Wood Utilization During the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age in the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang, China, With Special Emphasis on Betula (Betulaceae)

As a very important plant resource, wood played varied and important roles in the lives of ancient people. In the present study, wood was discovered in the Yanghai cemetery of the Turpan Basin, which belonged to the Subeixi culture (~1300BC–200AD). By using traditional classification techniques of wood anatomy, four taxa of wood, viz. Populus sp., Salix sp., Picea sp., as well as Betula sp., were identified. Woods of Populus, Salix, and Picea were mainly used for tomb construction, with Poplus sp. also used for tub and plate-making. Furthermore, the wood of Betula sp. was selected for dipper-making. Previous studies have shown that the ancient Yanghai people once led an agro-pastoral lifestyle, engaging in both agricultural activities in the local oasis and animal husbandry practices in the Tianshan Mountains. As trees adapted to the cold, wood of Picea sp. and Betula sp. could have been cut in the Tianshan Mountains during transhumance. Conversely, wood of Populus sp. and Salix sp. could have been cut either locally in the oasis of the Turpan Basin or in the river valleys of the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains far from Yanghai settlements.

A new species of Psammophis (Serpentes: Psammophiidae) from the Turpan Basin in northwest China

An adult sand snake specimen was collected during a herpetofaunal survey conducted in the Turpan Basin in northwest China. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that this specimen, along with other snake sloughs and skins collected from different localities in the Turpan Basin formed a clade that is sister to Psammophis lineolatus. This taxon exhibited substantial divergence from its congeners (P. lineolatus and P. condanarus) with uncorrelated p-distances ranging from 11.9 ± 0.9% to 15.8 ± 1.6% for the ND4 gene and from 10.2 ± 0.8% to 13.8 ± 1.1% for the Cytb gene. Given the genetic differences along with morphological differences, we describe the specimen from the Turpan Basin as Psammophis turpanensis sp. nov. We provide detailed morphological descriptions, and compare this specimen with five Asian sand snakes and the Afro-Asian Sand Snake, P. schokari. In addition, we provide brief comments on the biogeography of Psammophis in China.

Hydrological Variability and its Response to Climate Change in Turpan basin

<p>The Turpan basin is one of the most arid and water insecure regions in China. The mountain snowmelt is the primary source of water. To assess the impact of climate change on stream flow, this study examined the long-term trends and change points of hydro-meteorological variables and explored the possible correlation between them at annual and seasonal scales. A set of non-parametric statistical tests including Mann-Kendall, Kendall’s tau, Sen’s slope estimator, and Pettitt test was applied, and change point of the hydro-meteorological variables. This study provided valuable information in understanding the changing properties of the stream flow in the basin and insights for a better integrated water resources management planning.</p>