Articles | Volume 19, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1481-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1481-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Jul 2023
Research article |
| 25 Jul 2023
| 25 Jul 2023
Regional pollen-based Holocene temperature and precipitation patterns depart from the Northern Hemisphere mean trends
Ulrike Herzschuh
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473
Potsdam, Germany
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of
Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam,
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Thomas Böhmer
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473
Potsdam, Germany
Manuel Chevalier
Institute of Geosciences, Sect. Meteorology, Rheinische
Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 20, 53121 Bonn,
Germany
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics IDYST, Faculté des
Géosciences et l'Environnement, University of Lausanne, Bâtiment
Géopolis, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Raphaël Hébert
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473
Potsdam, Germany
Anne Dallmeyer
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstraße 53, 20146
Hamburg, Germany
Chenzhi Li
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473
Potsdam, Germany
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of
Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Xianyong Cao
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473
Potsdam, Germany
Alpine Paleoecology and Human Adaptation Group (ALPHA), State Key
Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment
(TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China
Odile Peyron
Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, Université
de Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5554, Montpellier, France
Larisa Nazarova
Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473
Potsdam, Germany
Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies, Kazan Federal
University, Kremlyovskaya Street 18, 420008 Kazan, Russia
Elena Y. Novenko
Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leniskie
Gory 1, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Department of Quaternary Paleogeography, Institute of Geography
Russian Academy of Science, Staromonrtny Lane 29, 119017 Moscow, Russia
Jungjae Park
Department of Geography, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro,
Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
Institute for Korean Regional Studies, Seoul National University, 1
Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
Natalia A. Rudaya
PaleoData Lab, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian
Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika 36 Lavrentieva 17, 630090
Novosibirsk, Russia
Biological Institute, Tomsk State University, Pr. Lenina, 26,
634050 Tomsk, Russia
Frank Schlütz
Institute for Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, University of
Kiel, Germany, Johanna-Mestorf-Straße 2–6, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics,
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Wilhelm Weber Str. 2a, 37073
Göttingen, Germany
Lyudmila S. Shumilovskikh
Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics,
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Wilhelm Weber Str. 2a, 37073
Göttingen, Germany
Pavel E. Tarasov
Institute of Geological Sciences, Palaeontology Section, Freie
Universität Berlin, Malteserstraße 74–100, Building D, 12249
Berlin, Germany
Yongbo Wang
College of Resource Environment and Tourism, Capital Normal
University, 105 West Third Ring Road North, 100048 Beijing, China
Ruilin Wen
Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of
Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Beitucheng West
Road, Chaoyang District, 100029 Beijing, China
Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, 100044 Beijing, China
Qinghai Xu
School of Geographic Sciences, Hebei Normal University, 050024
Shijiazhuang, China
Zhuo Zheng
Guangdong Key Lab of Geodynamics and Geohazards, School of Earth
Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, 519082 Zhuhai, China
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory
(Zhuhai), 519082 Zhuhai, China
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Preprint archived
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Stuart A. Vyse, Ulrike Herzschuh, Gregor Pfalz, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Bernhard Diekmann, Norbert Nowaczyk, and Boris K. Biskaborn
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Gabriel Fénisse, Manuel Chevalier, Odile Peyron, David Vincent Bekaert, and Pierre-Henri Blard
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3670, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3670, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
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Marine sediments preserve organic material transported from land, but identifying its origin remains challenging. We analyzed ancient plant DNA preserved in marine sediments from the North Pacific. The DNA records revealed regional vegetation histories and information about the geographic origin of plant material transported from land to sea. Our results highlight the potential of ancient DNA for studying land–ocean carbon connections in high-latitude regions.
Linfeng Wei, Jian Ni, Xianyong Cao, and Stefan Kruse
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3246, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3246, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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Warming can push mountain forests into higher habitats, but these changes may differ between rivers in mountain range area. We studied four river corridors in the Hengduan Mountains to understand how treeline may shift by 2100. The results show that treeline may move both upward and sideways, with different patterns among rivers. This suggests that future risks to high mountain habitats should be assessed locally rather than from elevation change alone.
Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Böhmer, Weihan Jia, and Simeon Lisovski
Clim. Past, 22, 1159–1180, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1159-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1159-2026, 2026
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We introduce a new climate proxy based on plant DNA preserved in lake sediments. Validated with a large surface sample dataset and applied to a sediment record, this method provides more accurate and robust reconstructions of past climate change than traditional vegetation proxies like pollen, likely due to a higher taxonomic resolution and more localized signal.
Anne Dallmeyer, Nils Weitzel, Laura Schild, Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Kleinen, and Martin Claussen
Clim. Past, 22, 1125–1157, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1125-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1125-2026, 2026
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We compare pollen-based reconstructions of Northern Hemisphere tree cover over the last 20 000 years with simulations from the Max-Planck-Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM). The model captures broad forest trends but misses key regional patterns and the mid-Holocene forest peak. Testing climate drivers reveals mismatches in how temperature, water, and CO2 control forests, pointing to structural limits and the need for improved vegetation processes in models.
Martin Claussen, Anne Dallmeyer, Frank Darius, Philipp Hoelzmann, and Michèle Dinies
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2587, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2587, 2026
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The abrupt termination of humid conditions and vegetation changes in the Sahara during the last 8000 years is an important issue as it presumably affected the time frame for human adaption. Our analysis suggests that there was no “collapse” of the green Sahara. Gradual changes in some proxy records and abrupt shifts in others are not necessarily contradictory and a gradual expansion of the Sahara may have been accompanied by abrupt changes within the ecosystems.
Liz Charton, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Adele Bertini, Odile Peyron, Mary Robles, Vincent Lebreton, and Marie-Hélène Moncel
Clim. Past, 22, 747–781, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-747-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-747-2026, 2026
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New high-resolution pollen data and pollen-inferred climatic reconstructions from the Alboran Sea reveal rapid climate oscillations during Marine Isotope Stage 6 (187–130 ka BP) in the southwestern Mediterranean. Three main phases show shifts from cool-humid to cold-arid and then wetter conditions, with Heinrich Stadial 11 marking severe cooling and steppe expansion. Neanderthals persisted regionally, though HS11 may have contributed to population decline and the end of the Lower Palaeolithic.
Maé Catrain, Séverine Fauquette, Odile Peyron, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Vincent Lebreton, Morgane Fischer-Fries, Mary Robles, Viviane Bout-Roumazeilles, Patricia Richard, Marion Delattre, Lionel Dubost, Sébastien Joannin, Yul Altolaguirre, Jean-Pierre Suc, Jeanne Lepelletier, and Marie-Hélène Moncel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1342, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1342, 2026
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This multiproxy study investigates changes in climate cyclicity at Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition. Clay mineralogy analysis highlights a sudden change in oceanic and atmospheric circulation in the Alboran Basin around 1140 ka. Pollen, foraminifera and faunal data suggest that the climate and vegetation of this region are more likely to be influenced by variations in precipitation, hinting at major differences between the Iberian Peninsula and southern Italy.
Lucas Dugerdil, Sébastien Joannin, Odile Peyron, Shafag Bayramova, Xiaozhong Huang, Fahu Chen, Dilfuza Egamberdieva, Jakhongir Alimov, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Amy Cromartie, Juzhi Hou, Lilit Sahakyan, Khachatur Meliksetian, Salomé Ansanay-Alex, Rafig Safarov, Imran Muradi, Shabnam Isayeva, Shehla Mirzayeva, Elshan Abdullayev, Sayyara Ibadullayeva, Parvana Garakhani, and Guillemette Ménot
Biogeosciences, 23, 1013–1042, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1013-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1013-2026, 2026
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Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are bacterial lipids preserved in soils and sediments, used as climate proxies. This study presents the Arid Central Asian brGDGT surface database to assess their reliability in drylands. Results show that salinity, sample type, pH, and aridity strongly influence brGDGT signals, limiting temperature reconstructions. Refined calibrations improve reconstruction accuracy, and methylation index differences may indicate aridity variations.
Amy Cromartie, Cindy De Jonge, Guillemette Ménot, Mary Robles, Lucas Dugerdil, Odile Peyron, Marta Rodrigo-Gámiz, Jon Camuera, Maria Jose Ramos-Roman, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Claude Colombié, Lilit Sahakyan, and Sébastien Joannin
Biogeosciences, 22, 7687–7708, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-7687-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-7687-2025, 2025
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BrGDGT (branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers) are a molecular biomarker utilized for paleotemperature reconstructions. One issue, however, with utilizing brGDGTs is that the distribution differs in relation to sediment environments (i.e., peat, lake, soil). We utilize the probability estimate outputs from five machine learning algorithms and a new modern brGDGT database to track provenance change and apply these models to two downcore records utilizing pollen, non-pollen polymorphs, and XRF (X-ray fluorescence) to confirm the models’ accuracy.
Mary Robles, Valérie Andrieu, Pierre Rochette, Séverine Fauquette, François Demory, Oktay Parlak, Eliane Charrat, Belinda Gambin, and Mehmet Cihat Alçiçek
Clim. Past, 21, 2299–2329, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2299-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2299-2025, 2025
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This study aims to characterize the vegetation and lake dynamics based on pollen and Non-Pollen Palynomorph (NPP) proxies, to quantitatively reconstruct climate changes using a multimethod approach and to morphologically characterize the large pollen grains of Poaceae (Cerealia-type).
Léa d'Oliveira, Sébastien Joannin, Guillemette Ménot, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Lucas Dugerdil, Marion Blache, Mary Robles, Assunta Florenzano, Alessia Masi, Anna Maria Mercuri, Laura Sadori, Marie Balasse, and Odile Peyron
Clim. Past, 21, 2331–2359, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2331-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2331-2025, 2025
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We studied climate change in the central Mediterranean during the Holocene by analysing 38 pollen records. Several methods were used to obtain reliable results on seasonal temperatures and precipitation. Our results show that, during the Holocene, summer temperatures were colder in the south and warmer in the north, with wetter winters and drier summers, especially in the south. Unlike winter conditions, summer ones did not follow variations in insolation, suggesting other factors.
Mara Y. McPartland, Thomas Münch, Andrew M. Dolman, Raphaël Hébert, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 21, 1917–1931, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1917-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1917-2025, 2025
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Paleoclimate proxy records contain a combination of climate signals and non-climatic noise. This noise can affect year-to-year variations, or introduce uncertainty on medium and long timescales. Proxies contain different types, or "colors" of noise stemming from the diverse physical and biological processes that go into their creation. We show how non-climatic noise affects tree rings, corals and ice cores. We aim to improve representations of noise in paleoclimate research activities.
Mengna Liao, Kai Li, Yili Jin, Lina Liu, Xianyong Cao, and Jian Ni
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 5601–5613, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5601-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5601-2025, 2025
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We present a modern pollen dataset comprising 555 pollen count records from 307 sites across the Tibetan Plateau (28–40° N and 75–103° E). This open-access dataset has diverse potential applications in paleoecological and paleoclimatic research. It provides a scientific basis for reconstructing temporal changes in climate and vegetation, and enables the assessment of pollen assemblages' reliability in representing the dynamics of vegetation cover, plant diversity, and functional traits.
Fang Tian, Weiyu Cao, Xiaohan Liu, Zixin Liu, and Xianyong Cao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 5529–5542, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5529-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5529-2025, 2025
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We completed a modern pollen dataset obtained from 90 lakes from the Tibetan Plateau (TP), and integrated it with previous modern lacustrine pollen datasets. The comprehensive modern pollen dataset covers the full range of climatic gradients across the TP and all vegetation types. The modern pollen dataset has good predictive power in estimating net primary production and annual precipitation.
Ingolf Kühn, Christian Hecht, Ulrike Herzschuh, and Dirk Scherler
Web Ecol., 25, 157–168, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-25-157-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-25-157-2025, 2025
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Since 1850, glaciers have retreated in the Alps, providing ground for vegetation succession. Such systems were studied intensively in other parts of the Alps, but excluding the Northern Limestone Alps. Hence, we initiated a long-term research programme, which we introduce here. Initial findings show an increase in plant species richness and cover with age since deglaciation. This is, however, by far slower than observed elsewhere in the Alps, likely due to the specific geology and geomorphology.
Izabella A. Baisheva, Birgit Heim, Jorge García Molinos, Amelie Stieg, Hanno Meyer, Ramesh Glückler, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Antje Eulenburg, Pier Paul Overduin, Evgenii S. Zakharov, Aital V. Egorov, Paraskovya V. Davydova, Lena A. Ushnitskaya, Sardana N. Levina, Ruslan M. Gorodnichev, Robert Jackisch, Antonie Haas, Stefan Kruse, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, and Ulrike Herzschuh
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4114, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4114, 2025
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Our study provides a new comprehensive assessment of the limnological state of 66 lakes in the Central Yakutian alaas landscapes and the Verkhoyansk mountain range. Our analyses suggest that specific lake-type properties within the thermokarst lake sequence seem to drive inorganic, organic, and isotopic lake hydrochemistry. Future warming may lead to less diversification within lake macrophyte assemblages in old alaas lakes.
Lucy Timbrell, James Blinkhorn, Margherita Colucci, Michela Leonardi, Manuel Chevalier, Andrea Vittorio Pozzi, Matt Grove, Eleanor Scerri, and Andrea Manica
Clim. Past, 21, 1185–1208, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1185-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1185-2025, 2025
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Scientists study past climate change using proxies (e.g. pollen) and models. Proxies offer detailed snapshots but are limited in number, while models provide broader coverage but at low resolution. Models are typically downscaled to 30 arcmin, but it is unclear if this is sufficient. We found that increasing models to 5 arcmin does not improve their coherence with climate reconstructed from pollen data. Optimal model resolution depends on research need, balancing detail with error.
Lutz Schirrmeister, Margret C. Fuchs, Thomas Opel, Andrei Andreev, Frank Kienast, Andrea Schneider, Larisa Nazarova, Larisa Frolova, Svetlana Kuzmina, Tatiana Kuznetsova, Vladimir Tumskoy, Heidrun Matthes, Gerrit Lohmann, Guido Grosse, Viktor Kunitsky, Hanno Meyer, Heike H. Zimmermann, Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Böhmer, Stuart Umbo, Sevi Modestou, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Anfisa Pismeniuk, Georg Schwamborn, Stephanie Kusch, and Sebastian Wetterich
Clim. Past, 21, 1143–1184, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1143-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1143-2025, 2025
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Geochronological, cryolithological, paleoecological, and modeling data reconstruct the Last Interglacial (LIG) climate around the New Siberian Islands and reveal significantly warmer conditions compared to today. The critical challenges in predicting future ecosystem responses lie in the fact that the land–ocean distribution during the LIG was markedly different from today, affecting the degree of continentality, which played a major role in modulating climate and ecosystem dynamics.
Chenzhi Li, Anne Dallmeyer, Jian Ni, Manuel Chevalier, Matteo Willeit, Andrei A. Andreev, Xianyong Cao, Laura Schild, Birgit Heim, Mareike Wieczorek, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 21, 1001–1024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1001-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1001-2025, 2025
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We present global megabiome dynamics and distributions derived from pollen-based reconstructions over the last 21 000 years, which are suitable for the evaluation of Earth-system-model-based paleo-megabiome simulations. We identified strong deviations between pollen- and model-derived megabiome distributions in the circum-Arctic and Tibetan Plateau areas during the Last Glacial Maximum and early deglaciation and in northern Africa and the Mediterranean region during the Holocene.
Amelie Stieg, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ulrike Herzschuh, Andreas Marent, Jens Strauss, Dorothee Wilhelms-Dick, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, and Hanno Meyer
Biogeosciences, 22, 2327–2350, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2327-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2327-2025, 2025
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Globally, lake ecosystems have undergone significant shifts since the 1950s due to human activities. This study presents a unique ~220-year sediment record from a remote Siberian boreal lake, providing a multiproxy perspective on climate warming and anthropogenic air pollution. Analyses of diatom assemblages, diatom silicon isotopes, and carbon and nitrogen sediment proxies reveal complex biogeochemical interactions, highlighting anthropogenic influences even on remote water resources.
Laura Schild, Peter Ewald, Chenzhi Li, Raphaël Hébert, Thomas Laepple, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2007–2033, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2007-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2007-2025, 2025
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This study reconstructed vegetation and tree cover in the Northern Hemisphere from a harmonized dataset of pollen counts from sediment and peat cores for the past 14 000 years. A model was applied to correct for differences in pollen production between different plants, and modern remote-sensing forest cover was used to validate the reconstructed tree cover. Accurate data on past vegetation are invaluable for the investigation of vegetation–climate dynamics and the validation of vegetation models.
Simeon Lisovski, Alexandra Runge, Iuliia Shevtsova, Nele Landgraf, Anne Morgenstern, Ronald Reagan Okoth, Matthias Fuchs, Nikolay Lashchinskiy, Carl Stadie, Alison Beamish, Ulrike Herzschuh, Guido Grosse, and Birgit Heim
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1707–1730, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1707-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1707-2025, 2025
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The Lena Delta is the largest river delta in the Arctic and represents a biodiversity hotspot. Here, we describe multiple field datasets and a detailed habitat classification map for the Lena Delta. We present context and methods of these openly available datasets and show how they can improve our understanding of the rapidly changing Arctic tundra system.
Dael Sassoon, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Odile Peyron, Adele Bertini, Francesco Toti, Vincent Lebreton, and Marie-Hélène Moncel
Clim. Past, 21, 489–515, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-489-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-489-2025, 2025
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Climatic reconstructions of Marine Isotope Stages (MISs) 19, 11, and 5 and the current interglacial (MIS 1) based on pollen data from a marine core (Alboran Sea) show that, compared with MIS 1, MIS 19 was colder and highly variable, MIS 11 was longer and more stable, and MIS 5 was warmer. There is no real equivalent to the current interglacial, but past interglacials give insights into the sensitivity of the southwestern Mediterranean to global climatic changes in conditions similar to MIS 1.
Amelie Stieg, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ulrike Herzschuh, Jens Strauss, Luidmila Pestryakova, and Hanno Meyer
Clim. Past, 20, 909–933, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-909-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-909-2024, 2024
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Siberia is impacted by recent climate warming and experiences extreme hydroclimate events. We present a 220-year-long sub-decadal stable oxygen isotope record of diatoms from Lake Khamra. Our analysis identifies winter precipitation as the key process impacting the isotope variability. Two possible hydroclimatic anomalies were found to coincide with significant changes in lake internal conditions and increased wildfire activity in the region.
Philip Meister, Anne Alexandre, Hannah Bailey, Philip Barker, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ellie Broadman, Rosine Cartier, Bernhard Chapligin, Martine Couapel, Jonathan R. Dean, Bernhard Diekmann, Poppy Harding, Andrew C. G. Henderson, Armand Hernandez, Ulrike Herzschuh, Svetlana S. Kostrova, Jack Lacey, Melanie J. Leng, Andreas Lücke, Anson W. Mackay, Eniko Katalin Magyari, Biljana Narancic, Cécile Porchier, Gunhild Rosqvist, Aldo Shemesh, Corinne Sonzogni, George E. A. Swann, Florence Sylvestre, and Hanno Meyer
Clim. Past, 20, 363–392, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, 2024
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This paper presents the first comprehensive compilation of diatom oxygen isotope records in lake sediments (δ18OBSi), supported by lake basin parameters. We infer the spatial and temporal coverage of δ18OBSi records and discuss common hemispheric trends on centennial and millennial timescales. Key results are common patterns for hydrologically open lakes in Northern Hemisphere extratropical regions during the Holocene corresponding to known climatic epochs, i.e. the Holocene Thermal Maximum.
Xiaohuan Hou, Nannan Wang, Zhe Sun, Kan Yuan, Xianyong Cao, and Juzhi Hou
Clim. Past, 20, 335–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-335-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-335-2024, 2024
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We present an ice-free season temperature based on brGDGTs over last 15 kyr on the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). The result shows that Holocene Thermal Maximum occurred during 8–3.5 ka, which lags behind pollen-based temperature recorded in same core, indicating a significant seasonal bias between different proxies. We also investigated previously published brGDGT-based temperatures on the TP to determine the pattern of Holocene temperature changes and possible reasons for the diverse records.
Fabio Oriani, Gregoire Mariethoz, and Manuel Chevalier
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 731–742, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-731-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-731-2024, 2024
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Modern and fossil pollen data contain precious information for reconstructing the climate and environment of the past. However, these data are only achieved for single locations with no continuity in space. We present here a systematic atlas of 194 digital maps containing the spatial estimation of contemporary pollen presence over Europe. This dataset constitutes a free and ready-to-use tool to study climate, biodiversity, and environment in time and space.
Léa d'Oliveira, Lucas Dugerdil, Guillemette Ménot, Allowen Evin, Serge D. Muller, Salomé Ansanay-Alex, Julien Azuara, Colline Bonnet, Laurent Bremond, Mehmet Shah, and Odile Peyron
Clim. Past, 19, 2127–2156, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2127-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2127-2023, 2023
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In southern Europe, Holocene climate variability is characterized by a strong heterogeneity whose patterns are still poorly understood. Here, a multi-proxy approach (pollen and biomarkers) is applied to the Canroute sequence to reconstruct the climatic variation over the last 15 000 years in southern Massif Central, France. Results reveal that reconstructions of regional climate trends notably differ depending on proxies and sites, notably concerning the presence of a Holocene thermal maximum.
Anne Dallmeyer, Anneli Poska, Laurent Marquer, Andrea Seim, and Marie-José Gaillard
Clim. Past, 19, 1531–1557, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1531-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1531-2023, 2023
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We compare past tree cover changes in Europe during the last 8000 years simulated with two dynamic global vegetation models and inferred from pollen data. The major model–data mismatch is related to the much earlier onset of anthropogenic deforestation in the data compared to the prescribed land use in the models. We show that land use, and not climate, is the main driver of the Holocene forest decline. The model–data agreement depends on the model tuning, challenging model–data comparisons.
Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Böhmer, Chenzhi Li, Manuel Chevalier, Raphaël Hébert, Anne Dallmeyer, Xianyong Cao, Nancy H. Bigelow, Larisa Nazarova, Elena Y. Novenko, Jungjae Park, Odile Peyron, Natalia A. Rudaya, Frank Schlütz, Lyudmila S. Shumilovskikh, Pavel E. Tarasov, Yongbo Wang, Ruilin Wen, Qinghai Xu, and Zhuo Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2235–2258, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2235-2023, 2023
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Climate reconstruction from proxy data can help evaluate climate models. We present pollen-based reconstructions of mean July temperature, mean annual temperature, and annual precipitation from 2594 pollen records from the Northern Hemisphere, using three reconstruction methods (WA-PLS, WA-PLS_tailored, and MAT). Since no global or hemispheric synthesis of quantitative precipitation changes are available for the Holocene so far, this dataset will be of great value to the geoscientific community.
Manuel Chevalier, Anne Dallmeyer, Nils Weitzel, Chenzhi Li, Jean-Philippe Baudouin, Ulrike Herzschuh, Xianyong Cao, and Andreas Hense
Clim. Past, 19, 1043–1060, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1043-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1043-2023, 2023
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Data–data and data–model vegetation comparisons are commonly based on comparing single vegetation estimates. While this approach generates good results on average, reducing pollen assemblages to single single plant functional type (PFT) or biome estimates can oversimplify the vegetation signal. We propose using a multivariate metric, the Earth mover's distance (EMD), to include more details about the vegetation structure when performing such comparisons.
Boris K. Biskaborn, Amy Forster, Gregor Pfalz, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring, Jens Strauss, Tim Kröger, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Biogeosciences, 20, 1691–1712, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1691-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1691-2023, 2023
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Lake sediment from the Russian Arctic was studied for microalgae and organic matter chemistry dated back to the last glacial 28 000 years. Species and chemistry responded to environmental changes such as the Younger Dryas cold event and the Holocene thermal maximum. Organic carbon accumulation correlated with rates of microalgae deposition only during warm episodes but not during the cold glacial.
Mary Robles, Odile Peyron, Guillemette Ménot, Elisabetta Brugiapaglia, Sabine Wulf, Oona Appelt, Marion Blache, Boris Vannière, Lucas Dugerdil, Bruno Paura, Salomé Ansanay-Alex, Amy Cromartie, Laurent Charlet, Stephane Guédron, Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu, and Sébastien Joannin
Clim. Past, 19, 493–515, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-493-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-493-2023, 2023
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Quantitative climate reconstructions based on pollen and brGDGTs reveal, for the Late Glacial, a warm Bølling–Allerød and a marked cold Younger Dryas in Italy, showing no latitudinal differences in terms of temperatures across Italy. In terms of precipitation, no latitudinal differences are recorded during the Bølling–Allerød, whereas 40–42° N appears as a key junction point between wetter conditions in southern Italy and drier conditions in northern Italy during the Younger Dryas.
Furong Li, Marie-José Gaillard, Xianyong Cao, Ulrike Herzschuh, Shinya Sugita, Jian Ni, Yan Zhao, Chengbang An, Xiaozhong Huang, Yu Li, Hongyan Liu, Aizhi Sun, and Yifeng Yao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 95–112, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-95-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-95-2023, 2023
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The objective of this study is present the first gridded and temporally continuous quantitative plant-cover reconstruction for temperate and northern subtropical China over the last 12 millennia. The reconstructions are based on 94 pollen records and include estimates for 27 plant taxa, 10 plant functional types, and 3 land-cover types. The dataset is suitable for palaeoclimate modelling and the evaluation of simulated past vegetation cover and anthropogenic land-cover change from models.
Timon Miesner, Ulrike Herzschuh, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, Mareike Wieczorek, Evgenii S. Zakharov, Alexei I. Kolmogorov, Paraskovya V. Davydova, and Stefan Kruse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5695–5716, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5695-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5695-2022, 2022
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We present data which were collected on expeditions to the northeast of the Russian Federation. One table describes the 226 locations we visited during those expeditions, and the other describes 40 289 trees which we recorded at these locations. We found out that important information on the forest cannot be predicted precisely from satellites. Thus, for anyone interested in distant forests, it is important to go to there and take measurements or use data (as presented here).
Femke van Geffen, Birgit Heim, Frederic Brieger, Rongwei Geng, Iuliia A. Shevtsova, Luise Schulte, Simone M. Stuenzi, Nadine Bernhardt, Elena I. Troeva, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, Evgenii S. Zakharov, Bringfried Pflug, Ulrike Herzschuh, and Stefan Kruse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4967–4994, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4967-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4967-2022, 2022
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SiDroForest is an attempt to remedy data scarcity regarding vegetation data in the circumpolar region, whilst providing adjusted and labeled data for machine learning and upscaling practices. SiDroForest contains four datasets that include SfM point clouds, individually labeled trees, synthetic tree crowns and labeled Sentinel-2 patches that provide insights into the vegetation composition and forest structure of two important vegetation transition zones in Siberia, Russia.
Nannan Wang, Lina Liu, Xiaohuan Hou, Yanrong Zhang, Haicheng Wei, and Xianyong Cao
Clim. Past, 18, 2381–2399, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2381-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2381-2022, 2022
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We reconstructed the vegetation and climate change since the last 14.2 ka BP from a fossil pollen record together with multiple proxies (grain size, contents of total organic carbon and total nitrogen) on the northeast Tibetan Plateau. The results reveal that an arid climate occurs in the early Holocene and the vegetation could be disturbed by human activities to some extent after ca. 0.24 ka BP (1710 CE).
Ulrike Herzschuh, Chenzhi Li, Thomas Böhmer, Alexander K. Postl, Birgit Heim, Andrei A. Andreev, Xianyong Cao, Mareike Wieczorek, and Jian Ni
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3213–3227, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3213-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3213-2022, 2022
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Pollen preserved in environmental archives such as lake sediments and bogs are extensively used for reconstructions of past vegetation and climate. Here we present LegacyPollen 1.0, a dataset of 2831 fossil pollen records from all over the globe that were collected from publicly available databases. We harmonized the names of the pollen taxa so that all datasets can be jointly investigated. LegacyPollen 1.0 is available as an open-access dataset.
Ramesh Glückler, Rongwei Geng, Lennart Grimm, Izabella Baisheva, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Stefan Kruse, Andrei Andreev, Luidmila Pestryakova, and Elisabeth Dietze
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-395, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-395, 2022
Preprint archived
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Despite rapidly intensifying wildfire seasons in Siberian boreal forests, little is known about long-term relationships between changes in vegetation and shifts in wildfire activity. Using lake sediment proxies, we reconstruct such environmental changes over the past 10,800 years in Central Yakutia. We find that a more open forest may facilitate increased amounts of vegetation burning. The present-day dense larch forest might yet be mediating the current climate-driven wildfire intensification.
Manuel Chevalier
Clim. Past, 18, 821–844, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-821-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-821-2022, 2022
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This paper introduces a new R package to perform quantitative climate reconstructions from palaeoecological datasets. The package includes calibration data for several commonly used terrestrial (e.g. pollen) and marine (e.g. foraminifers) climate proxies to enable its use in various environments globally. In addition, the built-in graphical diagnostic tools simplify the evaluation and interpretations of the results. No coding skills are required to use crestr.
Esther Githumbi, Ralph Fyfe, Marie-Jose Gaillard, Anna-Kari Trondman, Florence Mazier, Anne-Birgitte Nielsen, Anneli Poska, Shinya Sugita, Jessie Woodbridge, Julien Azuara, Angelica Feurdean, Roxana Grindean, Vincent Lebreton, Laurent Marquer, Nathalie Nebout-Combourieu, Miglė Stančikaitė, Ioan Tanţău, Spassimir Tonkov, Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, and LandClimII data contributors
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1581–1619, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1581-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1581-2022, 2022
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Reconstruction of past land cover is necessary for the study of past climate–land cover interactions and the evaluation of climate models and land-use scenarios. We used 1128 available pollen records from across Europe covering the last 11 700 years in the REVEALS model to calculate percentage cover and associated standard errors for 31 taxa, 12 plant functional types and 3 land-cover types. REVEALS results are reliant on the quality of the input datasets.
Chenzhi Li, Alexander K. Postl, Thomas Böhmer, Xianyong Cao, Andrew M. Dolman, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1331–1343, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1331-2022, 2022
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Here we present a global chronology framework of 2831 palynological records, including globally harmonized chronologies covering up to 273 000 years. A comparison with the original chronologies reveals a major improvement according to our assessment. Our chronology framework and revised chronologies will interest a broad geoscientific community, as it provides the opportunity to make use in synthesis studies of, for example, pollen-based vegetation and climate change.
Stefan Kruse, Simone M. Stuenzi, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Josias Gloy, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2395–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, 2022
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We coupled established models for boreal forest (LAVESI) and permafrost dynamics (CryoGrid) in Siberia to investigate interactions of the diverse vegetation layer with permafrost soils. Our tests showed improved active layer depth estimations and newly included species growth according to their species-specific limits. We conclude that the new model system can be applied to simulate boreal forest dynamics and transitions under global warming and disturbances, expanding our knowledge.
Sandy P. Harrison, Roberto Villegas-Diaz, Esmeralda Cruz-Silva, Daniel Gallagher, David Kesner, Paul Lincoln, Yicheng Shen, Luke Sweeney, Daniele Colombaroli, Adam Ali, Chéïma Barhoumi, Yves Bergeron, Tatiana Blyakharchuk, Přemysl Bobek, Richard Bradshaw, Jennifer L. Clear, Sambor Czerwiński, Anne-Laure Daniau, John Dodson, Kevin J. Edwards, Mary E. Edwards, Angelica Feurdean, David Foster, Konrad Gajewski, Mariusz Gałka, Michelle Garneau, Thomas Giesecke, Graciela Gil Romera, Martin P. Girardin, Dana Hoefer, Kangyou Huang, Jun Inoue, Eva Jamrichová, Nauris Jasiunas, Wenying Jiang, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek, Piotr Kołaczek, Niina Kuosmanen, Mariusz Lamentowicz, Martin Lavoie, Fang Li, Jianyong Li, Olga Lisitsyna, José Antonio López-Sáez, Reyes Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, Gabriel Magnan, Eniko Katalin Magyari, Alekss Maksims, Katarzyna Marcisz, Elena Marinova, Jenn Marlon, Scott Mensing, Joanna Miroslaw-Grabowska, Wyatt Oswald, Sebastián Pérez-Díaz, Ramón Pérez-Obiol, Sanna Piilo, Anneli Poska, Xiaoguang Qin, Cécile C. Remy, Pierre J. H. Richard, Sakari Salonen, Naoko Sasaki, Hieke Schneider, William Shotyk, Migle Stancikaite, Dace Šteinberga, Normunds Stivrins, Hikaru Takahara, Zhihai Tan, Liva Trasune, Charles E. Umbanhowar, Minna Väliranta, Jüri Vassiljev, Xiayun Xiao, Qinghai Xu, Xin Xu, Edyta Zawisza, Yan Zhao, Zheng Zhou, and Jordan Paillard
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1109–1124, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022, 2022
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We provide a new global data set of charcoal preserved in sediments that can be used to examine how fire regimes have changed during past millennia and to investigate what caused these changes. The individual records have been standardised, and new age models have been constructed to allow better comparison across sites. The data set contains 1681 records from 1477 sites worldwide.
Roman Procyk, Shaun Lovejoy, and Raphael Hébert
Earth Syst. Dynam., 13, 81–107, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-81-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-81-2022, 2022
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This paper presents a new class of energy balance model that accounts for the long memory within the Earth's energy storage. The model is calibrated on instrumental temperature records and the historical energy budget of the Earth using an error model predicted by the model itself. Our equilibrium climate sensitivity and future temperature projection estimates are consistent with those estimated by complex climate models.
Anne Dallmeyer, Martin Claussen, Stephan J. Lorenz, Michael Sigl, Matthew Toohey, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 17, 2481–2513, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, 2021
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Using the comprehensive Earth system model, MPI-ESM1.2, we explore the global Holocene vegetation changes and interpret them in terms of the Holocene climate change. The model results reveal that most of the Holocene vegetation transitions seen outside the high northern latitudes can be attributed to modifications in the intensity of the global summer monsoons.
Stuart A. Vyse, Ulrike Herzschuh, Gregor Pfalz, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Bernhard Diekmann, Norbert Nowaczyk, and Boris K. Biskaborn
Biogeosciences, 18, 4791–4816, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4791-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4791-2021, 2021
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Lakes act as important stores of organic carbon and inorganic sediment material. This study provides a first investigation into carbon and sediment accumulation and storage within an Arctic glacial lake from Far East Russia. It shows that major shifts are related to palaeoclimate variation that affects the development of the lake and its surrounding catchment. Spatial differences to other lake systems from other regions may reflect variability in processes controlled by latitude and altitude.
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Short summary
A mismatch between model- and proxy-based Holocene climate change may partially originate from the poor spatial coverage of climate reconstructions. Here we investigate quantitative reconstructions of mean annual temperature and annual precipitation from 1908 pollen records in the Northern Hemisphere. Trends show strong latitudinal patterns and differ between (sub-)continents. Our work contributes to a better understanding of the global mean.
A mismatch between model- and proxy-based Holocene climate change may partially originate from...
