1. Continuous aridification since the mid‐Holocene as the main cause of C 3 / C 4 dynamics in the grasslands of northeastern China
- Author
-
Lidan Liu, Guizai Gao, Baojian Liu, Dorothy Sack, Chengcheng Leng, Dongmei Jie, Manman Xie, Hongyan Liu, Jiangyong Wang, Xiuyun Yang, Nathalie Dubois, Dehui Li, Nannan Li, Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement (CEREGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Collège de France (CdF (institution))-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Institute for Peat and Mire Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Northeast Normal University-Northeast Normal University, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Surface Waters Researchand Management, Swiss Federal Insitute of Aquatic Science and Technology [Dübendorf] (EAWAG), National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Department of Geography, Ohio University, Department of Earth Sciences [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zürich] (D-ERDW), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), College of Urban and Environmental Sciences [Beijing], Peking University [Beijing], College of Resource and Environment Science, Hunan Normal University, School of Resources Environment and Tourism, Anyang Normal University (AYNU), School of Life Science, Jilin Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education of China, ational Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)414711644177121441971100National Key Research and Development Project of China2016YFA0602301, and Hunan Normal University (HNU)
- Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Soil Science ,Climate change ,mid-Holocene ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Grassland ,Abundance (ecology) ,Holocene ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,2. Zero hunger ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,grasslands ,[SDV.SA.AEP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Agriculture, economy and politics ,Vegetation ,15. Life on land ,Arid ,C-3C-4 vegetatio ,nEast Asian summer monsoon ,13. Climate action ,Phytolith ,Aridification ,phytolith ,Environmental science ,Physical geography ,northeastern China - Abstract
Ecological responses to past climate change as determined from palaeorecords offer insights into responses that may accompany future climate change. In arid and semi‐arid lands, the interactions between regional vegetation and climate change are not yet well understood, partly due to a lack of suitable palaeovegetation proxies that can provide accurate and continuous tracers for past vegetation dynamics. To gain a better understanding of long‐term vegetation dynamics, this study employs a multiproxy approach applied to sand‐palaeosol sediments of northeastern China's Songnen grasslands. Phytolith analyses and data on the stable carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) of organic matter are used to reconstruct palaeovegetation composition, namely, the changing abundance of C₃ and C₄ species, whereas a geochemical weathering index (Fed/Fet ratios) tracks past East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensity. The phytolith assemblages and indices and δ¹³C of the soil indicate that C₄ species' abundance has been increasing in the Songnen grasslands since the mid‐Holocene, although C₃ vegetation is still dominant. Statistically significant negative correlations between the δ¹³C data and Fet/Fed ratios suggest that continuous weakening of the EASM since the mid‐Holocene may be responsible for the ¹³C‐enrichment of the sediments in the Songnen grasslands. Field vegetation surveys, modern topsoil phytoliths and δ¹³C calibration data indicate that the expansion of C₄ species since the mid‐Holocene is mainly due to their ability to cope with aridity when growing season temperature is not undergoing a significant decrease. Future precipitation decreases in arid and semi‐arid lands should make C₄ species more competitive in the grasslands of northeastern China. Highlights A continuous grassland landscape history is reconstructed from a sand‐palaeosol sequence via phytolith analysis. Multiple independent approaches were used to reconstruct past EASM intensity and palaeovegetation patterns. Phytolith and δ¹³C analyses indicate an increase in C₄ species since the mid‐Holocene. Aridification drives the increase in C₄ species within the grassland ecosystem.
- Published
- 2021