A novel approach for quantitatively distinguishing between anthropogenic and natural effects on paleovegetation.

How to distinguish and quantify past human impacts on vegetation is a significant challenge in paleoecology. Here, we propose a novel method, the error inflection point-discriminant technique. It finds out the inflection points (IPs) of the regression errors of pollen-climate transfer functions using modern pollen spectra from vegetation with different values of the Human Influence Index (HII), which represent the HII threshold values of native/secondary and secondary/artificial vegetation systems. Our results show that the HII value at the native/secondary vegetation IPs is approximately 22 and globally uniform, whereas it varies regionally for the secondary/artificial vegetation IPs. In a case study of the Liangzhu archaeological site in the lower Yangtze River, discriminant functions for pollen spectra from three vegetation types and pollen-climate transfer functions of the native vegetation were established to reconstruct paleovegetation and paleoclimate over the past 6,600 years. Our study demonstrates this method's feasibility for quantitatively distinguishing human impacts on paleovegetation and assessing quantitative paleoclimate reconstructions using pollen data.

The alteration from agricultural to nomadic regimes resulted in human livelihood transformation in North-Central China during the 12th century: The archaeobotanical evidence.

Human livelihoods provided a crucial economic foundation for social development in ancient times and were influenced by various factors including environmental change, agricultural origin and intensification, as well as long-distance exchange and culinary tradition. The effect of geopolitical change on human subsistence, especially the shifts between agricultural and nomadic regimes, has not been well understood due to the absence of detailed historical records and archaeological evidence. During the 12th century, the control of the Zhengding area in Hebei Province of north-central China changed from the Northern Song (960-1127 CE) to the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (Jin Dynasty; 1115-1234 CE). Recent excavation of the Zhengding Kaiyuan Temple South (ZKS) site in the area provides a rare opportunity to study human livelihood transformation in relation to geopolitical change. In total, 21,588 charred crop caryopses including foxtail millet, wheat, broomcorn millet, hulled barley, and rice, and other carbonized remains including 55.15 g of boiled foxtail millet and 353.5 g of foxtail millet caryopses were identified, and nine AMS 14C dates of crop remains were obtained from the Northern Song and Jin layers at the ZKS site. This revealed that the dominant plant subsistence transformed from wheat to foxtail millet during the change from the Northern Song to the Jin Dynasties in Zhengding area. By comparing with historical documents and paleoclimate records, we propose that this abnormal shift of primary staple food from the relatively high-yield wheat to low-yield foxtail millet was induced by the traditional dietary preference for foxtail millet in the nomadic Jin society. The Jin government levied foxtail millet as taxation and promoted massive immigration from northeastern China to north-central China to consolidate their rule, which resulted in the adoption of foxtail millet as the most important crop in Zhengding area. The advantage for the cultivation of this frost-sensitive crop in north-central China over northeast China was probably enhanced by notable cold events during the 12th century, while the primary influencing factor for the transformation of human livelihoods in north-central China during that period was geopolitics rather than climate change.

Asian dust-storm activity dominated by Chinese dynasty changes since 2000 BP.

The Asian monsoon (AM) played an important role in the dynastic history of China, yet it remains unknown whether AM-mediated shifts in Chinese societies affect earth surface processes to the point of exceeding natural variability. Here, we present a dust storm intensity record dating back to the first unified dynasty of China (the Qin Dynasty, 221-207 B.C.E.). Marked increases in dust storm activity coincided with unified dynasties with large populations during strong AM periods. By contrast, reduced dust storm activity corresponded to decreased population sizes and periods of civil unrest, which was co-eval with a weakened AM. The strengthened AM may have facilitated the development of Chinese civilizations, destabilizing the topsoil and thereby increasing the dust storm frequency. Beginning at least 2000 years ago, human activities might have started to overtake natural climatic variability as the dominant controls of dust storm activity in eastern China.

A Review of Relative Pollen Productivity Estimates From Temperate China for Pollen-Based Quantitative Reconstruction of Past Plant Cover.

Model-based quantitative reconstruction of past plant cover in Europe has shown great potential for: (i) testing hypotheses related to Holocene vegetation dynamics, biodiversity, and their relationships with climate and land use; (ii) studying long term interactions between climate and land use. Similar model-based quantitative reconstruction of plant cover in China has been restricted due to the lack of standardized datasets of existing estimates of relative pollen productivity (RPP). This study presents the first synthesis of all RPP values available to date for 39 major plant taxa from temperate China and proposes standardized RPP datasets that can be used for model-based quantitative reconstructions of past plant cover using fossil pollen records for the region. We review 11 RPP studies in temperate China based on modern pollen and related vegetation data around the pollen samples. The study areas include meadow, steppe and desert vegetation, various woodland types, and cultural landscapes. We evaluate the strategies of each study in terms of selection of study areas and distribution of study sites; pollen- and vegetation-data collection in field; vegetation-data collection from satellite images and vegetation maps; and data analysis. We compare all available RPP estimates, select values based on precise rules and calculate mean RPP estimates. We propose two standardized RPP datasets for 31 (Alt1) and 29 (Alt2) plant taxa. The ranking of mean RPPs (Alt-2) relative to Poaceae (= 1) for eight major taxa is: Artemisia (21) > Pinus (18.4) > Betula (12.5) > Castanea (11.5) > Elaeagnaceae (8.8) > Juglans (7.5) > Compositae (4.5) > Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae (4). We conclude that although RPPs are comparable between Europe and China for some genera and families, they can differ very significantly, e.g., Artemisia, Compositae, and Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae. For some taxa, we present the first RPP estimates e.g. Castanea, Elaeagnaceae, and Juglans. The proposed standardized RPP datasets are essential for model-based reconstructions of past plant cover using fossil pollen records from temperate China.

Relation between modern pollen rain, vegetation and climate in northern China: Implications for quantitative vegetation reconstruction in a steppe environment.

Vegetation reconstructions from palaeoecological records depend on adequate understanding of relationships between modern pollen, vegetation and climate. A key parameter for quantitative vegetation reconstructions is the Relative Pollen Productivity (RPP). Differences in both environmental and methodological factors are known to alter the RPP estimated significantly, making it difficult to determine whether the underlying pollen productivity does actually vary, and if so, why. In this paper, we present the results of a replication study for the Bashang steppe region, a typical steppe area in northern China, carried out in 2013 and 2014. In each year, 30 surface samples were collected for pollen analysis, with accompanying vegetation survey using the "Crackles Bequest Project" methodology. Sampling designs differed slightly between the two years: in 2013, sites were located completely randomly, whilst in 2014 sampling locations were constrained to be within a few km of roads. There is a strong inter-annual variability in both the pollen and the vegetation spectra therefore in RPPs, and annual precipitation may be a key influence on these variations. The pollen assemblages in both years are dominated by herbaceous taxa such as Artemisia, Amaranthaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae and Allium. Artemisia and Amaranthaceae pollen are significantly over-represented for their vegetation abundance. Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Fabaceae seem to have under-represented pollen for vegetation with correspondingly lower RPPs. Asteraceae seems to be well-represented, with moderate RPPs and less annual variation. Estimated Relevant Source Area of Pollen (RSAP) ranges from 2000 to 3000m. Different sampling designs have an effect both on RSAP and RPPs and random sample selection may be the best strategy for obtaining robust estimates. Our results have implications for further pollen-vegetation relationship and quantitative vegetation reconstruction research in typical steppe areas and in other open habitats with strong inter-annual variation.

East Asian summer monsoon precipitation variability since the last deglaciation.

The lack of a precisely-dated, unequivocal climate proxy from northern China, where precipitation variability is traditionally considered as an East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) indicator, impedes our understanding of the behaviour and dynamics of the EASM. Here we present a well-dated, pollen-based, ~20-yr-resolution quantitative precipitation reconstruction (derived using a transfer function) from an alpine lake in North China, which provides for the first time a direct record of EASM evolution since 14.7 ka (ka = thousands of years before present, where the "present" is defined as the year AD 1950). Our record reveals a gradually intensifying monsoon from 14.7-7.0 ka, a maximum monsoon (30% higher precipitation than present) from ~7.8-5.3 ka, and a rapid decline since ~3.3 ka. These insolation-driven EASM trends were punctuated by two millennial-scale weakening events which occurred synchronously to the cold Younger Dryas and at ~9.5-8.5 ka, and by two centennial-scale intervals of enhanced (weakened) monsoon during the Medieval Warm Period (Little Ice Age). Our precipitation reconstruction, consistent with temperature changes but quite different from the prevailing view of EASM evolution, points to strong internal feedback processes driving the EASM, and may aid our understanding of future monsoon behaviour under ongoing anthropogenic climate change.