Enduring effects of the ‘Millennium Eruption’ of Changbaishan on mountain vegetation composition

Abstract

Abstract Large explosive volcanic eruptions can cover wide areas of land with tephra, profoundly disturbing ecological and societal systems. However, while consequences of tephra fallout and flow deposits have been well studied on annual to decadal timescale, little is known about centennial and longer-term changes in vegetation composition. Here, we reconstruct the pre-eruption vegetation and local climatic conditions on Changbaishan (aka Mt. Paektu) volcano from relict trees recovered from the deposits of its colossal 946 CE ‘Millennium Eruption’. A comparison of forest composition and structure deduced from the subfossil material with today’s forests on the mountain reveals still ongoing impacts more than thousand years after the eruption occurred. Today’s higher abundance of broad-leaved species reflects the long-term vegetation recovery following the eruption rather than the effects of anthropogenic warming that have been suggested previously. Further ecological succession, accelerated by global warming, is likely to reduce or eliminate the alpine tundra now prevalent on the upper slopes of Changbaishan. Our study emphasizes the value of assessing post-volcanic vegetation responses in a long temporal context.