Yu. A. Mikishin, I. G. Gvozdeva, T. I. Petrenko, A. V. Romanova

Subfossil pollen assemblages of the southwestern margin of Primorye, Russian Far East

Abstract. The paper considers pollen assemblages and their reflection of the vegetation cover in the southernmost Russian Far East. The research involved 53 samples of modern sediments collected in the coastal-marine forest steppe and oak open woodlands, as well as at the bottom of adjacent water areas. Pollen from Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) and Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis), birch and oak trees dominates in tree species. The pollen content of these species, excluding oak, does not adequately reflect the vegetation cover formed within most pollen assemblages. In forest steppe, only oak pollen reaching on average 35 % values in soil and lagoon-lacustrine sediments is fully associated with oak prevalence in island upland forests. The pollen assemblages in oak open woodlands development do not correspond to the vegetation cover to a lesser extent than in forest steppe due to reduced Korean pine pollen. Soil sediment assemblages, with the maximum oak pollen content of up to 60 %, are most representative of the open woodland vegetation. The same pattern of inadequacy to the vegetation cover is characteristic of herbaceous pollen. Grasses and various forbs outnumber wormwood dominating in the assemblages of coastal-marine forest steppe in sediments of various genesis, as well as sedges prevailing in soil samples from oak open woodlands.

Keywords: modern sediments, low accumulative plain, coastal-marine forest steppe, oak open woodlands, Expedition Bay, Tumen River, Khasansky district of Primorye