Paleolimnology of Qilu Hu, Yunnan Province, China

Brenner, Mark; Dorsey, Kathleen; Xueliang, Song; Zuguan, Wang; Ruihua, Long; Binford, Michael W.; Whitmore, Thomas J.; Moore, A.M.

doi:10.1007/bf00050968

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Our temporally higher resolution study reveals anthropogenically driven changes that earlier investigations on lakes in the Kunming region did not adequately identify due to either limited chronological constraint (Sun et al, 1986;Brenner et al, 1991;Whitmore et al, 1994b) or a lack of focus on the short-term, abrupt nature of change . This study underscores the need for additional lake sediment studies in regions characterized by a historically complex and variable relationship between humans and the environment to provide context for current environmental issues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…This sedimentological transition was noted in the previous study of Xing Yun, but was dated to 1000 BC because of the large uncorrected hard-water reservoir effects. Studies of other Yunnan lakes, including Qilu (Brenner et al, 1991) and Dian (Sun et al, 1986) (Fig. 1), also noted this transition and attributed it to the onset of 20th Century industrialization, though these studies acknowledged that the timing of this transition was unclear.…”

Section: Transition Periodmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Mining and metal resource extraction became an integral part of the Yunnan economy, but the impact of this activity on the landscape was not documented. Numerous studies have focused on recent changes in water and sediment quality (Liu et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2010) and have attempted to document the changes associated with modern human disturbance through analysis of lacustrine sediment cores (Brenner et al, 1991;Whitmore et al, 1994a). However, bulk sediment radiocarbon measurements and hard-water reservoir effects made it difficult to constrain the timing of observed geochemical changes, thereby limiting this earlier work.…”

Section: Human Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid environmental change during dynastic transitions in Yunnan Province, China

Hillman

Abbott

et al. 2014

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Transition Periodmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Human Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid environmental change during dynastic transitions in Yunnan Province, China

Hillman

Abbott

et al. 2014

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, located in southwestern (SW) China and on the southeastern (SE) margin of the Tibetan Plateau, is currently strongly influenced by the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM). Numerous studies have attempted to reconstruct the Holocene climate of the region (Brenner et al, 1991; Chen et al, 2014; Feng et al, 2019; Hillman et al, 2017; Hodell et al, 1999; Li et al, 2018a; Song et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2016; Xiao et al, 2014; Zhang et al, 2017a, 2018a). Most well-dated records show consistent temperature trends with a gradual increase from the onset of Holocene to 8000 cal years BP; high and relatively stable temperatures during 8000–5500 cal years BP; and a cooling trend, with fluctuations superimposed, since 5500 cal years BP (Wu et al, 2018; Xiao et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2017a, 2020b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary grain-size record of Holocene runoff fluctuations in the Lake Lugu watershed, SE Tibetan Plateau

Zhang

Chang

et al. 2020

The Holocene

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Changes in moisture conditions or precipitation in the SE Tibetan Plateau during the Holocene have been studied using various environmental archives and proxies. However, due to different interpretations of the proxies and records, the pattern of Holocene precipitation/moisture variations in the region remains unclear. A lake-sediment-based reconstruction of runoff variations, which can directly and sensitively reflect changes in precipitation, provides the opportunity to reconstruct the evolution of moisture conditions in the SE Tibetan Plateau during the Holocene. In this study, we used a well-dated sediment core (LGH2) from Lake Lugu, a deep alpine lake charged mainly by precipitation on the lake surface and by runoff from the watershed, to reconstruct variations in runoff during the Holocene. In addition, 70 lake surface sediment samples were collected to examine the spatial variation of grain size. Endmember modeling analysis of the grain-size data was used to characterize the processes of sediment transport and runoff fluctuations. The carbonate content of core LGH2 shows that the lake level was generally high during 11,600–3100 cal years BP, and that the lake basin was closed after 3100 cal years BP and semi-closed since 90 cal years BP. Grain-size endmember EM 3, which represents the runoff input clastic materials, is used to reconstruct runoff fluctuations in the Lake Lugu watershed. The record indicates a gradual increase in runoff during 11,600–9000 cal years BP, stable and high runoff during 9000–2000 cal years BP, and weak runoff and a low lake level since 2000 cal years BP. Our reconstruction of runoff fluctuations tracks changes in regional temperature and tropical SSTs rather than in boreal summer insolation. This finding supports the hypothesis that increasing tropical SSTs strengthened ITCZ convection which enhanced the flux of water vapour from the ocean to the air, and hence the moisture supplies to SW China.

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“…These types of studies are limited in that human impacts must be of a large enough magnitude to be recorded in the sediment record, but have the advantage of allowing spatial and temporal differences to be explored. Paleolimnological study of the human impacts on central Yunnan lakes has been extensive on lakes such as Xingyun (Chen et al, 2014; Gao et al, 2018; Hillman et al, 2014; Wu et al, 2015, among many others), Qilu (Brenner et al, 1991), and Yangzong (Zhang et al, 2012). At Xingyun and Qilu, indications of human impact are visible by ~AD 500 through the deposition of red, fine-grained clay (Brenner et al, 2000; Hillman et al, 2014; Hodell et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two millennia of anthropogenic landscape modification and nutrient loading at Dian Lake, Yunnan Province, China

et al. 2018

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Landscapes have been shaped by human activities for millennia and there is a pressing need to characterize pre-industrial impacts in order to mitigate present-day effects. We present the analysis of two sediment cores from Dian Lake in Yunnan, China, which span 4000 years. We compare cores from the northern and southern ends of the lake to investigate spatial variability in natural and anthropogenic environmental changes in this large (300 km 2 ) lake. To document the initiation of human impacts on the landscape and characterize the attendant changes in the lake water and sediment quality, we rely on organic and inorganic geochemical measurements as well as sedimentology and stratigraphy. The character and magnitude of proxy changes are coherent between the two core sites with slight differences in the timing of events. At both core sites, we find definitive evidence for substantial anthropogenic change beginning AD 100 (1850 yr BP), coincident with the introduction of terraced agriculture. Sedimentological shifts are distinctive and characterized by an increase in magnetic susceptibility values and a visible change to red, fine-grained clay. The geochemistry of this sediment suggests that it was sourced from the eastern catchment of the lake and delivered into the basin following intensive agriculture and soil erosion. Anthropogenic impacts intensify after AD 900 through hydrologic modification and cultural eutrophication resulting from increased nutrient loading. This study presents evidence that human-affected landscapes have been present in this region of China for longer than previously believed and that 'small-scale' land use change can have measureable impacts on lakes.

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Paleolimnology of Qilu Hu, Yunnan Province, China

Cited by 25 publications

References 15 publications

Rapid environmental change during dynastic transitions in Yunnan Province, China

Rapid environmental change during dynastic transitions in Yunnan Province, China

Sedimentary grain-size record of Holocene runoff fluctuations in the Lake Lugu watershed, SE Tibetan Plateau

Two millennia of anthropogenic landscape modification and nutrient loading at Dian Lake, Yunnan Province, China

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