Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China

Sedimentary records of inorganic elements and pigments over the last 12,000 years are used to assess major changes in limnological conditions of Tiancai Lake (a small treeline lake, SW China), in response to Holocene climate variations. Algal communities shifted from the dominance of cyanobacteria a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chen, Xu, McGowan, Suzanne, Xiao, Xiayun, Stevenson, Mark A., Yang, Xiangdong, Li, Yanling, Zhang, Enlou
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51871/
_version_ 1848798593186529280
author Chen, Xu
McGowan, Suzanne
Xiao, Xiayun
Stevenson, Mark A.
Yang, Xiangdong
Li, Yanling
Zhang, Enlou
author_facet Chen, Xu
McGowan, Suzanne
Xiao, Xiayun
Stevenson, Mark A.
Yang, Xiangdong
Li, Yanling
Zhang, Enlou
author_sort Chen, Xu
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Sedimentary records of inorganic elements and pigments over the last 12,000 years are used to assess major changes in limnological conditions of Tiancai Lake (a small treeline lake, SW China), in response to Holocene climate variations. Algal communities shifted from the dominance of cyanobacteria and cryptophytes in the early Holocene, towards siliceous algae in the mid-Holocene and chlorophytes in the late Holocene. Algae responded to a combination of climate-mediated vegetation and soil development associated with allochthonous inputs of dissolved nutrients and organic matter, and sediment infilling. Decreases in Al, Pb, Cu and Zn from the early Holocene probably resulted from soil podsolization and the sequestration of these elements within soils. Changes in Mn and Fe were likely linked to redox condition in catchment soils and water column. Synchronous peaks in Ti, Ba, Ca, Sr, Na, K and Mg, median grain size and magnetic susceptibility coincided with the troughs in the chemical index of alteration, indicating that episodic cold events enhanced upland bedrock erosion and transported unleached and coarse detritus into the lake. These cold events broadly correlate with Holocene ice-rafting events in the North Atlantic. Although the cold events altered the influx of minerogenic elements by regulating upland bedrock erosion, climate-mediated vegetation and soil development led to a muted impact on primary producers. Holocene algal community shifts were subtle, reflecting the relative abundance of P (derived from weathering) and N (derived from soils) throughout the record, with the most pronounced effects on the lake biota being benthic expansion which occurred in response to sediment infilling.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:22:14Z
format Article
id nottingham-51871
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:22:14Z
publishDate 2018
publisher Elsevier
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-518712020-05-04T19:48:04Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51871/ Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China Chen, Xu McGowan, Suzanne Xiao, Xiayun Stevenson, Mark A. Yang, Xiangdong Li, Yanling Zhang, Enlou Sedimentary records of inorganic elements and pigments over the last 12,000 years are used to assess major changes in limnological conditions of Tiancai Lake (a small treeline lake, SW China), in response to Holocene climate variations. Algal communities shifted from the dominance of cyanobacteria and cryptophytes in the early Holocene, towards siliceous algae in the mid-Holocene and chlorophytes in the late Holocene. Algae responded to a combination of climate-mediated vegetation and soil development associated with allochthonous inputs of dissolved nutrients and organic matter, and sediment infilling. Decreases in Al, Pb, Cu and Zn from the early Holocene probably resulted from soil podsolization and the sequestration of these elements within soils. Changes in Mn and Fe were likely linked to redox condition in catchment soils and water column. Synchronous peaks in Ti, Ba, Ca, Sr, Na, K and Mg, median grain size and magnetic susceptibility coincided with the troughs in the chemical index of alteration, indicating that episodic cold events enhanced upland bedrock erosion and transported unleached and coarse detritus into the lake. These cold events broadly correlate with Holocene ice-rafting events in the North Atlantic. Although the cold events altered the influx of minerogenic elements by regulating upland bedrock erosion, climate-mediated vegetation and soil development led to a muted impact on primary producers. Holocene algal community shifts were subtle, reflecting the relative abundance of P (derived from weathering) and N (derived from soils) throughout the record, with the most pronounced effects on the lake biota being benthic expansion which occurred in response to sediment infilling. Elsevier 2018-08-01 Article PeerReviewed Chen, Xu, McGowan, Suzanne, Xiao, Xiayun, Stevenson, Mark A., Yang, Xiangdong, Li, Yanling and Zhang, Enlou (2018) Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 502 . pp. 119-129. ISSN 0031-0182 Climate change; Chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments; Sediment geochemistry; Erosion; Soil formation; Lake ontogeny https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018218301421?via%3Dihub doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.04.027 doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.04.027
spellingShingle Climate change; Chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments; Sediment geochemistry; Erosion; Soil formation; Lake ontogeny
Chen, Xu
McGowan, Suzanne
Xiao, Xiayun
Stevenson, Mark A.
Yang, Xiangdong
Li, Yanling
Zhang, Enlou
Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China
title Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China
title_full Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China
title_fullStr Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China
title_full_unstemmed Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China
title_short Direct and indirect effects of Holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, SW China
title_sort direct and indirect effects of holocene climate variations on catchment and lake processes of a treeline lake, sw china
topic Climate change; Chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments; Sediment geochemistry; Erosion; Soil formation; Lake ontogeny
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51871/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51871/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51871/