Late Pleistocene–Holocene Vegetation and Climate Change From the Western and Eastern Himalaya (India): Palynological Perspective

A palynological assay of the studies carried out from the Western and the Eastern Himalaya (India) during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene is presented here. The Western Himalaya is affected by both the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and Western Disturbances, whereas the Eastern Himalaya receives precipitation only from the ISM. During the Late Pleistocene (~77 ka), a cold and arid climate supported steppe vegetation in the Western Himalaya. In the Eastern Himalaya, around 66 ka, a cool and dry climate supported the savannah vegetation with few scattered trees of Pinus and Tsuga. A number of warm-moist fluctuations are also perceptible during the Late Pleistocene. The impacts of Last Glacial Maximum, Holocene Climatic Optimum, Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age are well discernible in the vegetation in both the regions. Within a broad similarity, the climate change and associated vegetation succession varied from region to region; as the palynological records are characterized by the evidences of prolonged humid phases in the eastern sector, whereas the arid events are better marked in the western part. The similarities and incompatibilities in the climate and vegetation between the Western and Eastern Himalaya during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene are discussed in the present paper.