Quantifying land degradation in the Zoige Basin,NE Tibetan Plateau using satellite remote sensing data

Considerable efforts have been dedicated to desertification research in the arid and semi-arid drylands of central Asia. However,there are few quantitative studies in conjunction with proper qualitative evaluation concerning land degradation and aeolian activity in the alpine realm. In this study,spectral information from two Landsat-5 TM scenes(04.08.1994 and 28.07.2009,respectively) was combined with reference information obtained in the field to run supervised classifications of eight landscape types for both time steps. Subsequently,the temporal and spatial patterns of the alpine wetlands/grasslands evolutions in the Zoige Basin were quantified and assessed based on these two classification maps. The most conspicuous change is the sharp increase of ~627 km^2 degraded meadow. Concerning other land-covers,shallow wetland increases ~107 km^2 and aeolian sediments(mobile dunes and sand sheets) have an increase of ~30 km^2. Considering the deterioration,an obvious decrease of ~440 km^2 degraded wetland can be observed. Likewise,decrease of deep wetland(~78 km^2),humid meadow(~80 km^2) and undisturbed meadow(~88 km^2) were determined. These entire evolution matrixes undoubtedly hint a deteriorating tendency of the Zoige Basin ecosystem,which is characterized by significantly declined proportion of intact wetlands,meadow,rangeland and a considerable increase ofdegraded meadow and larger areas of mobile dunes. In particular,not only temporal alteration of the landcover categories,the spatial and topographical characteristics of the land degradation also deserves more attention. In the alpine rangelands,the higher terraces of the river channels along with their slopes are more liable to the degradation and desertification. This tendency has significantly impeded the nomadic and agriculture activities. The set of anthropozoogenic factors encompassing enclosures,overgrazing and trampling,rodent damaging and exceedingly ditching in the wetlands are assumed to be the main controlling mechanisms for the landscape degradation. A suite of strict protection policies is urgent and indispensable for self-regulation and restoration of the alpine meadow ecosystem. Controlling the size of livestock,less ditching in the rangeland,and the launching of a more strict nature reserve management by adjacent Ruoergai,Maqu and Hongyuan Counties would be practical and efficacious in achieving these objectives.

A METHOD TO ESTIMATE PALEOTEMPERATURE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PROXIES IN LAKE SEDIMENTSDISSOLVED AND PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON IN YANTAI SISHILI BAY AQUICULTURE WATERS——A STUDY ON ZOIGE BASIN IN EASTERN TIBETAN PLATEAU,CHINA

Seeking for an effective method to probe further the relation among Tibetan Plateau, climatic events, and natural environmental changes in the Zoige Basin, we proposed a physical model for the reconstruction of climate and environment and a preliminary application was conducted on the 45 m (about 200 ka BP ), upper part of Core RM (310 m long) drilled in the Zoige Basin (33°57’N, 102°21’E), on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that: a) in the Zoige region, the maximum temperature in the period equivalent to Stage 7 in the deep sea stable oxygen record was 2.7℃ higher than that at present; b) Stage 6 temperature was 4.3℃ lower than that at present; c) Stage 5 peak temperature was 5.2℃ higher than that at present; d) Stage 4 average temperature should have been 2-3℃ lower than that at present; and e) Stage 3 temperature differences within the period were more than 4℃. It was found that during Stage 6 (140-160 ka BP) the environment in the Zoige Basin was extraordinary, representing a transition period from warm dry and cold wet to warm wet and cold dry environmental conditions due to the uplift that occurred on the Tibetan Plateau at this period.

δ^(13)C values and hydrogen index records in sediment organic matter of RH core of Zoige Basin,eastern Qing-Zang(Tibet)Plateau and their environmental significance

Total organic carbon (TOC) content correlates very well with hydrogen index (HI) in the sedi- ments of RH core in the Zoig Basin.And the δ^(13)C values of TOC become more positive while both TOC content and HI decline,indicating the subaerial exposure or the lake sedimonts approaching to the water lev- el.On the basis of the above,RH core sediments are divided into 23 climatic fluctuation stages, including 12 warm-humid stages and 11 dry-cold stages,which can he compared with oceanic oxygen isotope stages,loess profile and polar ice-core records.

Glacial-interglacial cycles recorded in clay minerals from the eastern Tibetan Plateau over the last 800 ka and their indications

Clay mineral proxies have been widely used to reconstruct changes in provenance and the paleoclimate.However,high-altitude clay mineral indications and long-term and orbital variations have not been fully explored.Herein,we present an800-ka clay-mineral record from a lacustrine sediment core(ZB13-C2)from the Zoige Basin on the eastern Tibetan Plateau(TP).X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to identify the clay mineral assemblages and their micromorphological characteristics of core ZB13-C2.The results revealed that the clay minerals in core ZB13-C2 are mainly illite,with small amounts of chlorite,kaolinite,and smectite(including irregular mixed-layers of illite-smectite(I/S)and chloritesmectite(C/S)).The clay mineral assemblages and proxies exhibit three stages of change,which are mainly controlled by the Zoige watershed range under different climate conditions.The watershed was limited to the southeastern region with altitudes ranging from~3500 to~4200 meters above sea level(m a.s.l.),and glacial-interglacial hydraulic erosion controlled the input of bedrock debris during 800-621 ka BP.It expanded to higher altitudes(~4200 to~4700 m a.s.l.)due to stronger seasonal freezethaw weathering without significant glacial-interglacial variations under a cooling and drying climate during 621-100 ka BP.Finally,it expanded to its highest altitudes of~4700 to~5200 m a.s.l.northwest of the watershed after 100 ka BP,and hydraulic erosion increased obviously under a warm climate of the interstadial MIS 3 on the TP.The watershed underwent two major expansions under different climatic conditions at~621 ka and 100 ka BP,with the wet/dry alternation became strong at~621 ka BP.These results reveal that long-term temperature changes and the wet/dry alternation at high altitudes controlled the watershed range and degree of the physical erosion,and that the indications of clay minerals should be carefully clarified before they are used as climate indicators,especially on the TP.