Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China

Abstract Unlike plains, mountains provide diverse habitats for various biomes due to complex topography and large altitudinal differences. It is crucial for objectively reconstructing deep‐time biodiversity changes that the pollen source, dispersal, and driving forces in montane ecosystems are studi...

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Main Authors: Hui Zeng, Zi‐Yu Wang, Gui‐Xing Chen, David K. Ferguson, Yu‐Fei Wang, Yi‐Feng Yao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-02-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113697
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author Hui Zeng
Zi‐Yu Wang
Gui‐Xing Chen
David K. Ferguson
Yu‐Fei Wang
Yi‐Feng Yao
author_facet Hui Zeng
Zi‐Yu Wang
Gui‐Xing Chen
David K. Ferguson
Yu‐Fei Wang
Yi‐Feng Yao
author_sort Hui Zeng
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Unlike plains, mountains provide diverse habitats for various biomes due to complex topography and large altitudinal differences. It is crucial for objectively reconstructing deep‐time biodiversity changes that the pollen source, dispersal, and driving forces in montane ecosystems are studied. Here, we investigate surface soil samples from different vertical zones in the Hengduan Mountains. Results show the pollen assemblages generally reflect the dominant components of the warm temperate coniferous forest and the cold temperate coniferous and sclerophyllous oak mixed forest, but exotic anemophilous pollen like Pinus (53.4%), Alnus (3.5%), Tsuga (1.1%), and Juglans (0.5%) are found in the subalpine scrub and meadows by upslope flow. The atmospheric reanalysis data suggests that the Asian summer monsoon and diurnally‐varying orographic winds may jointly drive the upslope and downslope pollen flows. These new findings provide basic scientific data and potential interpretations for the reconstructions of past vegetation and plant diversity in global montane ecosystems.
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spelling doaj-art-d876f1895ef84176a83d3d068a2d1dd62025-08-20T02:58:26ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-02-01524n/an/a10.1029/2024GL113697Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern ChinaHui Zeng0Zi‐Yu Wang1Gui‐Xing Chen2David K. Ferguson3Yu‐Fei Wang4Yi‐Feng Yao5State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaState Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaSouthern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) School of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Zhuhai ChinaInstitute of Palaeontology University of Vienna Vienna Wien AustriaState Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaState Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaAbstract Unlike plains, mountains provide diverse habitats for various biomes due to complex topography and large altitudinal differences. It is crucial for objectively reconstructing deep‐time biodiversity changes that the pollen source, dispersal, and driving forces in montane ecosystems are studied. Here, we investigate surface soil samples from different vertical zones in the Hengduan Mountains. Results show the pollen assemblages generally reflect the dominant components of the warm temperate coniferous forest and the cold temperate coniferous and sclerophyllous oak mixed forest, but exotic anemophilous pollen like Pinus (53.4%), Alnus (3.5%), Tsuga (1.1%), and Juglans (0.5%) are found in the subalpine scrub and meadows by upslope flow. The atmospheric reanalysis data suggests that the Asian summer monsoon and diurnally‐varying orographic winds may jointly drive the upslope and downslope pollen flows. These new findings provide basic scientific data and potential interpretations for the reconstructions of past vegetation and plant diversity in global montane ecosystems.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113697pollen flowHengduan MountainsAsian summer monsoonorographic windbiodiversity hotspot
spellingShingle Hui Zeng
Zi‐Yu Wang
Gui‐Xing Chen
David K. Ferguson
Yu‐Fei Wang
Yi‐Feng Yao
Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China
Geophysical Research Letters
pollen flow
Hengduan Mountains
Asian summer monsoon
orographic wind
biodiversity hotspot
title Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China
title_full Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China
title_fullStr Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China
title_full_unstemmed Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China
title_short Asian Summer Monsoon and Orographic Winds Change the Pollen Flow in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China
title_sort asian summer monsoon and orographic winds change the pollen flow in the hengduan mountains southwestern china
topic pollen flow
Hengduan Mountains
Asian summer monsoon
orographic wind
biodiversity hotspot
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113697
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