Paleolimnologic Evidence for Recent Eutrophication in the Valley of the Great Lakes (Mongolia)

Shinneman, Avery L.C.; Almendinger, James E.; Umbanhowar, Charles E.; Edlund, Mark B.; Nergui, Soninkhishig

doi:10.1007/s10021-009-9269-x

Cited by 19 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Consequences for aquatic ecosystems in the region will be severe, but remain poorly understood. Evidence is also accumulating that recent socioeconomic changes and the consequent trend to overgrazing (e.g., Batkhishig, 2000) are having a significant impact on the trophic status of lakes in western Mongolia (Shinneman et al, 2009a, b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This work is part of an ongoing effort to characterize the current water quality, aquatic biodiversity, and ecological status for three important taxonomical groups: diatoms (Shinneman et al, 2009a), chironomids (Bouchard & Ferrington, 2008) and ostracodes (Van der Meeren et al, 2009, present article). This article focuses on the (community) ecology of freshwater ostracodes, micocrustaceans with calcified valves, with ca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ecology of ostracodes (Ostracoda, Crustacea) in western Mongolia

et al. 2010

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Aquatic biota in Central Asia witnesses and faces a changing environment. Because ostracodes contribute to both extant and fossil lacustrine diversity, they can be used to track evolution in water quality. Living ostracode communities in a variety of aquatic habitats of western Mongolia were analyzed in relation to environmental and hydrochemical variables of those habitats, based on presence/absence data from net samples. The sampled water bodies represent broad gradients in ionic concentration and composition. Ostracode community composition of springs differed from all other sampled habitats, which was also reflected in CCA analyses. Our data indicated that the ostracode fauna of western Mongolia shows a high response to calcium content, alkalinity, salinity, temperature, nutrients, and altitude. Species composition and diversity seem to be determined by solute evolution dominated by Ca-depletion. In general, this seems to be an important regulator of lacustrine ostracode species composition in several semi-arid regions. Binary logistic regression was used to predict the occurrence of the most common species with a minimal set of environmental variables. The resulting models showed on average low performance, and mainly demonstrated the potential of such modeling to predict the distribution of typical bio-indicator species

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecology of ostracodes (Ostracoda, Crustacea) in western Mongolia

et al. 2010

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“…Lake sediment data from central Mongolia suggest that the climate of the Mongol Empire may have been unusually wet (7), but the temporal resolution of these records is too coarse to capture conditions during the 2 decades of rapid growth of the Mongol Empire. Annual tree-ring records of past temperature from central Mongolia extending back to 558 CE document warm conditions during the 11th century, consistent with other Northern Hemisphere records, but also indicate a subsequent warm period during the 12th and 13th centuries (8,9).…”

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confidence: 99%

Pluvials, droughts, the Mongol Empire, and modern Mongolia

Pederson

Hessl

Nachin

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

252

130

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Although many studies have associated the demise of complex societies with deteriorating climate, few have investigated the connection between an ameliorating environment, surplus resources, energy, and the rise of empires. The 13th-century Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in world history. Although drought has been proposed as one factor that spurred these conquests, no high-resolution moisture data are available during the rapid development of the Mongol Empire. Here we present a 1,112-y tree-ring reconstruction of warm-season water balance derived from Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica) trees in central Mongolia. Our reconstruction accounts for 56% of the variability in the regional water balance and is significantly correlated with steppe productivity across central Mongolia. In combination with a gridded temperature reconstruction, our results indicate that the regional climate during the conquests of Chinggis Khan's (Genghis Khan's) 13th-century Mongol Empire was warm and persistently wet. This period, characterized by 15 consecutive years of aboveaverage moisture in central Mongolia and coinciding with the rise of Chinggis Khan, is unprecedented over the last 1,112 y. We propose that these climate conditions promoted high grassland productivity and favored the formation of Mongol political and military power. Tree-ring and meteorological data also suggest that the early 21st-century drought in central Mongolia was the hottest drought in the last 1,112 y, consistent with projections of warming over Inner Asia. Future warming may overwhelm increases in precipitation leading to similar heat droughts, with potentially severe consequences for modern Mongolia.paleoclimate | dendrochronology | human ecology | Anthropocene | coupled human natural systems

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“…The Great Lakes Depression in western Mongolia (also called the Valley of Great Lakes) is a large endorheic basin surrounded by the Altai Mountains in the west, Khungai Mountains in the east, Tannu-Ola Mountains in the north and the Gobi Desert to the south ( Figure 1, sector 2) [34,35]. The basin area is more than 100,000 km 2 in size.…”

Section: Central Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The modern lakes are remnants of much bigger paleolakes that existed during the Early Quaternary period [35,36]. The Great Lakes Depression is a cold arid zone with the mean annual precipitation ranging from less than 100 mm/year in the lowlands to 300-400 mm/year in the Khungai Mountains [34].…”

Section: Central Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Essentials of Endorheic Basins and Lakes: A Review in the Context of Current and Future Water Resource Management and Mitigation Activities in Central Asia

Yapiyev

Sagin

Inglezakis

et al. 2017

Water

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Abstract:Endorheic basins (i.e., land-locked drainage networks) and their lakes can be highly sensitive to variations in climate and adverse anthropogenic activities, such as overexploitation of water resources. In this review paper, we provide a brief overview of one major endorheic basin on each continent, plus a number of endorheic basins in Central Asia (CA), a region where a large proportion of the land area is within this type of basin. We summarize the effects of (changing) climate drivers and land surface-atmosphere feedbacks on the water balance. For the CA region, we also discuss key anthropogenic activities, related water management approaches and their complex relationship with political and policy issues. In CA a substantial increase in irrigated agriculture coupled with negative climate change impacts have disrupted the fragile water balance for many endorheic basins and their lakes. Transboundary integrated land and water management approaches must be developed to facilitate adequate climate change adaptation and possible mitigation of the adverse anthropogenic influence on endorheic basins in CA. Suitable climate adaptation, mitigation and efficient natural resource management technologies and methods are available, and are developing fast. A number of these are discussed in the paper, but these technologies alone are not sufficient to address pressing water resource issues in CA. Food-water-energy nexus analyses demonstrate that transboundary endorheic basin management requires transformational changes with involvement of all key stakeholders. Regional programs, supported by local governments and international donors, which incorporate advanced adaptation technologies, water resource research and management capacity development, are essential for successful climate change adaptation efforts in CA. However, there is a need for an accelerated uptake of such programs, with an emphasis on unification of approaches, as the pressures resulting from climate change and aggravated by human mismanagement of natural water resources leave very little time for hesitation.

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Paleolimnologic Evidence for Recent Eutrophication in the Valley of the Great Lakes (Mongolia)

Cited by 19 publications

References 40 publications

The ecology of ostracodes (Ostracoda, Crustacea) in western Mongolia

The ecology of ostracodes (Ostracoda, Crustacea) in western Mongolia

Pluvials, droughts, the Mongol Empire, and modern Mongolia

Essentials of Endorheic Basins and Lakes: A Review in the Context of Current and Future Water Resource Management and Mitigation Activities in Central Asia

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