delta C-13(org) and n-alkane evidence for changing wetland conditions during a stable mid-late Holocene climate in the central Tibetan Plateau

This study has examined bulk and compound specific organic carbon isotopes (delta C-13(org)) and lipid n-alkanes of modem plants and a wetland sediment sequence from the central Tibetan Plateau and explores the usefulness of these two methods for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Results show tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Main Authors: Cheung, Man-Ching, Zong, Yongqiang, Wang, Ning, Aitchison, Jonathan C., Zheng, Zhuo
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV 2015
Subjects:
Physical Geography
Geology
Paleontology
Organic carbon isotopes
n-Alkane indices
Alpine wetland
Monsoon climate change
Tibetan Plateau
Geography
Physical
Geosciences
Multidisciplinary
CARBON-ISOTOPE DISCRIMINATION
NORTH-ATLANTIC CLIMATE
ORGANIC-MATTER
LAKE-SEDIMENTS
ASIAN MONSOON
HIGH-ALTITUDE
NAM-CO
PLANTS
INDICATORS
VEGETATION
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://ir.gig.ac.cn/handle/344008/53687
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.08.007
Description
Summary:This study has examined bulk and compound specific organic carbon isotopes (delta C-13(org)) and lipid n-alkanes of modem plants and a wetland sediment sequence from the central Tibetan Plateau and explores the usefulness of these two methods for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Results show that a combination of delta C-13(org) values and n-alkane indices can help differentiate organic matter from C3 terrestrial plant, C4 terrestrial plant and submerged macrophytes, the three main sources of organic matter in the study area. The analyses of total organic carbon, delta C-13(org) values and n-alkane indices for the sediment sequence imply that a wetland habitat was established about 8000 years ago, and the wetland conditions were largely stable with dominantly 0 wetland herbs covering the wetland. However, small fluctuations in the dominant organic matter supply between vascular and aquatic plants are revealed, suggesting short duration changes in the extent of open water area within the wetland or variations in the productivity of submerged macrophytes and aquatic plants within the wetland ecosystem, which reflects variations in the strength of precipitation and evaporation. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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