Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental evolution since the late glacial epoch as recorded by sporopollen from the Hongyuan peat section on the Zoige Plateau, northern Sichuan, China.

A 7.95 m thick peat section at Hongyuan on the southern Zoige Plateau was systematically studied using the ^14C method and sporopollen analysis, the paleoenvironmental history since the late glacial epoch in the Zoige area was reconstructed and the main paleoclimatic events occurring in this period were identified. The late glacial epoch in the area witnessed a cold-slightly dry or cool-slightly dry climate and repeated cold-warm climatic oscillations. The cold phases in the 14.1-13.4, 12.4-12.0 and 10.5-10.0 ka intervals correspond to the Oldest Dryas, Older Dryas and Younger Dryas events respectively, and the warm phases in the 12.6-12.4 and 12.0-10.5 ka intervals correspond to the BoUing and Allerod warm events respectively. The climate after Younger Dryas was mainly warm and moist, and the significant temperature lowering in the 8.9-8.7 and 6.1-5.8 ka intervals marked two cold events in the Holocene. The climatic evolution since the late glacial epoch in the Zoige area reflected by sporopollen records may be well correlated with the global climate change.