Palaeovegetational and palaeoenvironmental changes since the last deglacial in Gonghe Basin, northeast Tibetan Plateau

Paleoenvironmental history in the monsoonal margin in the northeast Tibetan Pla- teau provides important clue to the regional climate. Previous researches have been limited by either poor chronology or low resolution. Here we present a high-resolution pollen record from a 40.92-m-long sediment core （DLH） taken from Dalianhai, a terminal lake situated in the Gonghe Basin, the northeast Tibetan Plateau for reconstructing the vegetation and climate history since the last deglacial on the basis of a chronology controlled by 10 AMS 14C dates on plant remains preserved in the core sediments. The pollen assemblages in DLH core can be partitioned into 6 pollen zones and each zone is mainly characterized by the growth and decline of tree or herb pollen percentage. During the periods of 14.8-12.9 ka and 9.4-3.9 ka, the subalpine arboreal and local herbaceous pollen increased, indicating the subalpine forest developed in the surrounding mountains and a desert steppe or typical steppe developed in Gonghe Basin under a relatively moister climate. During the periods of 15.8-14.8 ka, 12.9-9.4 ka and 3.9-1.4 ka, the forest shrank or disappeared according to different degrees of aridity, and the desert steppe degraded to a more arid steppe desert in the basin, indicating a dry climate. After 1.4 ka, vegetation type around Dalianhai was mainly dominated by steppe suggested by increased Artemisia. Our results suggested the climate history in this region was dry from 15.8-14.8 ka, humid from 14.8-12.9 ka and dry from 12.9-9.4 ka, after which the climate was humid during 9.4-3.9 ka, followed by dry conditions during 3.9-1.4 ka and humid conditions in the last 1.4 ka. The change of pollen percentage and the evolution of palaeovegetation in Dalianhai since the last deglacial were similar to those recorded in Qinghai Lake. The forest expanded in the mountains around Dalianhai during the Bol- ling-Aller^d period, shrank during the Younger Dryas and the early Holocene, then it devel- oped and reached its maximum in the mid-Holocene. During the late Holocene, the vegetation began to shrink till disappearance. However, the timing of forest expansion in the Holocene lagged behind that of Qinghai Lake, and this spatial heterogeneity was probably caused by the different forest species between these two places. The maximum of forest development in the mid-Holocene was inconsistent with the period of stronger summer monsoon in the early Holocene indicated by stalagmite records, the reason might be related to the complexity of vegetation response to a large-scale climatic change.

Geochemistry of Sediments from a Subalpine Lake Sedimentary Succession in the Western Nanling Mountains,Southern China:Implications for Catchment Weathering During the Last 15400 Years

In the present work,15400 yr old geochemical records of a core from the subalpine Daping swamp are presented with the aim to examine the relationship between the chemical weathering and the climatic changes in the region of the western Nanling Mountains,China.The climate of the study region was deeply controlled by the East Asian summer monsoon.The results indicate that,in the past 15400 yrs,the values of chemical index of alteration(CIA)ranged from 73.9%to 88.2%(mean:85.3%),suggested a medium and high intensity of chemical weathering.The local exogenous clastic materials,which were derived from the weathered residues,played a key role in contributing towards the sediments.Since the climate-induced chemical weathering exerted strong influences on the geochemical features of weathered residues,the geochemical characteristics of the sediments were deeply impacted by climatic conditions.Wetter and warmer conditions would favor increased chemical weathering,resulting in more leaching of soluble and mobile elements(e.g.,Ba and Sr)and leaving the resistant and immobile elements(e.g.,Al and Ti)enriched in the weathered residues.These materials were then eroded and transported into the lake,and led to the sediments characterized by the characteristic of having depleted soluble elements.In contrast,dry and cold conditions would result in an opposite trend.In this sense,the geochemical records can serve as proxies to indicate changes of chemical weathering intensity,which were closely related to the evolution of summer monsoon.

Subsistence strategies of prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the Tibetan Plateau during the Last Deglaciation

The study of prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau is important for understanding the mechanisms and processes of human adaption to high altitude environments.But to date,only a few Paleolithic sites have been found on the Tibetan Plateau with clear stratigraphy and reliable dating.These sites are mainly distributed in the Qinghai Lake Basin on the northeastern part of the plateau,and the sporadic fauna and flora remains excavated provide limited information about the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherers.In 2014,relatively abundant animal remains were unearthed in the Lower Cultural Layer (LCL,15400-13100 cal yr BP) of the"151 site"located in the Qinghai Lake Basin,providing important information about human subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau during the Last Deglaciation.Zooarchaeological analysis of these faunal remains indicates that hunter-gatherers at the"151 site"mainly targeted large ungulates of Bos and wild horse/ass,and only brought back the most nutritious parts of animal carcasses including upper and intermediate limb bones,heads,and trunks (ribs and vertebrae).People then processed and consumed the carcasses around single hearths.Our comprehensive analyses of contemporaneous sites in the Qinghai Lake Basin show that a subsistence strategy involving opportunistic hunting of ungulates,high mobility,and short occupation of campsites was used by terminal Pleistocene huntergatherers to adapt to the high-altitude environment on the Tibetan Plateau.This subsistence strategy may have been a first step of gradual hunter-gatherer adaptation to the extreme conditions on the Tibetan Plateau after the Last Glacial Maximum,and laid the foundation for the widespread distribution of hunter-gatherers on the plateau during the Holocene.