Modern Abies, Picea, and Tsuga pollen distribution along the elevation gradient in East Asia

Sub-alpine dark coniferous forests (SCFs) exhibit distinct latitudinal and longitudinal elevation distributions in East Asia. The SCF genera Abies, Picea, and Tsuga produce distinctive pollen and have specific elevation and climate requirements, allowing for the reconstruction of paleo-climatic and paleo-elevational changes from fossil pollen sequences. However, the relationship between SCF elevational distribution and the percentage of coniferous pollen has not been elucidated at the continental scale. In this study, we determined the relationship between Abies, Picea, and Tsuga pollen percentages and SCF elevation distributions in East Asia using an integrated pollen dataset comprising 4863 modern samples. The total percentage of these pollen types showed bimodal patterns with elevation and unimodal patterns with climate. Maximum pollen percentages occurred at elevations of 0–1000 and 2000–4600 m, mean annual temperatures of −5–10 ℃, and mean annual precipitation values of 100–1500 mm. The elevation with the highest proportion of Abies + Picea + Tsuga pollen increased with decreasing latitude: from 500 m (>43°N) to 2300 m (37–43°N), to 3500 m (30–37°N), and to 4000 m (18–30°N). Elevation also exhibited non-monotonic variations with longitude, first increasing from 2500 m (<93°E) to 3500 m (93–102°E), and then decreased to 2500 m (102–113°E) and 500 m (>113°E). The spatial patterns of Abies, Picea, and Tsuga pollen abundance were closely correlated with modern SCF distributions, which are largely modulated by climate and elevation. This study lays the foundation for reconstructing paleo-climate and paleo-elevation variations across East Asia.