Distribution of Dacrydium in South China During the Late Quaternary

The pollen analysis of the Late Quaternary from South China, in particular, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, made possible to restore the past distribution of Dacrydium in China. The chinese mainland flora today is totally devoid of Dacrydium. However, a single species (D. pierrei Hickel) is represented in the montane rainforests of Hainan Island (extreme south of China). The fossil pollen grains, morphologically comparable to that of D. pierrei, were discovered from the Tertiary and the Quaternary sediments in an extensive area of China. Even in the Last Interstadial of Wurm (40000–20000 Yr. B. P.), its distribution might extend to 22-24 degrees north latitude. The climatic deterioration and the environmental change during the Last Glacial (Late Wurm) had been a crucial factor when the flora of South China underwent drastic modification. It is in the same period that the present-day restriction of D. pierrei to Hainan Island took place.