Holocene aeolian activity in the Ganzihe sandy land, Qinghai Lake basin

The history of permanent human settlement in the high-altitude regions (>3000 m above sea level [masl]) of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is important in understanding human adaptation to this cold “Third Pole” region. The Qinghai Lake Basin was an important corridor used by prehistoric humans migrating to the inner QTP. Pastoralism is currently the most important means of sustaining permanent human settlement in the high-altitude regions of the QTP. However, the lack of reliable proxy measures reflecting prehistoric pastoral activities impedes our understanding of how pastoralism developed. The identification of coprophilous fungi in prehistoric cultural deposits may help refine the history of pastoralism. We collected 21 modern domesticated herbivore dung samples and 66 surface soil samples from the Qinghai Lake Basin for fungal spore analyses. We then evaluated how useful such analyses are for identifying grazing activities. Fifty-three samples were also collected from the JXG2 stratigraphic profile (∼10.0–0 ka; 3312 masl) for fungal spore analysis. Results indicate that low and stable values of the total concentration of coprophilous fungi were present from ∼10.0 to ∼5.5 ka. Concentrations gradually increased from ∼5.5 to ∼4.2 ka, significantly increased from ∼4.2 to ∼2.6 ka, and then increased dramatically after ∼2.6 ka. By combining these results with charcoal concentrations (>50 µm), lithic artifacts, bones and potsherds recovered from the JXG2 site, we infer that early pastoralism in Qinghai Lake Basin appeared between ∼6.0 to ∼5.5 ka and gradually intensified throughout the remainder of the Holocene as herding and farming gradually replaced hunting–gathering as the primary subsistence strategies. These results are supported by pollen records, archeological remains and historical records in the northeastern QTP.

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A new find of macrofossils of Picea crassifolia Kom. in early–middle Holocene sediments of the Qinghai Lake basin and its paleoenvironmental significance

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2018.56 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

pp. 310-320 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ruijie Lu ◽

Xiaokang Liu ◽

Zhiqiang Lü ◽

Lu Chen ◽

Jing Du

Keyword(s):

Woody Debris ◽

Coniferous Forest ◽

Qinghai Lake ◽

Lake Basin ◽

Spruce Forest ◽

Picea Crassifolia ◽

Middle Holocene ◽

Qinghai Spruce ◽

Qinghai Lake Basin ◽

Growth And Reproduction

AbstractHere we report a new find of abundant woody debris and cones in stratum of two sections located to the east of the Qinghai Lake basin in China. Analysis of the anatomical structure of the wood and cones confirmed that they are Picea crassifolia Kom. The results of accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dating indicate that the buried Qinghai spruce grew during 9.7–4.2 ka, and the ages of the large trunks or branches are mainly concentrated within the interval 7.5–6.5 ka. This finding gives direct evidence at the species level about the presence of coniferous forest in the early–middle Holocene in Qinghai lake basin. In addition, the buried cones suggest that the early-middle Holocene environment was suitable for the propagation of Picea crassifolia Kom. The variations in the occurrence of Qinghai spruce forest in the Holocene probably reflect changes in humidity/moisture. The humid early-middle Holocene was suitable for the growth and reproduction of Qinghai spruce forest, while a shift toward an increasingly arid climate during the late Holocene resulted in the disappearance of Picea crassifolia Kom. from the Qinghai Lake basin, although human activities may also have contributed to the environmental change.

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Land-use effects on organic and inorganic carbon patterns in the topsoil around Qinghai Lake basin, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

CATENA ◽

10.1016/j.catena.2016.07.040 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 147 ◽

pp. 345-355 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Chunli Li ◽

Qi Li ◽

Liang Zhao ◽

Shidong Ge ◽

Dongdong Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Inorganic Carbon ◽

Qinghai Lake ◽

Lake Basin ◽

Organic And Inorganic Carbon ◽

Land Use Effects ◽

Qinghai Lake Basin

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Analysis on grassland degradation in Qinghai Lake Basin during 2000-2010

Acta Ecologica Sinica ◽

10.5846/stxb201204090494 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 33 (14) ◽

pp. 4450-4459 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

骆成凤 LUO Chengfeng ◽

许长军 XU Changjun ◽

游浩妍 YOU Haoyan ◽

靳生洪 JIN Shenghong

Keyword(s):

Qinghai Lake ◽

Lake Basin ◽

Grassland Degradation ◽

Qinghai Lake Basin

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Landscape reconstruction and the relationship between human and environment in Yaowuyao area, Northeastern Tibetan Plateau since 15000 yr BP

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18646 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Naimeng Zhang ◽

Qinghai Xu ◽

Dongju Zhang ◽

Ulrike Herzschuh ◽

Zhongwei Shen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Human Activity ◽

Human Activities ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Qinghai Lake ◽

Lake Basin ◽

Human Beings ◽

Landscape Reconstruction ◽

Qinghai Lake Basin ◽

Early Human

<p>Understanding the paleoenvironment (such as climate and landscape) in the area where the early ancient human appears on the Tibetan Plateau is an interesting topic. Based on the results of pollen data on the Yaowuyao loess section of the Qinghai Lake Basin, we used landscape reconstruction algorithms to reconstruct the changes in vegetation cover for 15,000 years. It is shown that the vegetation in the Yaowuyao area changed from temperate steppe (15-7.5 ka) to forest-steppe (7.5-4 ka). Compared with previous studies on the sediment in Qinghai Lake, our study can better reflect the local environment of the Qinghai Lake basin. Furthermore, based on the paleoclimate change data and archeological data from the surrounding areas, it is noticed that while precipitation increases and trees increase, human activities decrease. This may be caused by the substance and strategies of the ancient human beings that have adapted to the steppe. In addition, our results also show that the intensity of ancient human activity has a negative correlation with plant biodiversity, which may be related to human disturbance to the environment. Our paleoecological and environmental study not only shows the paleoenvironment of the early human activities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau but also revealed possible early human activity signals.</p>

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