Charcoal and fossil wood from palaeosols,sediments and artificial structures indicating Late Holocene woodland decline in southern Tibet (China) |
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| Authors: | Knut Kaiser Lars Opgenoorth Werner H Schoch Georg Miehe |
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| Institution: | 6. Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;7. CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;1. CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Surface Process, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 610041 Chengdu, China;2. School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China;3. Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China |
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| Abstract: | Charcoal and fossil wood taken from palaeosols, sediments and artificial structures were analysed in order to evaluate the regional pedoanthracological potential and to obtain information on Holocene environmental changes, particularly on possible past tree occurrences in southern Tibet. This research was initiated by the question to what extent this area is influenced by past human impact. Even recent evaluations have perceived the present treeless desertic environment of southern Tibet as natural, and the previous Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes detected were predominantly interpreted to be climate-determined. The material analysed – comprising a total of 53 botanical spectra and 55 radiocarbon datings from 46 sampling sites (c. 3500–4700 m a.s.l.) – represents the largest systematically obtained data set of charcoal available from Tibet so far. 27 taxa were determined comprising trees, (dwarf-) shrubs and herbs as well as grasses. The predominant tree taxa were Juniperus, Hippophae, Salix and Betula. According to their present-day occurrence in the region, the genera Juniperus and Hippophae can be explicitly attributed to tree species. Further, less frequently detected tree taxa were Populus, Pinus, Quercus, Taxus and Pseudotsuga. Charcoal of Juniperus mainly occurred on southern exposures, whereas Betula was associated with northern exposures. In contrast, the (partly) phreatophytic taxa Hippophae and Salix showed no prevalent orientation. The distribution of radiocarbon ages on charcoal revealed a discontinuous record of burning events cumulating in the Late Holocene (c. 5700–0 cal BP). For southern Tibet, these results indicated a Late Holocene vegetation change from woodlands to the present desertic pastures. As agrarian economies in southern and south-eastern Tibet date back to c. 3700 and 5700 cal BP, respectively, and the present-day climate is suitable for tree growth up to c. 4600 m a.s.l., we concluded that the Late Holocene loss or thinning out of woodlands had been primarily caused by humans. |
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