The first pollen record of the yonger Dryas in the south of the Russian Far East

The high-resolution pollen record retrieved from dated sediments of the Khanka Depression made it possible for the first time to reconstruct evolution of vegetation in the south of the Russian Far East that occurred during one of the coldest phase of MIS 2 – the Yonger Dryas. The results of palynological analysis showed that strong global cooling occurred after the first, slight warming between 18200 and 15500 cal BP, which followed after one of the coldest and driest Gydan Stage of the Sartan Glaciation, again led to spread of boreal flora plants. The spruce and small-leaved forests, sparse larch and dwarf birch, alder and elfin pine forests, and also Sphagnum mires dominated in the ecosystems of the region. This plants were typical of the south of the Russian Far East during the drier and colder Gydan Stage of the Sartan Glaciation. Their ranges under the cold climate, which were significantly different from the modern ones, due to increasing cooling, again began to shift southward.