EPK7U5t~~~/ti!; (J pn J. Pa lynol.) 46 ( 2) • 133-146 (2000)

(Original paper )

The Vegetation and Climate History during the Early and Mid Last Glacial Period

in Kamiyoshi Basin, Kyoto, Japan

Hikaru T AKAHAR A 1 > , Y oshihiro UEMURA 2 ) and Toru DANH ARA 3 )

1) Univ ersity Forest, Fawlty of A griculture, Kyo to Pref ectural University ,

1 - 5, Hang i-cho, Shimoga mo, Sahyo -lw , Kyoto , 606- 8522 Japan 2

l Departm ent of histo ry , Fa cult y of Lit eratur e, B uhhyo University , 96. Kitah. ananobo -cho, Mura sahino, Ki ta- hu, Kyot o, 603- 8302 J apan

:n Ky oto Fission-Tra ch Co., Ltd ., 44 - 4, Mi nam itaji ri-cho, Omiya, Ki ta -ku , Kyoto, 603- 8332 J apan

(Received Sep. 30. 2000. AccepLed Nov. 29, 2000)

T he pollen reco rd o f a core fr om Ka miyos bi Bas in in weste rn J apa n provided a

cont inuou s vege tat ion a nd climate h is tory fr om 91 to 30 ky r BP . T he chron ology was

base d on widesprea d tep hra . AMS "C elates a nd cor relat ion of t he core wit h SP ECMAP

mar ine oxy gen isot ope recor d. Du ri ng iso tope substage 5 b. temp erat e conifer fo res Ls

developed . composed of Cryptomeria japonica and Sciadop itys verliciLlata. assoc iated

ma inly wit h Cupr essaceae Lr·ees a nd cool-tempera t e dec iduo us broa d-leaved t rees .

indicat ing a wet a nd temp era Le clima te. Te mperate coni fer for es ts wei-e composed

pri ma ril y of Cryptomeria japon.ica dur ing isotope subsLage 5a Colder temperature s

and decreasing pr ecipitat ion a re indi cat ed by pinaceo us con ifer vege ta tion domina t ed by

Tsuga, P icea. and Pin.us subge nu s Haploxylo n bet ween 70 a nd 60 kyr BP . corr espo ndi ng

to isot op e stage 4. Aro und 60 kyr BP . th is was followed by coo l-te mpera te deciduous

bro ad-lea ved for ests com posed m a in ly of Fagu.s crenata. Quercus subgenus

L epidobalan.tlS a nd Ost rya / Carpi nus. Temperate conif er fo rests dom inated by

Cup ressacea e t rees with Tsuga. Pi nu s. Sciadopi tys uert iciLlata . Crypt omeria j ap onica

and L epidob alanu s (decicl uous oa ks) occurr ed in th e in ter s tacle ( iso to pe s tage 3) .

Espec ia lly, between 45 to 30 kyr BP. Cupressaceae t rees were most do min ant in forest s .

The cor relati on betwee n t hi s 1-ecord a nd one fr om Ku ro ta Low la nd revea ls differe nces in

vegetat ion betwee n the inl a nd a rea a nd Lhe coas La l ar-ea o f Lhe J a pa n Sea dur ing isoto pe

stage 3. In the inlan d Ka miyos h i Bas in . Cupressaceae t rees were dom ina nt , associated

wit h Sciad opitys uerticilla ta and deciduous oa ks. Meanw hile in Kurota Low land.

ad jacent to t he J a pa n Sea. Cryptome ria j aponica was clomina nL. assoc iated with

cool-temp era te decidu ous br oad- leaved t rees s uch as Fagus crenala a nd decidu ous oak s .

The di ffere nce in vege ta ti on pr oba bly ind icat es a s ligh tly d ri er cl ima Le in t he inl and a rea

and a wet and heavy snow clima te in t he coas ta l J apa n Sea a rea du rin g iso tope stage 3.

Key Words : La te Qua ter na r y , vege ta t ion and climate h isLor y , Po llen r ecord . oxyge n

isotope stage , weste rn Japa n

133

134 I-I TAKAHARA. Y UEMURA a nd T. DAN HAR A

Introduction

A great number of pollen records for the Holocene a nd t he las t fu ll-g lac ial peri od have rece nt ly become

avai lab le in Japa n . Difference s in vegetatio n amon g reg ions and for spec ified t ime periods, as well as patterns

of spec ies migrat ion (e.g ., Cryptomeria j aponica), hav e been discusse d by comparing po llen data ,, .. ,.' "

How ever, the po llen record s pr io r to t he fu ll-g lac ia l per iod dur ing t he latter part of t he Quate rn a r y a re

insu ff icien t to di scuss the reg iona l respo nse o f vegeta ti on to g loba l climate changes. In a spec ia l iss ue of

Palaeogeogra phy, Palaeoclimatology , Palaeoecology, 'Pa laeoeco logica l Record s of Th e Las t Glac ia l /

Int er glac ia l Cycle : Patte rn s a nd Ca uses of Cha nge' , Kers haw and Whi tlock (2000) ' " fou nd th at th e Last

Glac ia l Maximum (LGM) a nd Ho locene stand out in t he majority of r ecord s for t he last 130.000 yea rs as

peri ods of anoma lou s vegetat ion a nd clim ate . More pollen da ta prior to the LGM ar e t here fore need ed to

und ersta nd mod ern vege tation patterns.

It is ofte n diffi cult to obtain a good chron ology prio r to t he LGM beca use t he sediment s a re beyo nd th e limit

of radioc a rbon dat ing. However, in Japan there a re seve ra l widespread tephra la yers to indi ca te chron ology .

Th e J apa nese Islands have never had any ice sheets as ide fr om mountain g lac ier s, even durin g th e

LGM " " ; therefo r e, th ere are terrest ri al sed iments that record continuou s vege tat ion his tori es since t he last

int erg lacial period. Fluctuatio n of the monsoon and of cu rr ent flows in the Pacifi c Ocea n a nd the J apa n Sea

dur ing t his period wou ld have in fluenced vege tat ion cha nges in J a pa n. Pa laeoeco log ica l data from J apa n

shou ld t herefore cont r ibu te sig nif icantly to clar ify ing clim ate dy na mi cs in the Eura sian Con tin ent.

In t his paper, we present pa lynolog ica l data for between 91 a nd 30 ky r BP from an inl and a rea in weste rn

J a pa n. Th ese data a re then compa red with pa lynologica l data fro m Kurota Low la nd '" in th e nort hern pa rt

of th e K inki reg ion (F'ig . 1) , to inves t igate diff ere nces of vegetat ion a nd climate betwee n t he inland and the

coas tal Japa n Sea a reas .

Study area

Ka mi yos h i Basin is sit uated in a n inla nd a rea in the Kinki r egion . western Jap a n. Kami yos hi is locate d in

Funai -g un, Kyoto Pr efectu re, abo ut 20 km nort hwest of l<yoto City . Th e bas in is a t an a lt it ude of 335 111. in

the so uth ern region of th e Ta nba mounta ins , which ex tend inl and from the J a pan Sea. Th e diameter o f t he

bas in is 0.5- 0.8 km. Th e corin g loca t ion was at 35°06'08"N, 135°35' 10"E (Fig . 1) .

Accord ing to mete orolo g ica l data " ' from So nobe Clima tolo g ica l S tat ion (10 km west of t he stu dy s it e. 130

ma lt .) , ann ua l pre cipitati on is 1618 mm a nd a nnua l mean temp era tur e is 14.2 °C, with low a nd high month ly

mean temperat ure s of - 2.5 °C in J a nu a r y a nd 32.6 °C in August, respect ively.

The s ite is situated in t he wa rm -tempe raLe zone. Almos t a ll of th e ba sin is covered by ri ce pad dies. Th e

clim ax vegetation of t he hi llslopes in t he a rea is war m-tempe rate everg reen bro ad -leave d fo rest. com posed

ma in ly of evergr een oa ks a nd Castanopsis. The climax vegetat ion a bove 600 m a lt itude is cool-te mperate

decidu ous bro acl-leavecl fo res t, comp osed ma inly of beech (Fagus crenata ) and deciduo us oa k (Que rcus

crispula). Most of the modern vegetat ion, howeve r , is now seco nda J"Y forests do min ated by Japanese reel pine

(Pinu s densi/lo ra) an d dec iduou s oaks (Quercus serrala), or pla ntat ions of J apa nese ceda r (Cry pt omeria

japoni ca) and Jap anese cypre ss (Chama ecyparis obtusa).

Methods

A sed iment cor e, 15.75 m in lengt h, was take n from a r ice padd y in Ka miyos hi Bas in . T he whole core was

obtained wit h a Th omas-type hand borer. The upper part between O a nd 5.5 m was a lso recovered with a

Th e vegetatio n and climate h is tory in Kam iyos hi Bas in 135

134°E 136°E

Sea of Japan

Kurota Lowland

0

°PLake Biwa

Kyoto

Pacific Ocean

134°E

Fig. 1. Map showin g the location of Kamiyos hi Basin and Kurota Lowland '" .

The left-hand map is a part o f the 1 : 50,000 topogra phical map of Kyoto ­

seihokubu (northweste rn part of Kyoto City) iss ued by the Geogra phical Survey

Institute of Japan.

6.0-cm-diameter th in wa ll samp ler.

34°N

Betw een 2.1 and 15.7 m depth, one-cub ic-cent imeter samp les were taken every 30-50 cm from peat a nd peaty

clay laye rs for pollen ana lys is . Thirty -t hr ee samp les were prepa r ed by s tand ard KOH, acetlysis a nd HF

pro cedur es '"' . Also, to determin e pollen concentra t ion, a known concentration (20.2 x lO'gra ins / ml) of

25-microm eter plastic microsphere s in suspension (II) was added to each sa mple before chemica l pro cedur es. All

foss il pollen gra ins and spores ex tr acte d fr om sa mples wer e prese 1-ved in sample tube s with silicon oil. At least

500 tre e pollen grains we1-e cou nt ed for each level, except where pollen concentr a tions wer e too low. The

percentage s of each taxon in the pollen diagra m (Fig . 3) were calc ula ted based on the su m of the t ree pollen.

A/nu s was excluded from the tree pollen s um because of it s hig h frequ ency, considered derived from ALnus

thicket s . which are abundant in J apa nese bogs.

Result s and interpr etation

Lithology and chronology

The lowermost part betwee n 15. 75 and 12.80 m dept h was a woody pea t laye r . Within t his laye r . a tephr a

136 H. TA KAI-JAR A , Y UEM UR A a nd T. DANI-IARA

was recog nized fr om 15.37 to 15.38 111 a nd a peaty clay fr om 12.80 t o 11.75 111. Th e lay er from 11.75 to 8.90 m

was a decompos ed peat. From 8.90 to 8.15 111 wa s a pea ty cla y. A decompo sed pea t was reco g n ized ag·a in from

8.15 to 7.60 m. Th e laye r from 7.60 to 3.15 m was a peat y cla y with seeds a nd pla nt fr ag ment s . From 3.15 to

2.00 111 was a pea t wit h seeds of Trapa. A whit e cla y la ye r ra ng ed fro m 2.00 to 1.35 111, a nd a teph ra laye r from

1.35 to 1.16 m . Th e laye r from 1.16 to 0.80 111 was a peat. Fin a lly, the upp erm os t part from 0.80 to Om was

dis turb ed soil due to agri cu ltura l ac ti vit ies in t he ri ce paddy .

Th e upper tephra laye r fro m 1.35 to L 16 m was iclen t i fiecl as Ai ra -Tn (AT ) , base d on t he r efr ac t ive in dex

of volcanic glass shar ds (Ta ble 1) and the thickness of tl1e laye r (19 cm) . T he teph ra laye r from 15.37 to 15.38 m

was cha racte riz ed by beta -qu a r tz in t he bubb le-wa lled g lass shar ds . Th is fea tur e, and the refr ac ti ve ind ex of

th e volca nic g lass sha 1-ds (Ta ble 1) , indicated that thi s was Kika i-T ozura hara (K-Tz ) ash. Th e AT as h

depo sit ed a t 25,000 yr BP "" . Yos h ikawa a nd Tnouchi (1993) <t:ll es t imat ed t he ages of AT and l{-Tz at 25.000

and 91,000 yr BP. Tw o "'C da tes were obta ined fr om sa mp les of th e bulk peat a nd from a piec e of Trap a seed

(Ta ble 2) .

Th e age-depth re lat ionship of th e core is show n in Fi g . 2. Lin ea r age- depth relat ionship repr ese nt ed by a

br oken lin e in Fig. 2 is te n ta tiv e un t il furth er dat ing conducted. Th e a vera ge sedim entation rat e fr om 15.37 m

to 1.35 111 was 0.02124 cm / yea r . Almos t a ll Holocene sed iment s were miss ing , jud g ing from the da te a bove th e

AT as h laye r.

Poll en recor ds and reco nstru ct ion of vegetat ion

A pollen diag ram is show n in Fig. 3. Cup ressace ae-t y pe po llen in th e diag ra m include s Ceph a lotaxaceae .

Ta xacea e a nd Cupress aceae pollen. A lso. t he Ja pa nese Cupre ssac eae con s ist of Thuja , Tlwjop sis,

Cham aecypari s and J unip erus who se po llen a re d iffi cult to sepa ra te morpho log·ica lly . T he pollen s tra t igrap hy

was divided, usin g st ra t ig rap hi call y constr a ined incre ment a l sum of square s clus ter ana lys is (CONI SS in

Ti lia 2.05b) o,,- ,a, , int o se ven loca l po llen assembl age zones on th e bas is of th e tr ee pollen frequ encies (Fi g . 3) .

Th e lowe r zon es CKMY-1, KM Y-2 a nd KMY- 3) were charac ter ized by th e dominance of Cryp tomeria

japonica pollen. Rela ti vely hig h percen tag es of pinaceou s conif er (KM Y-,J) a nd deciduou s broad -leav ed tre e

(KNY -5) pollen occur red in th e middl e zon es . In th e u pper zones (K!VIY-6 a nd KMY -7), Cupr essaceae -typ e

pollen was pr edomin ant. In t erm s of shru b a nd herb aceo us pollen. the perc ent ages of My rica poll en wer e hig h

in zone KMY -4, Alnu. s pollen leve ls were ge nera lly hig h in zones KMY -1, KMY -2, KM Y-5 a nd KMY-6.

Grnmin eae a nd Cy peraceae po llen had s ig·ni fican t bu t va riab le r epr ese nt a t ion in zones KMY -1. KMY-2 ,

KM Y-4, KM Y-5 a nd KMY -6, and t here was a high per cen tag ·e of Lys ichit on po llen in zon es KM Y- 1 a nd

KM Y-3.

Ta bl e 1. Refract ive ind ex of vol ca ni c g lass s ha rd s in the se dim en t from Ka miyoshi Basin

Depth (cm ) Minim u n Max imum M ean St. elev

116 - 135 1.4977 1.5008 1.4992 0.0007

1537 - 1538 1.4978 1.5007 1.4992 0.0007

*Count of g lass shard s

Tab le 2. Rad ioca r bon dates for th e sa mpl es from Kamiyos hi Basin

Depth (cm) Ma teri a l Age C"C yr BP )* Meth od

90 - 96 pea t 2210 ± 60 radiom etr ic

542 Trap a seed 44970 ± 1600 AM S

*t he res ult a ft er a pp lyi ng "C / "C corr ecti ons to th e meas ur ed age

Coun t *

28

30

La b. numb er

Beta - 83409

Beta -125950

0

2

4

E 6 ..c Q_ Q) 8 0

10

12

14

16

0

•

The vegetat ion and climate history in Kam iyos hi Basin

Age (k yr BP)

20 40 60 80

°' I'-'

-._ " ' '

' ' ' "

I'

" p

• Radiocarbon dating o Volcanic ash

100

KMY-7

t---

KMY-6

...--

KMY-5 ...--KMY-4

...--

KMY-3

,--KMY-2

KMY-1 r---

Q) C 0 N <]) Cl Cll J5 E Q) en en <ti C .£1 0 c.. <ti u 0

..J

Fig. 2. Age -depth relation ship of th e core from Kami yos hi Basin. Radio ca rbon

da tes ar e shown in Ta ble 2. Ages of volcanic as h laye rs are based on Matsumoto

et al. (1987) 1" l and Yos hikaw a and lnouchi (1993) "" . A brok en line repr ese nt s

tentative lin ea r age-depth re lationship unti l furth er datin g condu cted . Lo ca l

pollen assemb lage zone on the ri ght -hand is indi cate d in Fig. 3.

Zones KMY-1 and KMY-2

137

These zones show hig h per cent ages of Crypt;omeria japonica pollen (25 - 69%) and relative ly high

percentages of Sciadopitys uerticillata pollen (8 - 31%) , except at a dept h of 14.2 m. In t he uppermost part

of zone KMY-1, ther e is a prominent increase of Cupr essaceae-type pollen , wh ile fr equencies of Cryptomeria

japonica a nd S. uerticillata pollen decline. Perce nt ages of Ostrya/ Carpinus and Lepidobalanus pollen a re 2 -

6 % and 2 - 7 %, respectively, t hroug h zones KMY-1 and KMY-2. In zone KMY-1, 2 - 5% is Betula pollen. In

zone KMY-2, 13% and 8 % is Fagus crenata a nd Fagus japonica. pollen , respect ively.

During t he per iod of zones KMY-1 a nd KMY-2. Cryptomeriajaponica was Lhe main compo nent of fore sts .

associated with Sciadopilys uerticillata and prob a bly with Cupr essaceae tr ees. C. japonica was espec ial ly

dom inant in t he ear ly stage of this period. However, around t he end of zone KMY-2. Cupressaceae trees

became dom inant with in a re lat ively short period. Dur ing th e period of zo11e KMY-2, Fagus crena.la, which is

a cool-temperate element. increased in the temperate conifer forests.

Zone KMY -3

l n zone KMY-3, values of Cryplomeria japoni ca pollen are ge neral ly higher Lhan in zones KMY-1 a nd

KMY-2. while Sciadopitys uerticillata perce ntages decreas ed to 2 - 9 % a nd Cupres saceae- typ e percentages

r emaine a t 4 - 19 %. Also. frequencie s of pinaceous pollen. including Tsuga, Picea and Pinus, increase sl ight ly

in the lower part of the zone, whi le th e percent ages of temperate deciduou s tree s pol len show reductions.

The pollen assem blage of zone KMY-3 indicate s t hat C. japonica was s t ill the main component of the forests

but that pinaceous con ifer t r ees suc h as Tsuga. Picea a nd fl aploxylon pine increased in the first half of the

138

AT (ca25000 yr BP)

44970 :!: 1600 yr BP (Beta-125650)

K-Tz (ca91000)

F ig. 3.

H. TAKAHARA. Y UEMURA and T. DANHARA

Kamiyoshi Basin, Funai-gun , Kyoto , Japan

ml ~ D ' • - [JJJ disturbed soil peat teph ra c lay peaty clay

Poll en percenta ge and concentration diagram fr om I(amiyoshi Ba sin.

Cupr essaceae-type pollen includ es Cepha lotaxaceae, Taxac eae an d Cupressaceae

po llen . Shaded patt ern show s 5 x exaggera tion.

zone. and deciduou s broad- leaved tr ees showed a decline ar ound the midd le of t he zone .

Zone KMY-4

In zone KMY-4, 47 - 64 % of th e pol len is pinaceous, includ ing Abies. Tsuga , Picea a nd Pinu s, while

percentages of C. japonica pollen decrea sed abrup tl y to 2 - 3 %. In th e upp er pa rt of zone KMY -4, pollen fr om

deciduous broad- leaved trees increase (38%) . including Ostrya / Carpinu s, Betula, L epidob ala nus and Ulnw s

/ Zelhoua and Fraxinus. Th e lowest percentages of Sciadopitys uertic illata. Cryptom eria japonica and

Cupressaceae-type pollen a re record ed in zone K!VIY-4.

Th e period of t h is zone is characte ri zed by t he developme nt of pinaceous conifer for ests. In the la tt er ha lf

of th e zone, these for ests were associated with temperate deciduous bro ad-leaved tre es such as Lepidobalanus.

Ostrya / Carpinus a nd Betula .

Th e veget a tion and climate hi story in Kam iyos hi Bas in 139

-- -- Trees ------------------ - ----~

Zone CONISS

20

--i=.:; ~- -- .~ ~ ---

p erc entage o f tree p ollen sum l 03grains / ml grains Total sum o t squares

Zon e KMY-5

Po llen of deciduous broad-leaved t rees (45- 51%), whic h include Ostrya/Carpinus , Betula, Fagus crenata,

F. japonica, Lepidobalanus , Ulm us / Zelhoua and Fraxinus, become dom inant 111 zone KMY-5 .

Cupr essac eae-t ype pollen a lso shows a gr ad ual increase in t his zone.

Th is pollen assemb lage rep r esents th e development of cool-temperate , decidu ous , broad- leaved forests

composed ma inl y of Fagus crenata, Lepidobalanus, Ostrya / Carpin us, Ulmus / Zelhoua and Fraxinus .

Pin aceous conifer for ests a lso ex isted nea r the s ite.

Zones KMY-6 and KMY-7

Zones KMY-6 and KMY-7 are character ized by a predomin ance of Cupressaceae-type pollen (16 - 64%),

with relat ively high percentages of L epidobalanLlS pollen (9 - 21%) . The percentag ·es of Cup ressaceae-type

140

0-1-- --

2 ·

3

I ' li 8

~ 9

10

I I

12

13

14

H. TAKA I-IAR A, Y UEMURA a nd T. DANHARA

-------- Shrubs -------/----,

/

2J 4 (1

per ce ntage o f tree pollen sum

Fig. 3. (continued ) .

pollen a re mu ch hig her in zone KMY -6 tha n in zone KM Y-7.

Upland herbs -

>

- --- y-

.~

Tempera te conifer for ests dom in ated by Cup ressaceae trees wit h Tsuga, Pinu s, Sciadopitys verti cilla ta,

Crypt omeria japonica and LepidobaLanus occurred in the per iod of zones KMY-6 an d KM Y-7 . Th e ma jor

pollen taxa of zone KMY-6 ar e t ypica l of modern spec tra from t he tem perate coni fer zone(~ 700 m a ltitud e)

in wes tern Japa n. Betwee n 45 and 30 ky r BP (zone KMY -7), Cupr essaceae tree s became dom inant in t hese

forests .

Discussion

Tempo ra l resoluti on of th e pollen record was about 2000 yea 1-s. Shor ter sa mp ling int er vals wou ld be

desirabl e for deta iled vegetat ion reconst ruct ion. This tempora l r eso luti on is , however , appropri a te to corr elat e

the pollen da ta wit h the SPEC MAP marin e oxyge n isotope stages , r epr esentin g th e major climate changes a t

ca. 10-30 kyr interv a ls before th e LGM. Th e pollen diagra m will fir s t be used to re construct environm ent in

Ka mi yos hi Bas in , a nd will th en be corr elated with th e oxyge n isotope s tages for bioclima t ic int erpr eta tion.

Environment reconstruction

Th e pollen spectra of the cor e revea led that pinaceous conif ers, temp er ate coni fer s and temperate deciduou s

broa d-l eaved trees were commo n a nd in the period from 91 to 30 kyr BP. Also, none of t he warm -te mpera te

T he vegetatio n and climate history in Kami yos hi Basin

t - - ~::~·

- - - -

'.:.1) 40 ti) '.)) 40

percentage of tree pollen sum

Spore -

KMY-7

KMY-6

KMY-5

KMY-4

KMY-2

KMY- 1

141

/

/

evergre en trees suc h as th e Quercus subgen us Cyclobalanopsis an d Castanops is that ar e compo nents of

modern vegeta tion aro und th e st udy s ite. were recongnized in t he pollen spectra of t his pe1-iod, indicat ing a

cooler -t ha n-prese nt condit ions .

Th e modern ha bitat s of main pollen taxa from Kam iyos hi Ba sin are as follows. Abies, Tsuga, a nd Pinus

inclu des bot h borea l (s uba lpine) a nd temper ate (mo nt a ne) species. A ra nge of Picea is the upper

cool-te m perate and th e borea l zones . Th ese pin aceous genera us ua lly can grow in re lative ly dry condition .

Cryptome riajapon ica, Cupre ssaceae t r ees (Thuja, Thujopsi s, Cham.aecyparis a nd Juniperus) and Sciadopitys

uerticillata prefer a temperate climate fr om th e wa rm-t emperate to the cool-temperate. Tod ay, Cryptomeria

japonica is densely distr ibuted in areas wher e the annua l precipit a tio n is above 2,000 mm. and it requ ires a

min imum ann ua l pr ecipita ti on 1,600 mm u" . On the other hand, genera of Cup ressaceae and Sciadopitys

verticillata can grow in a r eas with less precip itat ion fro m 1.000 to 1,500 mm (Hayas hi , 1960) . Also.

Cryptomeriajaponica is dist ri but ed in bot h hea vy snow and litt le s now areas, whereas Sciadopi tys uerticillata

a re difficu lt to grow in heavy snow a r eas. As rega rd s bro ad-leaved taxa, Fagus crenata is found in cool and

wet conditi ons a nd requir es a minimum of 900 mm prec ipita tion dur ing t he grow ing seaso n on

Lepidobalanus (deciduou s oa k) inclu des bot h wa rm -temperate a nd cool-te m perate s pecies. Fagus crenata and

Quercus crispu la (belon g to L epido balanu s) are main compo nent s of th e coo-te mpera te deciduous

br oad- leaved fores ts. On th e bas is of t he composit ion of ta xa in each pollen zone, the enviro nment a l cond itio ns

can be inferr ed usin g the feat ur e for taxa menti oned above.

l42 H . TAK AH ARA. Y. UEMURA a nd T. DANI -IARA

4 TC and TD

6 TC and TD

8 CTD and TD

10 PC with TD

12 TC

TC and CTD 14

TC

0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)

~ Pinaceous conifers B Birch (Betula) I :::::! Temperate conifers

~~}~}j Beech (Fagus crenata) ~ Temperate deciduous trees Oothers

Fig . 4. Sum ma ry of tr ee poll en diag ram , recons tructed vege tation and inferr ed

climate and corre lat ion of the loca l poll en asse mblage zon es in Kamiyoshi Basin

with marine oxyge n iso tope sta ges.

* 1 Temperat e con ifer s : Sciadopitys verti cillata, Cryptomeria faponica and

Cu pressaceae-t y pe.

* 2 Temperat e deciduou s tr ees : Pt erocarya/ Juglans , Ostrya / Carpinus, Carpinus

tschonoskii , Fag us faponica. , Quercus subgenu s Lepidobalanus, Castanea /

Castanopsis, Ulmus / Zelko va, CeUis ./ Aphananthe, Phellodendron , Ace ,·, Aesculus,

Tilia, Ara liaceae, Frax inus.

Abbreviatio ns. Vegetation : TC = tempera te conifer s ; TD = temperate deciduou s

trees ; CTD = coo l-t emperate deciduous trnes ; PC = pina ceo us co nifers ; Climate :

d = dry ; w = wet ; cd = co ld ; cl = coo l ; tm = temperate. So lid co lumn indicatin g

moisture, shaded column indicating temperature.

Th e hig h in cide nce of Cryptomeria japoni ca po llen in zones KMY -1, I<.:MY-2 a nd KMY -3. ind icate s a wet

climate with hi g h prec ipita t ion , jud g in g from th e mod ern hab itat of C. japonica mentioned a bove. T he lower

pa rt of zone KMY- 1 and t he midd le pa rt of zone KM Y-3 s howed t ha t C. j aponica fore s ts s pr ea d exte ns ively .

An in crease of Fagu s crenata durin g t he per iod of zone KMY -2 implie s a coo ler clima te t ha n today .

Temp erate conifer forest s compo sed mainl y of C. japonica dec lin ed in t he period of zone KMY -4. a nd

Th e vegetat ion and climate history in Kamiyoshi Basin 143

pinaceous con ifer forest s includin g A bies, Picea, Tsuga a nd Haploxylon pine deve loped . Similar modern

vegetation composed of Abie s, Tsuga, Picea. and Haploxylon. pine occures in the upp er cool-temperate or the

s ubalpin e zones above 1200 m a ltitud e in western Japan . Th erefor e. pinaceous conif er forests were distributed

a t lower altitudes t han t hey are today, indi cat in g· colder temperature s . Also . the reduction of C. j apon ica and

predominance of pinaceou s conifers imp ly decreas ing prec ipitat ion .

Dur ing the period zone KMY -5. th e climate is considered to have been wett er than the previous period. since

Fagus crenata, which prefer a wet climate, increased in forests. The vegetat ion cha nges from pinaceous

conifer forests to cool-temperate deciduous broad -leaved for ests is t he sa me as seen in t he iflte-g lacia l (,·, 1"' .

Th e development of temper ate conif er fore sts dominated by Cupi-essaceae tree s . assoc iat ed with Tsuga,

Pirws. Sciadopitys vert icillata, Lepidobalanus during the per iod of zones KMY-6 a nd KMY-7 indicates a

t em perate climate that is cooler th an today. It is cons ider ed that the decline in Cryptomeria jap onica which

pr efer wet conditions indi cates that th e period was dryer th a n tho se of zones KMY -1. KMY-2, KMY -3 and

KMY -5.

Correlation between the pollen record and the marine oxygen isotope stages

A summ ari sed pollen da igra m for l{a miyos hi Bas in and its corre lat ion with the SPECMAP ma rin e oxyge n

isotope record 0" are shown in Fig. 4. The lowest part of zone KMY-1. which is below the K-Tz layer (91,000

y r BP) a nd is cha racterized by the predomina nce of Cryptomeria japonica pollen , indi cating wet a nd

t emperat e conditio ns, prob a bly corresponds to isoto pe substage 5c. The r eminder of zone KM Y- 1 and zone

KMY-2 correspond to su bstage 5 b, zone KMY-3 to subs ta ge 5 a, zone KMY-4 to isotope stage 4, a nd zones

KMY-5, KMY -6 and KMY -7 to isotope stage 3.

Ages for intrastages bound ar ies ar e interpo lated (201 from th e SPECMAP ma rine isotope event ages ( ioi . Ag·es

for boundari es of 5 c / 5 b. 5 b / 5 a . 5 a/ 4. 4 / 3 and 3 / 2 are 94. 85, 74, 59. a nd 28 kyr BP. r espect ively . Th e

rad iocarb on date (Fig. 2 and Tabl e 2) a nd th e age of tephra of t he core from Kamiyosh i Basin (F ig. 2) match

with th e ages of the isotope sta ges.

Differences of vegetation and climate between the inland and the coasta l Japan Sea area

The vegetat ion and climate h istory since isoto pe stage 6 is ava ilab le for Kurot a Lowland " · 1 ,i • which is

located in the coasta l area ne ar th e Japan Sea in the sa me reg ion as the st ud y site (Fig . 1). Diff erences

betwee n th e pollen record s of Kamiy oshi Bas in a nd Kurot a Lowl and revea l differenc es in th e vegetat ion

history betw een the inland and the coasta l Japan Sea areas.

In the period from approx imate ly 91 to 60 kyr BP (substage 5 b, 5 a a nd stage 4) vegetation histo rie s of the

two areas are very simil a r. Temperat e conifer for ests , composed pr imari ly of Cryptomeria japoni ca, were

predominant in 91 to 70 k yr BP (substage 5 b a nd 5 a), conifer foi-ests composed of pinaceo us trees dominated

fr om 70 to 60 kyr BP (stage 4), and cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests dom inated arou nd 60 kyr

BP. However. during the in ter sta de ( iso tope s tage 3) from 60 to 30 ky r BP. Cupressaceae trees became

dominant in Kami yos hi Basi n whereas Cryplomeria japonica were domina nt in Kuro ta Lowla nd. Th e

dif ference in vegetation bet ween the t(vo s ites became more distinct between 45 and 30 kyr BP ( in t he latte r

ha lf of isotope stage 3). Th a t is , Cupr essaceae tr ees were pr edominan t in Kamiyos hi Bas in , assoc ia ted with

8ciadopit ys verticillata and deciduou s oaks. whi le Cryptomeria japon.ica was dominant in Kuro ta Lowland,

assoc iated with cool-temperate deciduou s broad -leaved tree s such as Fagus cren.ata and deciduou s oaks. Th e

dom inance of Cryptomeria japonic a in th e inter sta de ha s been recog nized in Oof uke moor (,i i , Lake Mikata

('" and Yamakado Moor 1'3

i • which are located in the coasta l area of the Japan Sea. The difference in

vegetat ion between two ar eas suggests that th e climate in th e in land area differed from that in the coasta l

a rea of th e Japan Sea during th e period from 60 to 30 kyr BP (espec ia lly betwee n 45 and 30 kyr BP). Judg·i ng

144 H. TAKAHARA, Y UEM URA a nd T. DANI-IAR A

from ha bit at s of temperaLe coni fers mentioned a bove, durin g isotop e s tage 3. s lightl y dr y a nd lit tl e snow

conditi ons in th e inl and a rea a re in fer red from th e pred omin a nce of Cup ressaceae tr ees and Sciado pit ys

verl icillala. On the ot her ha nd, a wet a nd heavy snow clima te in t he coas ta l a rea of tl1e Jap a n Sea wo uld have

led to th e dom inan ce of Cryptom eria japonica a nd the decl ine o f Sciadopit ys uerti cillata.

Acknow ledgme nt

We tha nk Manabu Ta nig uchi for per miss ion to ta ke th e core from hi s paddy field, Kazu hiro Mori a nd

Kyoko Tan ida for the ir help wit h laboratory wo rk. and Shin ya Sug it a for va lua ble comments. Part of this

st ud y was suppo r ted by a Gra n t- in-A id for Bas ic Scient if ic Resea rch (09660170. to H. Taka hara) by the

Mini s tr y of Educat ion, Science a nd Cu lture, Japan .

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146 H. TAKAI-I ARA , Y UEMURA and T. DANI-JARA

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