the establishment of the present forest tundra at the SubboreallSubatlantic
boundary.
In summary, both the establishment of the modem zonal vegetation pattern at the
WeichselianlHolocene boundary and the Holocene shifting trends are well recorded by the
palynological data from the four investigated lake sediment cores. The data give a first
impression of the mobility of vegetation zones and their sensitivity to climate changes. For
determinations of absolute values and a detailed mapping of vegetation changes through time,
however, additional palynological and sedimentological data are required, and especially more
accurate dating via reliable radiocarbon dates.
Acknowledgements
We thank the participants of the expeditions Norilsk/Taymyr 1993, Taymyr 1995, and
Taymyr/Severnaya Zemlya 1996 for their competent help in collecting the lake sediment cores.
S. Harwart, T. Ebel, and A. Raab are acknowledged for the core descriptions and subsampling
for pollen analyses. We are also indebted to Profs. S. Bjorck (Copenhagen) and H.-J. Beug
(Gottingen) for their constructive reviews. The latter colleague kindly made his laboratory at the
Institute for Palynology and Quaternary Sciences available for the preparation of the pollen
samples. Special thanks are due to C. Siegert for translations of Russian articles and very
helpful discussions. Financial support was provided by the German Ministry of Education,
Science, Research and Technology (BMBF; Grant No. 03PLOI4A,B). This is contribution No.
1353 of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven and
Potsdam.
References
Anisimov, M. A and l.N. Pospelov (this volume) The landscape and geobotanical characteristics of the
Levinson-Lessing Lake basin, Byrranga Mountains, Central Taymyr.
Archipov. S.A. (1989) Chronostratigraphical scale of the glacial Pleistocene in northern Siheria (in Russian). In:
421
graminoid tundra at Levinson-Lessing Lake (Figure 5). The Aller0d warming was even more
pronounced. At Lama Lake, a shrub tundra, and at Levinson Lessing Lake, a graminoid tundra
with sparsely occurring birch shrubs, were established. A larch forest tundra occupied the
Kokora Lake area, presumably at the same time. Possible larch settlement to the north of the
still larch-free Lama Lake area may indicate restricted spreading routes (e.g., along the northern
rim of the Putoran Plateau) or restricted larch source habitats (e.g., the upper Lena River) at the
end of the last glacial, but could also be due to especially favourable local climates in the
Taymyr Lowland. This observation agrees with Khotinskiy (1984), who assumed that the Late
Weichselian in Russia was characterized by the appearance of a hyperzonality or a "zone
mixing". In contrast to today, the major vegetation zones (tundra, taiga, and southern steppes)
were not established in global belts but widely distributed over the same areas.
Starting at the Weichselian/Holocene boundary, a clear zonal vegetation pattern developed
within a very short time (Figure 5). It led from forest on the southern Taymyr Peninsula, via
forest tundra and shrub tundra on the central and northern peninsula, to graminoid tundra on
Severnaya Zemlya. This zonality change may be traced back to the establishment of a zonal
atmospheric circulation system, as described by Khotinskiy (1984). During the Holocene
climatic optimum in late Preboreal and Boreal times, larch and birch trees spread to Kokora
Lake forming a forest tundra. Spruce (Picea obovata), in contrast, probably did not advance so
far northward. The vegetation zones gradually shifted to the south, mainly during the Atlantic
period. The current location of vegetation zones was widely established at the beginning of the
Sub boreal period. Subsequent distinct vegetation changes are recorded in the Lama Lake area
only leading to the establishment of the present forest tundra at the SubboreallSubatlantic
boundary.
In summary, both the establishment of the modem zonal vegetation pattern at the
WeichselianlHolocene boundary and the Holocene shifting trends are well recorded by the
palynological data from the four investigated lake sediment cores. The data give a first
impression of the mobility of vegetation zones and their sensitivity to climate changes. For
determinations of absolute values and a detailed mapping of vegetation changes through time,
however, additional palynological and sedimentological data are required, and especially more
accurate dating via reliable radiocarbon dates.
Acknowledgements
We thank the participants of the expeditions Norilsk/Taymyr 1993, Taymyr 1995, and
Taymyr/Severnaya Zemlya 1996 for their competent help in collecting the lake sediment cores.
S. Harwart, T. Ebel, and A. Raab are acknowledged for the core descriptions and subsampling
for pollen analyses. We are also indebted to Profs. S. Bjorck (Copenhagen) and H.-J. Beug
(Gottingen) for their constructive reviews. The latter colleague kindly made his laboratory at the
Institute for Palynology and Quaternary Sciences available for the preparation of the pollen
samples. Special thanks are due to C. Siegert for translations of Russian articles and very
helpful discussions. Financial support was provided by the German Ministry of Education,
Science, Research and Technology (BMBF; Grant No. 03PLOI4A,B). This is contribution No.
1353 of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven and
Potsdam.
References
Anisimov, M. A and l.N. Pospelov (this volume) The landscape and geobotanical characteristics of the
Levinson-Lessing Lake basin, Byrranga Mountains, Central Taymyr.
Archipov. S.A. (1989) Chronostratigraphical scale of the glacial Pleistocene in northern Siheria (in Russian). In: