Vegetation and climate changes during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene in SW Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract

Pollen analysis was done on lacustrine sedimentary sequences dated by micromammals as late Pliocene-early Pleistocene that outcrop in two Neogene graben basins from SW Turkey. This study shows vegetation changes from steppe-like to more forested environments, very similar to the cyclic oscillations related to late Pleistocene glacial-interglacial climate changes. Artemisia was abundant during cold-arid periods, indicating that this species was already widespread in this area during the latest Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene. A review of pollen records from Anatolia agrees with this study, suggesting that the spreading of this arid species occurred during a major climatic change: the beginning of the first glaciations and probably a change in seasonality towards summer aridity. Artemisia temporarily disappeared from the region during warm-wet periods and thus we suggest that glacial-interglacial-type oscillations already occurred in the area during the late Pliocene-early Pleistocene. © 2015 University of Washington.