Abstract
Depositional process and vegetation history from ca.40 ka to the present were reconstructed by means of tephra, facies, and pollen analyses and radiocarbon measurement for six drilling cores in Mizunashi-yachi, Komado Mire (a.s.l. ca.1,100m), Fukushima Prefecture, Northeast Japan.
In ca.40 ka, the boreal coniferous forest accompanied by Cryptomeria, Quercus, and Fagus was distributed in this area, where peat was deposited and mire was formed. The peat was partly eroded during the Last Glacial Maximum period, and subsequently it began to deposit again at ca.18.5 ka. Between ca.18.5 ka and ca.16.4 ka the forest dominated by Betula admixed with boreal conifers was distributed in the surroundings. Cool temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest dominated by Quercus and Fagus expanded under the microtherm climate between ca.16.4 ka and ca.15.6 ka, but Betula forest expanded again between ca.15.6 ka and ca.14.3 ka. The time period during which Betula forest expanded corresponds to the Younger Dryas cooling event in the North Atlantic region. After that, Betula forest reduced gradually and was replaced by cool temperate deciduous broadleaved forest composed mainly of Fagus and Quercus. Since ca.1.3 ka, Cryptomeria japonica forest has expanded.
