Abstract: Pollen records of two swamp sections, located at Taibai Mountain, the highest peak in the Qinling Mountains of central China, show variations of vegetation and climate for the last 3 500 cal BP. The pollen assemblage at the Foyechi and Sanqingchi sections and the surface soil pollen allowed us to reconstruct a high-altitude vegetation history at Taibai Mountain for the first time. The data indicated that there was a cold-dry climate interval between 3 500 and 3 080 cal BP and a relatively warm and wet period compared with the present from 3 080 to 1 860 cal BP. The warmest period in the late Holocene on Taibai Mountain was from 1 430 to 730 cal BP, with an approximate 2 °C increase in mean annual temperature compared with today. There was a relatively cool-dry climate interval from 730 to 310 cal BP. After 310 cal BP, a mountain tundra vegetation developed again and the position of the modern tree line was established.

Key words: climate variation, Late Holocene, pollen, Taibai Mountain, vegetation.