Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 ka

Climate variations during the Holocene significantly impacted vegetation dynamics in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). However, vegetation evolution in response to regional climatic trends and events during this interval remains controversial. Here, we present well-dated decadal-resolution lo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ren Weihe, Liu Zijian, Li Quan, Yi Guitian, Qin Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2024-11-01
Series:Open Geosciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2022-0717
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846162283406819328
author Ren Weihe
Liu Zijian
Li Quan
Yi Guitian
Qin Feng
author_facet Ren Weihe
Liu Zijian
Li Quan
Yi Guitian
Qin Feng
author_sort Ren Weihe
collection DOAJ
description Climate variations during the Holocene significantly impacted vegetation dynamics in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). However, vegetation evolution in response to regional climatic trends and events during this interval remains controversial. Here, we present well-dated decadal-resolution loss on ignition (LOI) and grain size records from the Xing Co Lake on the eastern QTP. The records show an overall drying trend since 10 thousand years ago (ka), with multiple extreme precipitation events observed during 10 to 7 ka. An extreme drought event occurred at around 5.5 ka, after which the climate was drier and unstable with several drought events. In comparison with the hydroclimate, insolation, and El Niño Southern Oscillation records, our data show a close correspondence with the summer insolation differential between 30°N and 30°S and El Niño events on orbital-millennium timescales. This suggested that the increased rainfall during the early Holocene on the eastern QTP can be attributed to the high insolation differential between 30°N and 30°S and low El Niño events. Conversely, the drying trend in the late Holocene appears to correlate with a low insolation differential and high El Niño events. Whenever ice-rafted debris events occurred in the North Atlantic, there was a corresponding occurrence of drying events in the late Holocene in the Zoige Basin. This suggested that teleconnection between the precipitation on the eastern QTP and the North Atlantic climate exists in the Holocene. When compared to independent hydroclimatic and arboreal pollen (AP%) records on the eastern QTP, the evolutionary trends and events of AP% align closely with local hydroclimate changes. This suggested that arboreal coverage could rapidly respond to climate change during the Holocene, but further studies are needed.
format Article
id doaj-art-ff394902c6274e0984e8e5f4be866513
institution Kabale University
issn 2391-5447
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher De Gruyter
record_format Article
series Open Geosciences
spelling doaj-art-ff394902c6274e0984e8e5f4be8665132024-11-20T15:34:39ZengDe GruyterOpen Geosciences2391-54472024-11-0116111779210.1515/geo-2022-0717Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 kaRen Weihe0Liu Zijian1Li Quan2Yi Guitian3Qin Feng4College of Geography and Tourism, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421002, ChinaCollege of Geography and Tourism, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421002, ChinaKey Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, ChinaCollege of Geography and Tourism, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421002, ChinaKey Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, ChinaClimate variations during the Holocene significantly impacted vegetation dynamics in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). However, vegetation evolution in response to regional climatic trends and events during this interval remains controversial. Here, we present well-dated decadal-resolution loss on ignition (LOI) and grain size records from the Xing Co Lake on the eastern QTP. The records show an overall drying trend since 10 thousand years ago (ka), with multiple extreme precipitation events observed during 10 to 7 ka. An extreme drought event occurred at around 5.5 ka, after which the climate was drier and unstable with several drought events. In comparison with the hydroclimate, insolation, and El Niño Southern Oscillation records, our data show a close correspondence with the summer insolation differential between 30°N and 30°S and El Niño events on orbital-millennium timescales. This suggested that the increased rainfall during the early Holocene on the eastern QTP can be attributed to the high insolation differential between 30°N and 30°S and low El Niño events. Conversely, the drying trend in the late Holocene appears to correlate with a low insolation differential and high El Niño events. Whenever ice-rafted debris events occurred in the North Atlantic, there was a corresponding occurrence of drying events in the late Holocene in the Zoige Basin. This suggested that teleconnection between the precipitation on the eastern QTP and the North Atlantic climate exists in the Holocene. When compared to independent hydroclimatic and arboreal pollen (AP%) records on the eastern QTP, the evolutionary trends and events of AP% align closely with local hydroclimate changes. This suggested that arboreal coverage could rapidly respond to climate change during the Holocene, but further studies are needed.https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2022-0717holoceneqinghai-tibet plateauhydroclimaticvegetation
spellingShingle Ren Weihe
Liu Zijian
Li Quan
Yi Guitian
Qin Feng
Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 ka
Open Geosciences
holocene
qinghai-tibet plateau
hydroclimatic
vegetation
title Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 ka
title_full Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 ka
title_fullStr Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 ka
title_full_unstemmed Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 ka
title_short Extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern QTP since 10 ka
title_sort extreme hydroclimatic events and response of vegetation in the eastern qtp since 10 ka
topic holocene
qinghai-tibet plateau
hydroclimatic
vegetation
url https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2022-0717
work_keys_str_mv AT renweihe extremehydroclimaticeventsandresponseofvegetationintheeasternqtpsince10ka
AT liuzijian extremehydroclimaticeventsandresponseofvegetationintheeasternqtpsince10ka
AT liquan extremehydroclimaticeventsandresponseofvegetationintheeasternqtpsince10ka
AT yiguitian extremehydroclimaticeventsandresponseofvegetationintheeasternqtpsince10ka
AT qinfeng extremehydroclimaticeventsandresponseofvegetationintheeasternqtpsince10ka