Decline of the mid- to late Holocene forests in China: climatic change or human impact?

Fossil pollen data from China indicate continued forest decline during the mid- to late Holocene in most regions north of the Yangtze River. The earli est forest decline can be detected ca. 5000 yr BP in the middle and lower Y ellow River regions. North, northeast and northwest from this region, fores t decline became progressively later, and almost no decline took place in t he northernmost part of northeast China and in the remote areas of west Chi na during the last 5000 yr. Climate changes could hardly account for the te mporal and spatial patterns of the forest decline. Instead, anthropogenic d isturbance may have been of overwhelming importance. Ancient agriculture an d high-density settlement expanded outward from the middle and lower Yellow River regions in similar patterns to those of forest change. This study al so indicates that land-use and land-cover changes may have started in the e arly stage of Chinese civilization in an extensive area of the country. Cop yright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.