Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189DOI 10.1007/s10584-008-9457-2

Reconstruction of paleovegetation and paleoclimatein the Early and Middle Eocene, Hainan Island, China

Yi-Feng Yao · Subir Bera · David K. Ferguson ·Volker Mosbrugger · Khum N. Paudayal ·Jian-Hua Jin · Cheng-Sen Li

Received: 3 January 2007 / Accepted: 17 April 2008 / Published online: 16 September 2008© Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract The Early–Middle Eocene palynoflora and paleoclimate of ChangchangBasin, Hainan Island, South China, is described in the present paper and is comparedwith that of the Middle–Late Eocene, Hunchun City, Jilin Province, North China.

Y.-F. Yao · C.-S. Li (B)State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany,Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100093, People’s Republic of Chinae-mail: lics@ibcas.ac.cn

Y.-F. Yaoe-mail: yaoyf@ibcas.ac.cn

S. BeraDepartment of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata 700019, Indiae-mail: berasubir@yahoo.co.in

D. K. FergusonDepartment of Paleontology, University of Vienna,Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austriae-mail: david.kay.ferguson@univie.ac.at

V. MosbruggerSenckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum,Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germanye-mail: volker.mosbrugger@senckenberg.de

K. N. PaudayalCentral Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University,Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepale-mail: khum99@gmail.com

J.-H. Jin (B)School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University,Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of Chinae-mail: lssjjh@mail.sysu.edu.cn

170 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

The nearest living relatives (NLRs) of the recovered palynotaxa suggest a subtropicalevergreen or deciduous broad-leaved forest at the center of the basin but a temperateevergreen or deciduous broad-leaved forest and needle-leaved forest growing inthe peripheral part of the basin. Based on the climatic preferences of the NLRs,the climate in the Changchang Basin during the Early–Middle Eocene was warmand humid subtropical with a mean annual temperature of 14.2–19.8◦C, a meantemperature of the warmest month of 22.5–29.1◦C, a mean temperature of the coldestmonth of 1.7–11.9◦C, a difference of temperature between coldest and warmestmonths of 12.1–24.6◦C, a mean annual precipitation of 784.7–1,113.3 mm, a meanmaximum monthly precipitation of 141.5–268.1 mm and a mean minimum monthlyprecipitation of 6.9–14.1 mm. A comparison of the palynoflora and paleoclimatebetween the Changchang Basin and Hunchun City, suggests essentially a similarclimate in South and North China during Eocene time in contrast to the oceanictropical climate in South China and cool dry temperate climate in North China as atpresent.

1 Introduction

Hainan Island, 33,920 km2 in area, is the second largest continental island in Chinaand located between 18◦10′–20◦10′ N and 108◦37′–111◦03′ E. It was separated fromthe Leizhou Peninsula, China mainland by the Qiongzhou Strait in the MiddlePleistocene as a result of volcanic activity (Fig. 1A, B). From the center to the edgeof Hainan Island, the topography gradually changes from mountain to highland andplain. The current climate on the island is of a seasonal and oceanic tropical type witha mean annual temperature of 23.8◦C and a mean annual precipitation of 1,684.5 mm.The modern vegetation of Hainan Island is represented by tropical seasonal rainforest and rain forest in the mountainous area and mangrove forest along theseashore. The vegetation components are dominated by elements of tropical floraand have a close relationship with the southeast Asiatic flora.

The Tertiary strata on Hainan Island are mainly distributed in its northern(Haikou subarea) and southwestern (Sanya subarea) parts (Lei et al. 1992; Jinet al. 2002; Table 1). The Haikou subarea comprises the Fushan- Changpo- Jialai-Jiaju- and Changchang Basins. The deposits in this subarea range from Paleoceneto Pliocene in age. The Paleogene of this subarea belongs to continental depositswith abundant organic mudstone, while the Neogene is composed of marine depositsdominated by detrital rock. The deposits in the Sanya subarea are exposed in theYinggehai Basin and are Oligocene in age.

The Changchang Basin is a Cenozoic basin (about 34 km2 in area) located in thenortheastern part of Hainan Island (Fig. 1A). The Paleocene and Eocene strataof this basin are very well developed, but the Oligocene deposits are missing.The Changchang sequence of the Paleogene is divided into three formations frombottom to top (Table 1). These are the Changtou Formation of Paleocene ageand Changchang and Wayao Formations of Eocene age. The Changchang sectionin Changchang Basin, northeastern Hainan Island (Fig. 1B) consists of two parts:a lower part of multi-colored lacustrine facies and an upper part of dark colored

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 171

Fig. 1 Location of Changchang Basin in Hainan Island (A). Detail map around Jiazi Town,Qiongshan City (B)

172 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

Tab

le1

Cen

ozoi

cst

rata

ofH

aina

nIs

land

(Jin

etal

.200

2)

Geo

logi

calp

erio

dSe

dim

enta

ryba

sin

Fus

han

Bas

inC

hang

poB

asin

Jial

aiB

asin

Jiaj

uB

asin

Cha

ngch

ang

Bas

inY

ingg

ehai

Bas

in

Neo

gene

Plio

cene

Wan

glou

gang

Fm

.W

angl

ouga

ngF

m.

Plio

cene

Plio

cene

Yin

ggeh

aiF

m.

Mio

cene

LD

engl

oujia

oF

m.

Den

glou

jiao

Fm

.D

engl

oujia

oF

m.

MJi

aow

eiF

m.

Cha

ngpo

Fm

.C

hang

poF

m.

Cha

ngpo

Fm

.H

uang

liuF

m.

EX

iaya

ngF

m.

Mei

shan

Fm

.P

aleo

gene

Olig

ocen

eL

–MW

eizh

ouF

m.

Sany

aF

m.

EL

iush

agan

gF

m.

The

first

mem

ber

Eoc

ene

LT

hese

cond

mem

ber

Way

aoF

m.

MT

heth

ird

mem

ber

Cha

ngch

ang

Fm

.E

Wen

shic

unF

m.

Pal

eoce

neC

hang

liuF

m.

Hao

xian

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hang

tou

Fm

.

LL

ate,

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iddl

e,E

earl

y;F

m.f

orm

atio

n

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 173

lake-swamp facies, 99.3 m in thickness (Lei et al. 1992) (Fig. 2). This section isassigned to the Changchang Formation of Early–Middle Eocene age (Table 1).

Earlier, some paleobotanical and palynological studies had been carried out on theChangchang Formation, Changchang Basin, Hainan Island (Guo 1979; Zhang 1980;Lei et al. 1992). This paper aims to reconstruct the climate of the Changchang Basin

Palynomorphs in each palynological zone Lithology Thickness

Fig. 2 Stratigraphic section of Changchang Basin and palynomorphs in each palynological zone

174 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

during the Early–Middle Eocene based on the climatic preferences of the nearestliving relatives (NLRs) of the recovered palynotaxa. The study also compares theflora and climate of this part of South China with those of Middle–Late Eocenesedimentary strata of Jilin Province, North China to discover whether there was anydifference in flora and climate in North and South China during Eocene time.

2 Materials and methods

Fifty-five palynological samples were collected from this section in the field. Thesamples were analyzed following standard techniques (Peck 1974; Moore and Webb1978; Moore et al. 1991; Li and Du 1999). No pollen grains or spores were found in20 samples, fewer than 200 grains (5–187) were found in 13 samples, while more than200 grains (218–2,028) were found in 22 samples. The pollen grains and spores wereidentified using the palynological literature and monographs (Sun et al. 1981, 1982,1989; Wu and Yu 1981; Zhang 1981; Yu 1983; Lei 1985; Li 1989; Zhang et al. 1990;Lei et al. 1992; Li and Qing 1994; Song et al. 1999).

The reconstruction of the Early–Middle Eocene climate in the ChangchangBasin is attempted following the Coexistence Approach (CoA, Mosbrugger andUtescher 1997; Xu et al. 2000). The method is based on the assumption that theclimatic tolerance of a fossil taxon is similar to that of its Nearest Living Relative(NLR). The procedure for obtaining the climatic tolerance of a NLR is as follows.Firstly, the climatic parameters of all NLRs (seed plants) in a palynoflora areobtained from the climatic records within their modern distribution area (Wu andDing 1999). Secondly, the maximum and minimum of each parameter of each NLRare established. Thirdly, the climatic interval of each parameter of all NLRs isoverlapped and the coexistence interval of all NLRs is obtained.

The modern climatic data recorded by the meteorological stations of China areextracted from the publications of the Information Department of Beijing Meteoro-logical Center (IDBMC 1983a, b, c, 1984a, b, c). Sometimes the distribution area of agenus is likely to extend beyond China. In the case of Quercus, Kou et al. (2006) havebeen able to show that the climatic data from the rest of its distributional area fallwithin the range of tolerance of Quercus based on Chinese data. Herein, we give thegenus Ephedra as another example. We checked the recent publications which men-tioned the genus with the meteorological record in NW Patagonia, Argentina (Joseet al. 1994), Sierra Nevada (Christopher et al. 2007), Sonoran Desert (The Desertsof North America, http://instruct.uwo.ca/biology/320y/namdes.html), Turkey (Denizand Sümbül 2004), Central Asia (McGinley 2007), Iran (Heshmati 2007) and SaudiArabia (Karemy and Zayed 1992) (Table 2); These also demonstrate that all therecords fall within the range of tolerance of Chinese Ephedra.

In the present paper, the following climatic parameters are estimated, viz., theMean Annual Temperature (MAT), the Mean Temperature of the Warmest Month(MWMT), the Mean Temperature of the Coldest Month (MCMT), difference oftemperatures between coldest and warmest months (DT), the Mean Annual Precip-itation (MAP), the Mean Maximum monthly Precipitation (MMaP) and the MeanMinimum monthly Precipitation (MMiP).

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 175

Tab

le2

The

MA

Tan

dM

AP

inth

edi

stri

buti

onar

eaof

Eph

edra

outw

ith

Chi

naba

sed

onre

cent

stud

ies

ofth

ege

nus

Pla

ceL

ocat

ion

Alt

itud

e(m

.a.s

.l.)

MA

T(◦

C)

MA

P(m

m)

Ref

eren

ces

Sono

ran

dese

rt,N

Am

eric

a–

150–

950

–∼

300

The

Des

erts

ofN

orth

Am

eric

a(2

007)

Whi

teM

ount

ains

,Sie

rra

Nev

ada

–1,

250

13.3

142

Chr

isto

pher

etal

.(20

07)

NW

Pat

agon

ia,A

rgen

tina

–90

0–1,

400

7.4

304

Jose

etal

.(19

94)

Ant

alya

,Tur

key

36◦ N

,29◦

E1,

660

7.5

616.

5D

eniz

and

Süm

bül(

2004

)So

uthe

rnde

sert

s,C

entr

alA

sia

––

∼16

70–1

25M

cGin

ley

(200

7)Sa

ndde

sert

s,ce

ntra

lpla

teau

,Ira

n–

500–

1,20

015

–18

<20

0H

eshm

ati(

2007

)B

aha

plat

eau,

Saud

iAra

bia

19◦ 5

0′–2

0◦18

′ N,

1,70

0–2,

400

–36

0.1

Kar

emy

and

Zay

ed(1

992)

41◦ 3

8′–4

2◦10

′ ET

heto

lera

nce

ofE

phed

rafr

omC

hine

seda

ta–

–−4

.9−

19.8

16.4

–1,1

13.3

Pre

sent

pape

r

176 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

Fig. 3 Palynomorphs recovered from the Changchang Basin, Hainan Island, compared with thepalynoflora of Hunchun City, Jilin Province

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 177

3 Results

3.1 Description of polynological zones

Forty-six palynomorphs were identified in the studied geological section (Fig. 3),including 36 angiosperm, four gymnosperm and six pteridophyte taxa. Some se-lected spores and pollen recovered from the Changchang Basin are shown inFig. 4. The palynoassemblage is characterized by the dominance of angiospermpollen (94.5%). Among these, pollen grains of Fagaceae, viz., Faguspollenites Raatz,

Fig. 4 A selection of the spores and pollen recovered from the Changchang Basin (all palynomorphsare illustrated at the same magnification. Scale bar = 80 μm) 1–4 Pinuspollenites, 5 Taxodiaceaepol-lenites, 6–8 Liquidambarpollenites, 9 Ulmipollenites, 10–11 Tricolpopollenites, 12 Unidentified pollen,13 Gothanipollis, 14 Margocolporites, 15–16 Momipites, 17, 19 Cupuliferoipollenites, 18 Quercoidites,20 Retimultiporopollenites, 21 Rutaceoipollenites, 23 Pterisisporites, 24–27 Polypodiaceae

178 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

�Fig. 5 Pollen percentage diagram of Changchang Basin, Hainan Island

Cupuliferoipollenites Potonié, Quercoidites Potonié and Castanopsis (D. Don) Spach,were prevalent in the assemblage, constituting 88.9% of the total pollen andspores. Some representative elements of tropical and subtropical plants such asProteacidites Cookson and Myrtaceidites Cookson et Pike, also appeared in theflora. Gymnosperm pollen was rare and represented by less than 3%. Pinuspol-lenites Raatz with 2.7% dominates among gymnosperms. Tsugaepollenites Potoniéet Venitz, Ephedripites Bolchovitina and Taxodiaceaepollenites Kremp were spo-radically present (0.1%). Pteridophytes spores were also low in frequency (2.7%),being represented by Polypodiaceaesporites Thiergart (2.5%), Pterisisporites Sunget Zheng (0.09%), Triletes Reinsch (0.05%), Lygodiumsporites Thiergart (0.04%),Hymenophyllumsporites Rouse (negligible) and Cyathidites Couper (negligible).Three palynological assemblages of the Changchang section could be recognizedfrom top to bottom (Fig. 5), as follows:

Zone 1 (0–63.8 m in depth)

This palynological assemblage is barren of any pollen or spores from 0 to 46 m,while 30 types of palynomorphs were identified in the deposits from 46 to 63.8 m,including 22 angiosperm, four gymnosperm and four pteridophyte taxa. Angiospermpollen dominates and reaches 96.9%, with mostly deciduous broad-leaved trees nowgrowing in the temperate and subtropical regions. Fagaceae pollen are very frequent(94.36%) in this zone and are represented by Faguspollenites, Cupuliferoipollenites,Quercoidites and Castanopsis. Myrtaceidites, Proteacidites and Hamamelidaceae areamong the tropical and subtropical taxa present in the assemblage. Gymnospermtaxa (2.6%) are represented by Pinuspollenites, Tsugaepollenites, Ephedripites andTaxodiaceaepollenites. Pteridophytes are uncommon (0.5%), being represented byPolypodiaceaesporites, Pterisisporites, Triletes and Cyathidites.

Zone 2 (63.8–79.8 m in depth)

Only 18 types of palynomorphs are found in this zone, comprising 14 angiosperm, twogymnosperm and two pteridophyte taxa. Like zone 1, angiosperm pollen dominatesthe palynoassemblage of this zone (97.9%) and is represented mostly by Fagaceaepollen. Few tropical and subtropical taxa of Monocolpopollenites Pflug et Thomsonand Hamamelidaceae are present along with some temperate deciduous broad-leaved tree taxa such as Betulaepollenites Potonié, Alnipollenites Potonié, MomipitesWodehouse and Ulmipollenites Wolff. The total percentage of gymnosperm taxaaccounts for 2.0%. Pinuspollenites and Taxodiaceaepollenites are recorded with0–3.9% and 0–2.6%, respectively. Two types of ferns, viz., Polypodiaceaesporites(0–0.2%) and Pterisisporites (0–0.1%) are also present sporadically in this zone.

Zone 3 (79.8–99.3 m in depth)

Forty-two types of palynotaxa were identified from this zone, of which 34 areangiosperm, three gymnosperm and five pteridophyte taxa. Angiosperm pollen

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 179

180 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

occurs in a lower frequency than that in zones 1 and 2, but remains predominant andreaches 92.4% of the pollen sum. Faguspollenites, Momipites,Betulaepollenites andJuglanspollenites Raatz represent deciduous broad-leaved tree taxa. Few herbaceoustaxa (Cucurbitaceaepollenites, Corsinipollenites Nakoman, Cruciferaeipites Zhengand Chenopodipollis Krutzsch) are also present at low frequency (0.1–0.2%).The pollen types of tropical and subtropical taxa Myrtaceidites, Palmaepollenites,Proteacidites, Gothanipollis Krutzsch, Symplocoipollenites Potonié, MargocolporitesRamanujam ex Srivastava and Hamamelidaceae increase in this zone. Gymnospermtaxa (3.0%) are represented by Pinuspollenites, Ephedripites and Taxodiaceaepol-lenites. A comparatively higher percentage of pteridophyte spores (4.6%) withPolypodiaceaesporites, Pterisisporites, Triletes, Lygodiumsporites and Hymenophyl-lumsporites are recorded in this zone.

3.2 Coexistence analysis on the whole palynoassemblage and eachof the palynological zones

Thirty-six fossil palynomorph taxa used in our CoA approach are shown in Table 3.The seven climate parameters (MAT, MWMT, MCMT, DT, MAP, MMaP andMMiP) from the CoA approach on the whole palynoassemblage are shown inTable 4 and Fig. 6. The climatic parameters have also been determined for eachof the three palynological zones (Table 4, Fig. 7). Coexistence analysis of thepalynological zones 1 and 3 gives exactly the same result as that obtained from thewhole palynoassemblage (The coexistence intervals of 14.2–19.8◦C for MAT, 22.5–29.1◦C for MWMT, 1.7–11.9◦C for MCMT, 12.1–24.6◦C for DT, 784.7–1,113.3 mm forMAP, 141.5–268.1 mm for MMaP, and 6.9–14.1 mm for MMiP) (Table 4). However,palynological zone 2 gives slightly wider coexistence intervals but still overlapping

Table 3 Palynomorph taxa used in CoA (Song et al. 1999)

Fossil palynomorph taxa NLRs Fossil palynomorph taxa NLRs

Pinuspollenites Pinus L. Proteacidites ProteaceaeTsugaepollenites Tsuga Carr. Juglanspollenites Juglans L.Taxodiaceaepollenites Taxodiaceae Multiporopollenites Juglans L.Ephedripites Ephedra Tourn. ex Linn. Caryapollenites Carya Nutt.Faguspollenites Fagus L., Castanopsis Magnolipollis Magnolia L.

(D. Don) SpachCupuliferoipollenites Castaneae Mill. Salixipollenites Salix L.Quercoidites Quercus L. Euphorbiacites EuphorbiaceaeRhoipites Anacardiaceae, Rhus Fraxinoipollenites Oleaceae

(Tourn.) L.Ilexpollenites Ilex L. Hamamelidaceae HamamelidaceaeLiquidambarpollenites Liquidambar L. Cucurbitaceaepollenites CucurbitaceaeRutaceoipollenites Rutaceae Monocolpopollenites PalmaeBetulaceoipollenites Betula L. Palmaepollenites PalmaeAlnipollenites Alnus Mill. Triatriopollenites MyricaceaeGothanipollis Loranthaceae Margocolporites CaesalpiniaceaeMomipites Juglandaceae Ulmipollenites Ulmus L.Cruciferaeipites Cruciferae Corsinipollenites OnagraceaeChenopodipollis Chenopodiaceae Tiliaepollenites Tilia L.

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 181

Tab

le4

Coe

xist

ence

inte

rval

sof

the

who

lepa

lyno

asse

mbl

age

and

each

ofth

eth

ree

paly

nolo

gica

lzon

es

Pal

ynol

ogic

alzo

neN

umbe

rof

taxa

MA

T(◦

C)

MW

MT

(◦C

)M

CM

T(◦

C)

DT

(◦C

)M

AP

(mm

)M

MaP

(mm

)M

MiP

(mm

)

Who

lepa

lyno

asse

mbl

age

3614

.2–1

9.8

22.5

–29.

11.

7–11

.912

.1–2

4.6

784.

7–1,

113.

314

1.5–

268.

16.

9–14

.13

3414

.2–1

9.8

22.5

–29.

11.

7–11

.912

.1–2

4.6

784.

7–1,

113.

314

1.5–

268.

16.

9–14

.12

1513

.3–2

2.6

22.5

–29.

11.

7–15

.310

.7–2

6.0

613.

9–1,

900.

313

7.3–

387.

92.

0–54

.01

2414

.2–1

9.8

22.5

–29.

11.

7–11

.912

.1–2

4.6

784.

7–1,

113.

314

1.5–

268.

16.

9–14

.1

182 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

Fig. 6 Climate data of the coexistence area of 36 extant taxa of seed plants in China. 1 Pinus, 2Taxodiaceae, 3 Tsuga, 4 Ephedra, 5 Juglans, 6 Carya, 7 Fagus, 8 Castanea, 9 Castanopsis, 10 Corylus,11 Alnus, 12 Betula, 13 Quecus, 14 Tilia, 15 Liquidambar, 16 Myrtaceae, 17 Rhus, 18 Anacardiaceae,19 Protaceae, 20 Euphorbiaceae, 21 Caesalpiniaceae, 22 Ilex, 23 Rutaceae, 24 Onagraceae, 25Salix, 26 Ulmus, 27 Magnoliaceae, 28 Loranthaceae, 29 Chenopodiaceae, 30 Cruciferae, 31 Cucur-bitaceae, 32 Symplocaceae, 33 Palmae, 34 Oleaceae, 35 Hamamelidaceae, 36. Myrtaceae

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 183

Fig. 7 Coexistence intervals ofthe whole palynoassemblageand each of the threepalynological zones. A zone 1,B zone 2, C zone 3, D wholepalynoassemblage

184 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

with the other results. There is no evidence of climatic change during the overallperiod of deposition.

4 Discussion

4.1 The paleovegetation and paleoclimate in Changchang Basin

The palynoflora found in the Changchang Basin includes temperate plants, viz.,Pinus L., Betula L., Alnus Mill., Corylus L., Ulmus L., Tilia L., Juglans L., SalixL., Castanea Mill., temperate and subtropical plants, viz., Carya Nutt., MagnoliaL., Liquidambar L., and subtropical and tropical plants, viz., Taxodiaceae,Ilex L., Myrtaceae, Proteaceae, Anacardiaceae, Rutaceae, Symplocaceae, Palmae,Caesalpiniaceae.

Based on the climatic preferences of the nearest living relatives of recoveredpalynotaxa, paleovegetation vis-à-vis paleoclimate of the basin is suggested. Forinstance, plants of the genera Salix and Betula are commonly distributed in the northtemperate zone. The plants of the genus Ilex are mostly distributed in the tropicsand subtropics, while some species extend into the temperate regions. The genusLiquidambar is discontinuous between the temperate and subtropical zones of theEast Asia, S.W. Asia and North America. The Palmae is a pantropical family, whichis widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Wu 1991;Mabberley 1997; Wu et al. 2003). Based on the palynoassemblage, it is assumedthat the vegetation in the central part of the Changchang Basin was evergreen ordeciduous broad-leaved forest and the vegetation on the surrounding mountain wasneedle-leaved forest and deciduous broad-leaved forest. During the Early–MiddleEocene of the Changchang Basin, it is thought that a subtropical climatic regime,very similar to the present climate (MAT: 17.0◦C; MAP: 1,013.1 mm) of Xichang City(27◦54′ N, 102◦16′ E), Sichuan Province, southwestern China, existed (Table 5). Themodern climate in Hainan Island is of an oceanic tropical type (MAT 23.8◦C; MAP1,684.5 mm) with tropical seasonal rain forest in the mountains area and mangroveforest fringing the coastal plain.

4.2 Comparison of palynoflora and paleoclimate with Hunchun City

An Eocene palynoflora and paleoclimatic estimates are available from HunchunCity, Jilin Province, (42◦51′13′′ N, 130◦20′98′′ E) North China (Kou 2005), enablingus to compare it with those of the Changchang Basin, South China (19◦37′73 N,110◦27′12 E). Although these two sites are geographically widely separated (Fig. 8),the palynoflora and paleoclimate are close to each other. Angiosperm taxa dominateboth the Changchang and Hunchun City palynoassemblages, represented by 94.5%and 50.8–84.55%, respectively. Forty-six taxa of palynomorphs from the ChangchangBasin, compared to 52 types from Hunchun City, have been recovered amongwhich 27 taxa appeared common to both (Fig. 3). More temperate elements areencountered in Hunchun City (42.3% of total palynomorphs) than in ChangchangBasin (26.0%); in contrast, there are more tropical and subtropical elements amongthe Changchang Basin palynotaxa (41.3%) than in the Hunchun City assemblage

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 185

Tab

le5

Com

pari

son

ofE

ocen

ean

dre

cent

clim

ate

inC

hang

chan

gB

asin

,Sou

thC

hina

and

Hun

chun

Cit

y,N

orth

Chi

na,a

ndco

mpa

riso

nof

the

Eoc

ene

clim

ate

inC

hang

chan

gB

asin

and

Hun

chun

Cit

yw

ith

the

rece

ntcl

imat

eof

Xic

hang

Cit

y,Si

chua

nP

rovi

nce

and

Xuy

iCou

nty,

Jian

gsu

Pro

vinc

e

Clim

ate

Cha

ngch

ang

Bas

in,H

aina

nIs

land

Xic

hang

Cit

y,Si

chua

nP

rovi

nce

Hun

chun

Cit

y,Ji

linP

rovi

nce

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186 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

Fig. 8 Location of Changchang Basin, Hainan Island and Hunchun, Jilin Province in China

(26.9%). Taken as a whole, these palynological data suggest that the two floras grewessentially under a subtropical climatic regime.

The Hunchun climate during the Middle to Late Eocene was quantitativelyreconstructed using the Coexistence Approach by Kou (2005). The MAT and MAPof Hunchun during Eocene time were 14.3–14.9◦C (14.6◦C) and 797.5–1,344 mm(1,071.8 mm), respectively, which are close to the modern climate of Xuyi (33◦01′

Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189 187

N, 118◦30′ E), Jiangsu Province, China (MAT: 14.6◦C; MAP: 985.3 mm), and alsoclose to those of the Changchang Basin during the Early to Middle Eocene (MAT:14.2–19.8◦C (17.0◦C), MAP: 784.7–1,113.3 mm (949 mm)) (Table 5). The similarityof these climatic parameters in the Changchang Basin and Hunchun City suggeststhat the Eocene climates in South China and North China were not so different, bothwarm and humid.

The reason behind the similarity of the paleoclimates in the two areas, whichare quite far apart (about 23 degrees in latitude) may be explained in two ways.Firstly, from the paleogeographical point of view, the landmass of China during thePaleogene was possibly located at the southeastern part of Eurasia and its landformwas relatively flat, as the Indian Plate commenced to collide with the Eurasian Platein the Eocene (ca. 50 Ma). Late Cretaceous–Paleogene marine deposits have beenfound in southern Tibet, which indicates that at least some of the region was at sealevel around the time of collision (Zhang et al. 1998; Harris 2006). It is suggestedthat the Tibetan Plateau was not uplifted much during this period. The thickness anddensity of the troposphere in China was almost uniform everywhere, which couldconserve the heat equally (CCPGCCAS 1984; CCVC 1995). Secondly, the easternpart of China, including South and North China, was influenced by the warm oceaniccurrent around Eurasia which caused the temperature of the landmass to increase(CCPGCCAS 1984). Spjeldnaes (1973) suggested that the atmospheric- and oceaniccirculation were not too strong in the Paleogene and climatic zones were not asdistinct as at the present day, thereby supporting a similar climatic regime throughoutthe northern and southern part of the Chinese landmass. Furthermore, the EarlyEocene was one of the warmest intervals of the Cenozoic, with little or no polar ice(Rea et al. 1990; Sloan and Barron 1992; Sloan and Rea 1995; Sloan et al. 2001),which possibly led to little change in temperature across latitudes at that time.

5 Conclusions

1) The palynoflora of the Changchang Basin in the Early–Middle Eocene ischaracterized by the dominance of angiosperm pollen (94.5%), followed bygymnosperm pollen (2.8%) and pteridophyte spores (2.7%).

2) The vegetation in the central part of the Changchang Basin in Early–MiddleEocene time was evergreen or deciduous broad-leaved forest surrounded byevergreen or deciduous broad-leaved forest and needle-leaved forest on thenearby highlands.

3) The climate in the Changchang Basin in the Early–Middle Eocene is supposedto have been of a subtropical type. The MAT in Eocene time is estimated as14.2–19.8◦C, with a MWMT of 22.5–29.1◦C, MCMT of 1.7–11.9◦C, DT of 12.1–24.6◦C, MAP of 784.7–1,113.3 mm, MMaP of 141.5–268.1 mm, and a MMiP of6.9–14.1 mm.

4) A comparison of paleoclimatic parameters between the Changchang Basin(MAT: 14.2–19.8◦C, MAP: 784.7–1,113.3 mm in Early–Middle Eocene) andHunchun City (MAT: 14.3–14.9◦C, MAP: 797.5–1,344 mm in Middle–LateEocene) suggests that the climate of South China and North China was similar,both warm and humid.

188 Climatic Change (2009) 92:169–189

Acknowledgements We thank Professor Nai-Qiu Du and Dr. Qi-Gao Sun from the Institute ofBotany, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Wen-Bo Liao from Sun Yat-sen Universityfor their help with this study. We also thank Dr. Xiang-Yu Kou for providing the data of theEocene palynoflora and paleoclimate of Hunchun City, Jilin Province. This study was supported bygrants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40672017, 40701191) and GuangdongProvincial Natural Science Foundation of China (06023161).

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