Open AccessMiddle to Late Pleistocene vegetation history and climatic changes at Lake Kopais, Southeast Greece
Author(s) -
OKUDA MASAAKI,
YASUDA YOSHINORI,
SETOGUCHI TAKESHI
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
boreas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1502-3885
pISSN - 0300-9483
DOI - 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2001.tb00990.x
Subject(s) - interglacial , stadial , geology , holocene , vegetation (pathology) , evergreen , physical geography , deciduous , mediterranean climate , marine isotope stage , ecological succession , pleistocene , steppe , woodland , oceanography , paleontology , ecology , geography , archaeology , medicine , pathology , biology
This study presents a detailed vegetation history of Lake Kopais, Southeast Greece based on pollen analysis of a 120 m‐long sediment core. The record extends from the Holocene back to Oxygen Isotope Stage 11, and it gives a detailed history of Mediterranean evergreen woodlands during the last 500 ka. Vegetation of glacials consisted of open steppe with Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia associated with Tubuliflorae and other herbs, while that of interglacials was dominated by temperate Quercus forest. The Last Interglacial (Substage 5e) shows a complete vegetation succession starting with Juniperus and Betula , followed by deciduous oak and ending with Pinus and Abies. Wild olive is abundant in Substages 11c and 5e, suggesting very warm climatic conditions in Stage 11. Stages 9 and 7 were significantly cooler than 11 and 5e. The Pterocarya occurrence near the bottom of the core provides a possible equivalent of the Holsteinian Interglacial.