Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T18:49:11.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Quantitative climate and vegetation trends since the late glacial on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau deduced from Koucha Lake pollen spectra

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Ulrike Herzschuh ,
Annette Kramer ,
Steffen Mischke  and
Chengjun Zhang
Ulrike Herzschuh*
Affiliation:
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Germany Department of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Germany
Annette Kramer
Affiliation:
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Germany
Steffen Mischke
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Chengjun Zhang
Affiliation:
Center for Arid Environment and Palaeoclimate Research, Lanzhou University, China
*
⁎Corresponding author. Alfred Wegener Institute, Telegraphenberg A43, 14473 Potsdam, Germany. Fax: +49 331 2882137. Email Address:[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Quantitative information on vegetation and climate history from the late glacial–Holocene on the Tibetan Plateau is extremely rare. Here, we present palynological results of a 4.30-m-long sediment record collected from Koucha Lake in the Bayan Har Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Vegetation change has been traced by biomisation, ordination of pollen data, and calculation of pollen ratios. The application of a pollen–climate calibration set from the eastern Tibetan Plateau to Koucha Lake pollen spectra yielded quantitative climate information. The area was covered by alpine desert/steppe, characteristic of a cold and dry climate (with 50% less precipitation than today) between 16,700 and 14,600 cal yr BP. Steppe vegetation, warm (∼ 1°C higher than today) and wet conditions prevailed between 14,600 and 6600 cal yr BP. These findings contradict evidence from other monsoon-influenced areas of Asia, where the early Holocene is thought to have been moist. Low effective moisture on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau was likely due to high temperature and evaporation, even though precipitation levels may have been similar to present-day values. The vegetation changed to tundra around 6600 cal yr BP, indicating that wet and cool climate conditions occurred on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau during the second half of the Holocene.

Keywords

Pollen analysisTibetan PlateauHoloceneLate glacialOrdinationTransfer functionWA-PLSPrecipitation reconstructionTemperature reconstruction
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , March 2009 , pp. 162 - 171
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

An, Z., Porter, S.C., Kutzbach, J.E., Wu, X., Wang, S., Liu, X., Li, X., and Zhou, W. Asynchronous Holocene optimum of the East Asian monsoon. Quaternary Science Reviews 19, (2000). 743–762.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
An, C., Feng, Z., and Barton, L. Dry or humid? Mid-Holocene humidity changes in arid and semi-arid China. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, (2006). 351–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beug, H.-J. Leitfaden der Pollenbestimmung für Mitteleuropa und angrenzende Gebiete. (2004). Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München. 542 ppGoogle Scholar
Birks, H.J.B. Quantitative palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Maddy, D., and Brew, J.S. Statistical Modelling of Quaternary Science Data. (1995). Quaternary Research Association, Cambridge. 161–254.Google Scholar
Birks, H.J.B. Numerical tools in palaeolimnology — progress, potentialities, and problems. Journal of Paleolimnology 20, (1998). 307–332.Google Scholar
Birks, H.J.B., and Birks, H.H. Quaternary Palaeoecology. (1980). Edward Arnold, London.Google Scholar
Birks, H.J.B., and Seppä, H. Pollen-based reconstructions of late-Quaternary climate in Europe — progress, problems, and pitfalls. Acta Palaeobotanica 44, (2004). 317–334.Google Scholar
Bräuning, A., and Mantwill, B. Summer temperatures and summer monsoon history on the Tibetan Plateau during the last 400 years recorded by tree rings. Geophysical Research Letters 31, (2004). L24205.1499 Google Scholar
Chang, D.H.S. The vegetation zonation of the Tibetan Plateau. Mountain Research and Development 1, (1981). 29–48.Google Scholar
Feng, Z., An, C., and Wang, H. Holocene climate changes in the arid and semi-arid areas of China: a review. The Holocene 16, (2006). 119–130.Google Scholar
Fontes, J.-C., Gasse, F., and Gibert, E. Holocene environmental changes in Lake Bangong basin (Western Tibet). Part 1: chronology and stable isotopes of carbonates of a Holocene lacustrine core. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 120, (1996). 25–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herzschuh, U. Palaeo-moisture evolution at the margins of the Asian monsoon during the last 50 ka. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, (2006). 163–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herzschuh, U. Reliability of pollen ratios for environmental reconstructions on the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Biogeography 34, (2007). 1265–1273.Google Scholar
Herzschuh, U., Zhang, C., Mischke, S., Herzschuh, R., Mohammadi, F., Mingram, B., Kürschner, H., and Riedel, F. A late Quaternary lake record from the Qilian Mountains (NW China), evolution of the primary production and the water depth reconstructed from macrofossil, pollen, biomarker, and isotope data. Global and Planetary Change 46, (2005). 361–379.Google Scholar
Herzschuh, U., Kürschner, H., and Mischke, S. Temperature variability and vertical vegetation belt shifts during the last ∼ 50,000 yr in the Qilian Mountains (NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China). Quaternary Research 66, (2006). 133–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herzschuh, U., Winter, K., Wünnemann, B., Li, S., (2006b). A general cooling trend on the central Tibetan Plateau throughout the Holocene recorded by the Lake Zigetang pollen spectra. Quaternary International 154–155., 113–121.Google Scholar
Hong, Y., Hong, B., Lin, Q., Zhu, Y., Shibata, Y., Hirota, M., Uchida, M., Leng, X., Jiang, H., Xu, H., Wang, H., and Yi, L. Correlation between Indian Ocean summer monsoon and North Atlantic climate during the Holocene. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 211, (2003). 371–380.Google Scholar
Huai, H., and Zhou, L. Vegetation and altitude gradient in southern part of Qinghai Lake Basin. Acta Botanica Boreali 17, (1997). 522–527. (in Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Kashiwaya, K., Masuzawa, T., Morinaga, H., Yaskawa, K., Yuan, B., Liu, J., and Gu, Z. Changes in hydrological conditions in the central Qing-Zang (Tibetan) Plateau inferred from lake bottom sediments. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 135, (1995). 31–39.Google Scholar
Kürschner, H., Herzschuh, U., and Wagner, D. Phytosociological studies in the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau (NW China) — a first contribution to the subalpine scrub and alpine meadow vegetation. Botanische Jahrbücher der Systematik 126, (2005). 273–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J., Li, B., and Zhang, Q. Explanatory Notes on the Quaternary Glacial Distribution Map of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau. (1991). Science Press, Beijing. 10 pagesGoogle Scholar
Lister, G., Kelts, K., Chen, K., Yu, J., and Niessen, F. Lake Qinghai, China: closed-basin lake levels and the oxygen-isotope record for ostracoda since the latest Pleistocene. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 84, (1991). 141–162.Google Scholar
Luo, H., and Yanai, M. The large-scale circulation and heat sources over the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas during the early summer of 1979. Part 1: precipitation and kinematic analyses. Monthly Weather Review 111, (1983). 922–944.Google Scholar
Mischke, S., Herzschuh, U., Zhang, C., Bloemendal, J., and Riedel, F. A late Quaternary lake record from the Qilian Mountains (NW China): lake level and salinity changes inferred from sediment properties and ostracod assemblages. Global and Planetary Change 46, (2005). 337–359.Google Scholar
Mischke, S., Kramer, M., Herzschuh, U., Shang, H., Erzinger, J., and Zhang, C. Reduced early Holocene moisture availability in the Bayan Har Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, inferred from a multi-proxy lake record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 267, (2008). 59–76.Google Scholar
Moore, P.D., Webb, J.A., and Collinson, M.E. Pollen Analysis. 2nd ed. (1991). Blackwell Science, Oxford. 216 ppGoogle Scholar
Morrill, C., Overpeck, J.T., and Cole, J.E. A synthesis of abrupt changes in the Asian summer monsoon since the last deglaciation. The Holocene 13, (2003). 465–476.Google Scholar
Morrill, C., Overpeck, J.T., Cole, J.E., Shen, C., and Tang, L. Holocene variations in the Asian monsoon inferred from geochemistry of lake sediments in central Tibet. Quaternary Research 65, (2006). 232–243.Google Scholar
Murakami, M., and Ding, Y. Wind and temperature change over Eurasia during early summer of 1979. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan 60, (1982). 183–196.Google Scholar
Prentice, I.C., Guiot, J., Huntley, B., Jolly, D., and Cheddadi, R. Reconstructing biomes from palaecological data: a general method and its application to European pollen data at 0 and 6 ka. Climate Dynamics 12, (1996). 185–194.Google Scholar
Ren, G., and Beug, H.-J. Mapping Holocene pollen data and vegetation of China. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, (2002). 1395–1422.Google Scholar
Schlütz, F. Palynologische Untersuchungen über die holozäne Vegetations-, Klima-, und Siedlungsgeschichte in Hochasien (Nanga Parbat, Karakorum, Nianbaoyeze, Lhasa) und das Pleistozän (Qinling-Gebirge, Gaxun-Nur). Dissertationes Botanice (1999). 315 Google Scholar
Seppä, H., and Bennett, K.D. Quaternary pollen analysis: recent progress in palaeoecology and palaeoclimatology. Progress in Physical Geography 27, (2003). 548–579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shen, J., Liu, X., Wang, S., and Matsumoto, R. Palaeoclimatic changes in the Qinghai Lake area during the last 18,000 years. Quaternary International 136, (2005). 131–140.Google Scholar
Shen, C., Liu, K., Tang, L., and Overpeck, J.T. Quantitative relationships between modern pollen rain and climate in the Tibetan Plateau. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 140, (2006). 61–77.Google Scholar
Shen, J., Jones, R.T., and Yang, X. The Holocene vegetation history of Lake Erhai, Yunnan province, southwestern China: the role of climate and human forcings. The Holocene 16, (2006). 265–276.Google Scholar
Song, M., Zhou, C., and Hua, O. Simulated distribution of vegetation types in response to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Vegetation Science 16, (2005). 341–350.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P.J. Extended 14C data base and revised CALIB 3.0 14C age calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, (1993). 215–230.Google Scholar
Sun, H. The National Physical Atlas of China. (1999). China Cartographic Publishing House, Beijing. 230 ppGoogle Scholar
Sun, S., and Kong, L. The vegetation of Da Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalis Sinica 12, (1992). 59–69. (in Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Tang, L., Shen, C., Liu, K., and Overpeck, J.T. New high-resolution pollen records from two lakes in Xizang (Tibet). Acta Botanica Sinica 41, (1999). 896–902.Google Scholar
ter Braak, C.J.F. Ordination. Jongman, R.H., Ter Braak, C.J.F., and van Tongeren, O.F.R. Data Analysis in Community and Landscape Ecology. (1987). Wageningen, Pudoc. 91–173.Google Scholar
Thompson, L.G., Thompson, M., and Davis, M.E. Glacial stage ice core records from the subtropical Dunde ice cap, China. Annals of Glaciology 14, (1990). 288–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, L.G., Yao, T., Davis, M.E., Henderson, K.A., Mosley-Thompson, E., Lin, P., Beer, J., Synal, H.-A., Cole-Dai, J., and Bolzan, J.F. Tropical climate instability: the last glacial cycle from a Qinghai-Tibetan ice core. Science 276, (1997). 1821–1825.Google Scholar
Van Campo, E., and Gasse, F. Pollen- and diatom-inferred climatic and hydrological changes in the Sumxi Co Basin (western Tibet) since 13,000 yr B.P. Quaternary Research 39, (1993). 300–313.Google Scholar
Wang, B. The Asian Monsoon. (2006). Praxis Publishing, 787 ppGoogle Scholar
Wang, F., Chen, N., Zhang, Y., and Yang, H. Pollen Flora of China. (1997). Science Press, Beijing. 461 pp. (in Chin.) Google Scholar
Wang, R., Scarpitta, S.C., Zhang, S., and Zheng, M. Later Pleistocene/Holocene climate conditions of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (Tibet) based on carbon and oxygen stable isotopes of Zabuye Lake sediments. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 203, (2002). 461–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, P., Clemens, S., Beaufort, L., Braconnot, P., Ganssen, G., Jian, Z., Kershaw, P., and Sarthein, M. Evolution and variability of the Asian monsoon system: state of the art and outstanding issues. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, (2005). 595–629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, Y. The floristic characteristics in the source area of the Yellow River in China. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalis Sinica 15, (1995). 82–89. (in Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Wu, Y. The floristic characteristics in the source area of Changjiang (Yangtze) River. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalis Sinica 20, (2000). 1086–1101. (in Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Wu, G., and Zhang, Y. Tibetan Plateau forcing and the timing of the monsoon onset over south Asia and the South China Sea. Monthly Weather Review 126, (1998). 913–927.Google Scholar
Wu, Y., Lücke, A., Jin, Z., Wang, S., Schleser, G.H., Battarbee, R.W., and Xia, W. Holocene climate development on the central Tibetan Plateau: a sedimentary record from Cuoe Lake. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 234, (2006). 328–340.Google Scholar
Yan, G., Wang, F., Shi, G., and Li, S. Palynological and stable isotopic study of palaeoenvironmental changes on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau in the last 30,000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 153, (1999). 147–159.Google Scholar
Yanai, M., Li, C., and Song, Z. Seasonal heating of the Tibetan Plateau and its effects on the evolution of the Asian summer monsoon. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan 70, (1992). 319–351.Google Scholar
Yang, X. Pollen assemblage and palaeoclimate during the last 2000 years in Ximencuo Region, Qinghai. Acta Micropalaeontologica Sinica 13, (1996). 437–440.Google Scholar
Yu, G., Prentice, I.C., Harrison, S.P., and Sun, X. Pollen-based biome reconstruction for China at 0 and 6000 years. Journal of Biogeography 25, (1998). 1055–1069.Google Scholar
Yu, G., Tang, L., Yang, X., and Ke, X. Modern pollen samples from alpine vegetation on the Tibetan Plateau. Global Ecology and Biogeography 10, (2001). 503–519.Google Scholar
Zhang, X. The Tibetan Plateau in relation to the vegetation of China. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 70, (1993). 564–570.Google Scholar
Zhang, Q., Cheng, G., Yao, T., Kang, X., and Huang, J. A 2,326-year tree-ring record of climate variability on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters 30, 14 (2003). 1739 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017425 Google Scholar
Zhao, Y., Yu, Z., Chen, F., Ito, E., and Zhao, C. Holocene vegetation and climate history at Hurleg Lake in the Qaidam Basin, northwest China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology (2007). online early Google Scholar
Zhou, S., and Li, J. The sequence of Quaternary glaciation in the Bayan Har Mountains. Quaternary International 45/46, (1998). 135–142.Google Scholar
Zhou, X., and Wang, Z. Qinghai Zhibei (The vegetation of Qinghai). (1987). Qinghai Peoples Publishing House, Xining. 200pGoogle Scholar
Zhou, W., Dodson, J., Head, M., Li, B., Hou, Y., Lu, X., Donahue, D., and Jull, A.J.T. Environmental variability within the Chinese desert-loess transition zone over the last 20 000 years. The Holocene 12, (2002). 107–112.Google Scholar