Linkages between climate, fire and vegetation in southwest China during the last 18.5ka based on a sedimentary record of black carbon and its isotopic composition

Variations of the Indian summer monsoon over the last 30 000 years inferred from a pyrogenic carbon record from south‐west China

“…Comparison of the pyrogenic carbon record from Lake Lugu (a) with other records from adjacent regions. (b) Arboreal and herbaceous pollen concentration from Lake Lugu (Wang et al ., , Wang et al ., ); (c) tree pollen percentage record from Lake Lugu (Wang et al ., , Wang et al ., ); (d) stable carbon isotopic composition of n ‐alkane data from Core MD05‐2905 in the northern South China Sea (Zhou et al ., ); (e) δ 13 C PyC values from Lake Tengchongqinghai in south‐west China (Zhang et al ., ); (f) stable carbon isotopic composition of n ‐alkane data from Core SO188‐342KL in the Bay of Bengal (Contreras‐Rosales et al ., ); (g) CO 2 record from the EPICA Dome C ice core, Antarctica (Monnin, 2001; Monnin et al ., ).…”

“…It is generally agreed that C 4 plants are more competitive than C 3 plants in a hot, dry environment with lower p CO 2 conditions, due to their CO 2 ‐concentrating mechanism and greater water use efficiency (Deines, ). In monsoonal regions, annual rainfall appears to be the dominant factor determining the relative abundances of C 3 and C 4 plants on a millennial timescale, with the expansion of C 4 plants during drier intervals (Huang et al ., ; Contreras‐Rosales et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ). A decrease in precipitation would lead to heavier δ 13 C values in C 3 plants, however, reducing the accuracy of the estimated C 3 /C 4 plant species abundance.…”

“…A higher abundance of C 4 plants in the ISM region during the LGM was also revealed by a δ 13 C PyC record from lacustrine sediment in south‐west China (Zhang et al ., ; Figure a,e), and a δ 13 C record of leaf wax n ‐alkanes from the northern Bay of Bengal (Galy et al ., 2008; Contreras‐Rosales et al ., ; Fig. f).…”

“…(a) Map showing the location of Lake Lugu in south‐west China (red triangle) and other sites (red circles) mentioned in the text: 1, Qunf Cave (Fleitmann et al ., ); 2, Mommi Cave (Shakun et al ., ); 3, Core SO188‐342KL in the Bay of Bengal (Contreras‐Rosales et al ., ); 4, Mawmluh Cave (Dutt et al ., ); 5, Tianmen Cave (Cai et al ., ); 6, Lake Tengchongqinghai (Xiao et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ); 7, Lake Tiancai (Xiao et al ., ); 8, Dongge Cave (Dykoski et al ., ); 9, Core MD05‐2905 in the northern South China Sea (Zhou et al ., ). Arrows indicate the dominant atmospheric circulation systems in the region.…”

High‐resolution paleoclimatic records spanning the past 30 cal ka BP inferred from Qionghai Lake sediments in south‐west China: Insights from geochemical investigations and grain‐size characteristics

“…Pollen analyses from Tiancai Lake indicated an obvious expansion of alpine meadow and decline of treeline from 17.0 to 15.8 cal ka BP, suggesting that the climate was cold and dry, probably corresponding to H1 event (X. Y. Xiao, Haberle, Yang, et al, ). Moreover, based on the study on black carbon content of Lake Tengchongqinghai (TCQH) sediments in Yunnan Province, south‐west China, it is indicated that high fire activity occurred between 18.5 and 15.0 cal ka BP is associated with the cold and dry H1 event (E. L. Zhang et al, ). The δ 18 O records of stalagmite from Yemen disclose an abrupt drying climate condition at 16.4 cal ka BP, probably matching the H1 event (Shakun et al, ).…”