Title: Organic stable carbon isotopic composition reveals late Quaternary vegetation changes in the dune fields of northern China
Abstract: Vegetation changes during the late Quaternary in the dune fields of northern China are not well understood. We investigated organic carbon stable isotopic composition of surface soils, related mainly to the ratio of C 3 and C 4 plants, across a range of arid to subhumid climates in this region. Isotopic composition is weakly related to both temperature and moisture (multiple R 2 = 0.53), with the highest δ 13 C (greatest C 4 abundance) in the warm, subhumid Horqin dune field. In late Quaternary, eolian stratigraphic sections of the Mu Us and Horqin dune fields, but not in the much colder Otindag dune field, δ 13 C is higher in organic carbon from paleosols than in eolian sands. This contrast, most evident for paleosols recording a major early to middle Holocene phase of dune stabilization, is interpreted as evidence for expansion of C 4 plants due to increased effective moisture, high temperature because of high insolation, and decreased disturbance related to eolian erosion and deposition.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-02-17
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 38
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