Paleoenvironment change and its impact on carbon and nitrogen accumulation in the Zoige wetland, northeastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau over the past 14,000 years

Abstract

As the largest alpine wetland and peat deposition area in China, the Zoige wetland is climatically sensitive. The organic matter (OM) in peat stores copious environmental information. Here we report new data on the organic geochemistry of a 4.5 m peat profile HY2014 from southern Zoige wetland. Based on closely spaced accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating, we established a high‐resolution geochronological framework beginning at 14,057 a BP. Moreover, we estimated the sedimentation flux of TOC and TN (SFs) and their influencing factors. Before 10,916 a BP, the lake shrunk and peat began to develop under cold and dry conditions, and SFs were at their lowest values due to low productivity. More OM originated from hydrophyte and marsh plants. From 10,916 to 3050 a BP, peat was widely and well developed, and the climate was warm and humid, despite a cooling and drying trend. The HY2014 profile experienced an optimum climate during 10,916 − 6000 a BP, when SFs had the highest values that benefited from high productivity, and OM mainly originated from terrestrial plants. After 3050 a BP, the climate was the coldest and driest. The high SFs over the past 2000 a BP were mainly resulted from the low decomposition rate. The plant community, primary productivity, and decomposition rate were closely linked with the temporal variation of SFs. The environment change was mainly controlled by summer solar insolation, and the Zoige wetland was significantly influenced by the Indian summer monsoon.

Reduced Carbon Dioxide Sink and Methane Source under Extreme Drought Condition in an Alpine Peatland

“…It is one of the regions most sensitive to global climate change. The peat wetland of the Zoige plateau is the largest plateau wetland in China, and is also the largest and best-preserved plateau peatland swamp in the world [36][37][38]. The study area is cold and humid and belongs to the monsoon climate of the alpine, frigid temperate zone.…”

Extrapolation and Uncertainty Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide and Methane Emissions in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Wetlands Since the 1960s

“…The temperature of QTP has increased by 0.2 • C per decade, faster rate than the global average of 0.74 • C over the last century (Chen et al, 2013b;Liu et al, 2017). Climate changes are likely to affect the carbon and nitrogen cycles of alpine wetlands on the QTP (Gao et al, 2009;Tang et al, 2009;Zeng et al, 2017). Therefore, studying the GHGs fluxes in the QTP wetlands is necessary, which will further our understanding of carbon dynamics, as well as provide crucial insight into wetland responses to climate change.…”

A high-resolution sediment record of East Asian summer monsoon from the northern South China Sea spanning the past 7500 years

“…This correspondence suggests a link between solar activity and EASM variability over centennial timescales, at least based on YJ Core records. Significantly, numerous paleoclimatic studies in terrigenous sediments from Asian monsoon regions show that solar activity may have played an important role in controlling EASM intensity (Chen et al, 2014;Huang et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2016b;Wang et al, 2005;Zeng et al, 2017;Zhong et al, 2014). To further investigate any possible relationship between the EASM and solar activity, we performed spectral analysis on the clay content record from the YJ Core using REDFIT (Schulz and Mudelsee, 2002).…”