The fluctuation pattern of China’s civilization can be ascribed to climate change and historical geopolitical variations. The ancient Silk Road served as the most prosperous route connecting East Asia and Europe duri...The fluctuation pattern of China’s civilization can be ascribed to climate change and historical geopolitical variations. The ancient Silk Road served as the most prosperous route connecting East Asia and Europe during Han Dynasty(206 BC–220 AD) and Sui-Tang Dynasties(581–907 AD), but was deserted in Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties(220–580 AD), of which the Tarim Basin was a key area. However, our understanding about the decline of the route during this period remains limited. Here, we present an ~7-year resolution record based on optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) age-depth model(ca. 120 BC–750 AD) from Luntai(LT) profile, about 5 km from the modern Tarim River, which fed the ancient oases, to assess the potential causes on the documented decline of the ancient Silk Road between Late Han and Sui dynasties. In this study, five episodes of hydrological change were identified by combining grain size, magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry and TOC/TN contents. Our reconstruction reveals that cold and wet climate dominated at 120 BC–50 AD and 550–750 AD, respectively, indicated by strong hydrodynamic conditions. Relatively warm and humid climate occurred at 120–550 AD, between Eastern Han and Sui-Tang dynasties, indicating a better and more suitable local environment. A comparison between the studied region and other areas of China demonstrates that the paleoclimatic variations in eastern and western China exhibit rough discrepancies, and the hydrological conditions in arid region is inconsistent with the decline of ancient Silk Road in the northern Tarim Basin. We suggest that political and societal factors are the key issues that caused the interruption of Silk Road during Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, such as the co-occurrence of societal crises, turmoil and division in eastern China, rather than the deteriorating climatic condition in the northern Tarim basin.展开更多
The Relative Pollen Productivities(RPPs)of common steppe species are estimated using Extended R-value(ERV)model based on pollen analysis and vegetation survey of 30 surface soil samples from typical steppe area of nor...The Relative Pollen Productivities(RPPs)of common steppe species are estimated using Extended R-value(ERV)model based on pollen analysis and vegetation survey of 30 surface soil samples from typical steppe area of northern China.Artemisia,Chenopodiaceae,Poaceae,Cyperaceae,and Asteraceae are the dominant pollen types in pollen assemblages,reflecting the typical steppe communities well.The five dominant pollen types and six common types(Thalictrum,Iridaceae,Potentilla,Ephedra,Brassicaceae,and Ulmus)have strong wind transport abilities;the estimated Relevant Source Area of Pollen(RSAP)is ca.1000 m when the sediment basin radius is set at 0.5 m.Ulmus,Artemisia,Brassicaceae,Chenopodiaceae,and Thalictrum have relative high RPPs;Poaceae,Cyperaceae,Potentilla,and Ephedra pollen have moderate RPPs;Asteraceae and Iridaceae have low RPPs.The reliability test of RPPs revealed that most of the RPPs are reliable in past vegetation reconstruction.However,the RPPs of Asteraceae and Iridaceae are obviously underestimated,and those of Poaceae,Chenopodiaceae,and Ephedra are either slightly underestimated or slightly overestimated,suggesting that those RPPs should be considered with caution.These RPPs were applied to estimating plant abundances for two fossil pollen spectra(from the Lake Bayanchagan and Lake Haoluku)covering the Holocene in typical steppe area,using the"Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites"(REVEALS)model.The RPPs-based vegetation reconstruction revealed that meadow-steppe dominated by Poaceae,Cyperaceae,and Artemisia plants flourished in this area before 6500–5600 cal yr BP,and then was replaced by present typical steppe.展开更多
Understanding the response of ecosystems to past climate is critical for evaluating the impacts of future climate changes.A large-scale abrupt shift of vegetation in response to the Holocene gradual climate changes ha...Understanding the response of ecosystems to past climate is critical for evaluating the impacts of future climate changes.A large-scale abrupt shift of vegetation in response to the Holocene gradual climate changes has been well documented for the Sahara-Sahel ecosystem. Whether such a non-linear response is of universal significance remains to be further addressed. Here,we examine the vegetation-climate relationships in central Asia based on a compilation of 38 high-quality pollen records. The results show that the Holocene vegetation experienced two major abrupt shifts, one in the early Holocene(Shift I, establishing shift) and another in the late Holocene(Shift II, collapsing shift), while the mid-Holocene vegetation remained rather stable. The timings of these shifts in different regions are asynchronous, which are not readily linkable with any known abrupt climate shifts,but are highly correlated with the local rainfalls. These new findings suggest that the observed vegetation shifts are attributable to the threshold effects of the orbital-induced gradual climate changes. During the early Holocene, the orbital-induced precipitation increase would have first reached the threshold for vegetation "establishment" for moister areas, but significantly later for drier areas. In contrast, the orbital-induced precipitation decrease during the late Holocene would have first reached the threshold, and led to the vegetation "collapse" for drier areas, but delayed for moister areas. The well-known 4.2 kyr BP drought event and human intervention would have also helped the vegetation collapses at some sites. These interpretations are strongly supported by our surface pollen-climate analyses and ecosystem simulations. These results also imply that future climate changes may cause abrupt changes in the dry ecosystem once the threshold is reached.展开更多
基金This research was supported by the States Key Program of National Natural Science of China (grants No. 40830420)the Special Funds Projects for Basic Scientific Research Business Expenses of Mineral Resources, Research Institutes in Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (No. KK1924)the National Key R&D Program of China (grants No. 2018YFA0606401)
文摘The fluctuation pattern of China’s civilization can be ascribed to climate change and historical geopolitical variations. The ancient Silk Road served as the most prosperous route connecting East Asia and Europe during Han Dynasty(206 BC–220 AD) and Sui-Tang Dynasties(581–907 AD), but was deserted in Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties(220–580 AD), of which the Tarim Basin was a key area. However, our understanding about the decline of the route during this period remains limited. Here, we present an ~7-year resolution record based on optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) age-depth model(ca. 120 BC–750 AD) from Luntai(LT) profile, about 5 km from the modern Tarim River, which fed the ancient oases, to assess the potential causes on the documented decline of the ancient Silk Road between Late Han and Sui dynasties. In this study, five episodes of hydrological change were identified by combining grain size, magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry and TOC/TN contents. Our reconstruction reveals that cold and wet climate dominated at 120 BC–50 AD and 550–750 AD, respectively, indicated by strong hydrodynamic conditions. Relatively warm and humid climate occurred at 120–550 AD, between Eastern Han and Sui-Tang dynasties, indicating a better and more suitable local environment. A comparison between the studied region and other areas of China demonstrates that the paleoclimatic variations in eastern and western China exhibit rough discrepancies, and the hydrological conditions in arid region is inconsistent with the decline of ancient Silk Road in the northern Tarim Basin. We suggest that political and societal factors are the key issues that caused the interruption of Silk Road during Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, such as the co-occurrence of societal crises, turmoil and division in eastern China, rather than the deteriorating climatic condition in the northern Tarim basin.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDA05120202)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41071132,41371215)+1 种基金Science and Technology Department of Hebei Province(Grant No.13277611D)the Foundation of Key Discipline of Hebei Province and Hebei Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Ecological Construction
文摘The Relative Pollen Productivities(RPPs)of common steppe species are estimated using Extended R-value(ERV)model based on pollen analysis and vegetation survey of 30 surface soil samples from typical steppe area of northern China.Artemisia,Chenopodiaceae,Poaceae,Cyperaceae,and Asteraceae are the dominant pollen types in pollen assemblages,reflecting the typical steppe communities well.The five dominant pollen types and six common types(Thalictrum,Iridaceae,Potentilla,Ephedra,Brassicaceae,and Ulmus)have strong wind transport abilities;the estimated Relevant Source Area of Pollen(RSAP)is ca.1000 m when the sediment basin radius is set at 0.5 m.Ulmus,Artemisia,Brassicaceae,Chenopodiaceae,and Thalictrum have relative high RPPs;Poaceae,Cyperaceae,Potentilla,and Ephedra pollen have moderate RPPs;Asteraceae and Iridaceae have low RPPs.The reliability test of RPPs revealed that most of the RPPs are reliable in past vegetation reconstruction.However,the RPPs of Asteraceae and Iridaceae are obviously underestimated,and those of Poaceae,Chenopodiaceae,and Ephedra are either slightly underestimated or slightly overestimated,suggesting that those RPPs should be considered with caution.These RPPs were applied to estimating plant abundances for two fossil pollen spectra(from the Lake Bayanchagan and Lake Haoluku)covering the Holocene in typical steppe area,using the"Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites"(REVEALS)model.The RPPs-based vegetation reconstruction revealed that meadow-steppe dominated by Poaceae,Cyperaceae,and Artemisia plants flourished in this area before 6500–5600 cal yr BP,and then was replaced by present typical steppe.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41330105, 41690113 and 41430531)the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0600501)the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Priority Research Program (Grant No. XDB03030000)
文摘Understanding the response of ecosystems to past climate is critical for evaluating the impacts of future climate changes.A large-scale abrupt shift of vegetation in response to the Holocene gradual climate changes has been well documented for the Sahara-Sahel ecosystem. Whether such a non-linear response is of universal significance remains to be further addressed. Here,we examine the vegetation-climate relationships in central Asia based on a compilation of 38 high-quality pollen records. The results show that the Holocene vegetation experienced two major abrupt shifts, one in the early Holocene(Shift I, establishing shift) and another in the late Holocene(Shift II, collapsing shift), while the mid-Holocene vegetation remained rather stable. The timings of these shifts in different regions are asynchronous, which are not readily linkable with any known abrupt climate shifts,but are highly correlated with the local rainfalls. These new findings suggest that the observed vegetation shifts are attributable to the threshold effects of the orbital-induced gradual climate changes. During the early Holocene, the orbital-induced precipitation increase would have first reached the threshold for vegetation "establishment" for moister areas, but significantly later for drier areas. In contrast, the orbital-induced precipitation decrease during the late Holocene would have first reached the threshold, and led to the vegetation "collapse" for drier areas, but delayed for moister areas. The well-known 4.2 kyr BP drought event and human intervention would have also helped the vegetation collapses at some sites. These interpretations are strongly supported by our surface pollen-climate analyses and ecosystem simulations. These results also imply that future climate changes may cause abrupt changes in the dry ecosystem once the threshold is reached.
