Record of vegetation and climate during Late Pleistocene–Holocene in Central Ganga Plain, based on multiproxy data from Jalesar Lake, Uttar Pradesh, India

Holocene vegetation and climate change in Central Ganga Plain: A study based on multiproxy records from Chaudhary-Ka-Tal, Raebareli District, Uttar Pradesh, India

“…A slight decrease in clay fraction with concomitant increase in coarser sediment along with higher carbonate to organic carbon ratio suggest deterioration in climate compared to the previous favorable phase. A similar vegetation scenario and climatic conditions have been noticed at Lahuradeva in Sant Nagar District (Chauhan et al, 2009) and Jalesar Lake in Unnao District (Trivedi et al, 2013), based on pollen and geochemical evidence. The agricultural practice maintained almost the same pace as earlier, because the Cerealia and other culture pollen taxa do not portray any apparent change in their representation.…”

“…A decreasing trend in coarser sediment with increased carbonate and organic carbon could be a result of higher abundance of vegetal matter and decomposed litter in the sediment. A concurrent vegetation scenario, indicating equivalent climatic conditions, have been noticed from Lahuradewa Lake in Sant Kabir Nagar District (Chauhan et al, 2009) about 200 km east, Basaha Jheel , and Jalesar Lake, Unnao District (Trivedi et al, 2013) about 50 km west of the present investigation site. Similarly, the succession of mixed oak-chirpine forest in Garhwal Himalaya (Chauhan and Sharma, 1996) and severe decline of trees and aquatic flora in the Rajasthan desert (Singh et al, 1974) during Late Holocene, encompassing this phase of deterioration of climate, also corroborate with the inferences from the Ganga Plain.…”

“…This drastic change in the vegetation mosaic on the whole occurred as a result of initiation of a warm and more-humid climatic condition owing to commencement of the active SW monsoon. An almost similar vegetation scenario and climatic condition has been inferred from the Lahuradewa pollen sequence in eastern Uttar Pradesh for almost the same time bracket (Chauhan et al, 2009) and Jalesar Lake in Unnao District (Trivedi et al, 2013). In a global context, this phase of expansion of trees corresponds with the Climatic Optimum, which is well known between 7000 and 4000 BP (Bradley, 1999).…”

“…Hitherto, some sketchy pollen based information has been generated through the investigation of lacustrine deposits from this region, depicting vegetation scenarios, human habitation, and landscape evolution in relation to climate variability during the Holocene (Gupta, 1978;Chauhan et al, , 2004Chauhan et al, , 2009Sharma et al, 2001;Chauhan and Chatterjee, 2007). Recently, a concerted approach encompassing pollen, phytolith, geochemical and isotope analyses on a few lakes has been undertaken from the Central Ganga Plain to understand the vegetation shifts, climatic change, lake-level fluctuations and ancient crop economy during the Holocene in context of the cultural history of this region Singh, 2005;Saxena et al, 2006Saxena et al, , 2013Tewari et al, 2006;Chauhan et al, 2009;Trivedi et al, 2011Trivedi et al, , 2013Wasson et al, 2013). These studies have provided precise inferences regarding the monsoon variability and its influence on the vegetation scenario, lake level fluctuations, and the inception of cereal based agricultural practices on millennial time scales during the Holocene in the Central Ganga Plain.…”

Vegetation and climatic variability in southeastern Madhya Pradesh, India since Mid-Holocene, based on pollen records

“…An equivalent vegetation scenario and climatic condition also prevailed in northeastern MP 12 about 200 km away from the present site during almost the same time interval. Similarly, the forest groves became varied and dense in the Central Ganga Plain around 3200 years BP owing to congenial climatic condition 32,33 . Further, the rising trend of sedges and other wetland elements, P. serrulatum and Hygrophila reflects that the swamp had a wider stretch than earlier.…”