PROBLEMS OF THE QUATERNARY ON MOUNTAINS OF THE SUNDA-SAHUL REGION

Two specific problems are identified in understanding the data on the Quaternary of Montane areas in the Sunda-Sahul region. These are: (1) The Upper Montane rainforest, according to palynological evidence, app ears to have been absent in the Late Pleistocene, although it is well represented today. (2) The estimates of temperature lowering in the La te Pleistocene are strikingly greater in the mountains than in the low lands. A single possible explanation for both problems is proposed. It is argued that altitudinal zonation of vegetation is partly controlle d by ultraviolet-B light which is strikingly increased at high altitud es in the tropics. This fact could account for both the above problems , not only in the Sunda-Sahul region, but also in other tropical regio ns. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd