Quaternary Science Reviews最新文献

{"title":"Higher in the mountains: Dynamics of agro-pastoral practices in a low-latitude mountain system (Karkas Mountains, central Iran) during the Mediaeval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age","authors":"Morteza Djamali ,&nbsp;Emmanuel Gandouin ,&nbsp;Arash Sharifi ,&nbsp;Philippe Ponel ,&nbsp;Kazuyo Tachikawa ,&nbsp;Alireza Naqinezhad ,&nbsp;Abdolmajid Naderi-Beni ,&nbsp;Hamid Lahijani ,&nbsp;Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu ,&nbsp;Elodie Brisset ,&nbsp;Nafiseh Samadi ,&nbsp;Marjan Mashkour ,&nbsp;Emma Gamba ,&nbsp;Dahvya Belkacem ,&nbsp;Michelle Leydet ,&nbsp;Alireza Behnam ,&nbsp;Marta Garcia ,&nbsp;François Demory ,&nbsp;Edouard Bard","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109202","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109202","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Little is known about the impact of the Mediaeval Warm Period (MWP: 950–1250 CE) and the Little Ice Age (LIA: 1250–1850 CE) on high-altitude agro-pastoral practices and the vertical mobility of human communities in the mountain regions of interior Southwest Asia. Although the area experienced significant socio-political changes during the last millennium, the socio-environmental interactions during these climatic periods remain poorly understood. This study presents a geochronologically well-constrained, multi-proxy geochemical and palaeoecological record from a high-altitude (2500 m) wetland in the Karkas Mountains, located on the central Iranian desert plateau. All proxies, including bioindicators (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, fossil insects) and sedimentological and geochemical data (X-ray fluorescence intensity variations, Isothermal Remanent Magnetization measurements, and lithological changes), reveal two contrasting patterns of hydroclimatic conditions and agro-pastoral practices during the MWP and the LIA. Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs show that the MWP was characterised by intensive cereal cultivation (mainly wheat) and the establishment of permanent agricultural communities, while the LIA was characterised by intensified grazing pressure on montane steppe vegetation, suggesting a shift towards a more mobile pastoral lifestyle—one that persisted into the 20th century. Interestingly, this shift coincides with the Mongol invasion of the Iranian plateau. Variations in lithology, XRF intensities, magnetic field as well as the insect faunal assemblages further provide insights into the wetland hydrological variations and erosional episodes related to land-use and hydroclimatic changes during the MWP and LIA. Based on the Gahak wetland record and regional palaeoclimatic data, we conclude that the MWP in the mountainous areas of central Iran was marked by milder winters and possibly shorter summer droughts, in contrast to the LIA, which had harsher winters and longer-lasting snow cover. Results of the spectral analysis on Gahak record compared to well-known solar cycles, suggest that the climate of the central Iranian highlands is highly sensitive to the variations in solar irradiance. Our findings highlight the significant role of high-altitude agro-pastoral communities in supplying food to the lowland urban centres of mediaeval Persia, at least during the MWP. Although socio-political changes (e.g. Mongol invasion) could affect the mediaeval societies, the impact of climatic shifts on socio-economic changes should not be underestimated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109202"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing pollen and n-alkane carbon isotope records in a tropical lacustrine environment","authors":"Xennephone Hadeen ,&nbsp;Cassandra Rowe ,&nbsp;Michael Brand ,&nbsp;Rainy Comley ,&nbsp;Sourav Das ,&nbsp;Christopher M. Wurster ,&nbsp;Costijn Zwart ,&nbsp;Michael I. Bird","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109204","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109204","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Both pollen and the carbon isotope (<em>δ</em>¹³C) compositions of long chain <em>n</em>-alkanes (<em>n</em>-C_29-31) are widely used to reconstruct changes in past vegetation in the tropics. Both approaches are able to infer the proportions of tree/shrub (C₃) and grass (C₄) biomass, with changes in these proportions generally interpreted to be driven by changes in hydroclimate. Both pollen and <em>n</em>-alkane <em>δ</em>¹³C records are subject to biases in production and transport to a site of deposition that may influence the interpretation of the record. Here we compare detailed 150,000-year pollen and <em>n</em>-alkane carbon isotope (<em>δ</em>¹³C) records from a lake in monsoonal northern Australia. There is a broad agreement between the two records at some times, with both identifying major wet periods of high tree/shrub C₃ terrestrial biomass during marine isotope stages 5 and 1. There are significant differences between the two records at other times. At times during glacial marine isotope stages 2 and 6, C₄ grass pollen comprised &gt;80% of terrestrial pollen, whereas the <em>n</em>-C_29-31 <em>δ</em>¹³C values indicate dominantly C₃ terrestrial biomass.</div><div>These differences are the result of changes in the relative abundance and <em>δ</em>¹³C values of alkane inputs from within the lagoon itself that impact the <em>δ</em>¹³C value of the <em>n</em>-C_29-31 ‘terrestrial’ alkanes. The drivers of these changes include (i) changes in the biomass and <em>δ</em>¹³C value of aquatic vegetation (floating and submerged) that result from dramatic changes in lake level (ii) the changing importance of groundwater-derived dissolved inorganic carbon as a substrate for photosynthesis in the lake, (iii) changes in the proportion of sedge biomass in and around the lake that also accompany changes in lake level, and (iv) changes in the mix of C₃ and C₄ species comprising the sedge biomass in and around the lake. The significance of contributions of <em>n</em>-alkanes from aquatic and sedge sources to chain lengths usually considered to derive from terrestrial plants, may be underestimated in small, high productivity lacustrine environments, particularly in carbonate terranes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109204"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Terminal Pleistocene to mid-Holocene rainforest foragers in Sri Lanka: Multidisciplinary insights at Kebella-lena rock shelter","authors":"Pahiyangala Sumangala ,&nbsp;Nimal Perera ,&nbsp;Rathnasiri Premathilake ,&nbsp;Jude Perera ,&nbsp;Uduwila Uparathana ,&nbsp;Kelegama Jinarathana ,&nbsp;Galwewe Wimalakhanthi ,&nbsp;Yue Hu ,&nbsp;Hongliang Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109201","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109201","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sri Lankan wet zone rock shelters play a unique role in the investigation of the global expansion of human activities and particularly microlithic phase adaptation to tropical environments. Kebella-lena, a rock shelter in the low-land wet zone rainforest of Sri Lanka, has yielded some of the evidence of <em>Homo sapiens</em> in South Asia. Our foragers were present at Kebella-lena from 13,000 cal. BP to the mid-Holocene. Our Data (faunal remains, botanical remains, lithic, organic and other evidences including paleo-floors with habitation debris) from the recent excavation of the site show that modern humans in tropical rainforests interacted with a diverse tropical setting from the Terminal Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene. This period corresponds with further broadening of the economic spectrum, evidenced though increased contribution of arboreal and semi arboreal mammals, invertebrate and abundant Canarium nutshells. According to analysis data, microliths are more abundant in Early Holocene phase and the microlithic phase had also persisted to at least the mid- Holocene in Sri Lanka. Bone tools, ochre and ornamentation is also documented. The findings of current study showed the continuation of the various attributes of the prehistoric culture from the Terminal Pleistocene to mid-Holocene.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109201"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Human–environment interactions in the Lake Junín basin: Fire, megafauna, deforestation, and domestication, from the peopling of the Andes to the Inca Empire","authors":"Erik J. Marsh ,&nbsp;Kurt Rademaker","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109159","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109159","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human–environment interactions are a focus of interdisciplinary research in the high Andes, recently invigorated by sediment-core data from Lake Junín (Chinchaycocha). On the basis of these records, recent articles have argued that humans arrived in the Junín basin 13 thousand calibrated years ago (kya), set large-scale fires, and hunted Pleistocene megafauna to extinction. Declines in montane tree pollen beginning ∼4 kya have been attributed to deforestation, camelid domestication, and agriculture on the high Andean puna. In this paper, we critically examine these arguments and contrast them with a compilation of archaeological data from the Lake Junín basin including 113 radiocarbon dates (12 unpublished), settlement patterns, camelid osteometry, macrobotanical remains, Inca period sites, and ethnographic and ethnohistoric descriptions of herding and farming. These data suggest that the earliest archaeological evidence for human occupation is not until ∼11 kya, and there is no clear evidence for interaction with Pleistocene megafauna. Although the Junín basin is often cited as a center for camelid domestication in the middle Holocene, this claim remains tenuous, since osteometry struggles to distinguish wild and domestic camelids. Finally, ethnohistoric and ethnographic information offer no support for the argument that the basin was a \"manufactured landscape\" in the late Holocene. Moving forward, we recommend more careful consideration of (1) the mismatch of temporal resolution in paleoecological and archaeological chronologies, (2) the potential spatial mismatch in the catchment area of palaeoecological proxies and archaeological datasets, and (3) ambiguity in <em>Sporormiella</em> as a proxy for fauna and charcoal as a proxy for human activity. We suggest that future work on paleoecological proxies from 0.7 to 0.3 kya could be harnessed to build a comparative baseline, since these centuries saw large populations of humans and domesticated camelids near the lake. Our goal is to promote more robust reconstructions of human–environment interactions in the Lake Junín basin and elsewhere.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109159"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Single-grain K-feldspar pIRIR dating of the Longwanling handaxe-bearing site in the Hanjiang river valley, central China","authors":"Xiaoqi Guo ,&nbsp;Chengqiu Lu ,&nbsp;Zhenyu Qin ,&nbsp;Bing Dong ,&nbsp;Lupeng Yu ,&nbsp;Christopher J. Bae ,&nbsp;Xuefeng Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109194","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109194","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many handaxe-bearing Early Paleolithic sites were discovered in the Hanjiang River Valley in the southern Qinling Mountain Range. However, reliable radiometric ages are relatively scarce due to the paucity of primary stratigraphic dated sequences. The Longwanling (LWL) site is an open-air Paleolithic site located on the third terrace of the Hanjiang River Valley (HRV), where five handaxes were unearthed in 2021 in situ at Locality-1. Here, both single-grain and single-aliquot post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence dating methods of potassium feldspar grains were applied to determine the age of the cultural layer for these handaxes. The equivalent dose of samples NJU4051 and 4052 showed clear younger components. The single-grain ages obtained through the central age model and single-aliquot ages of these two samples are much younger than three other samples which show age reversal. We attribute this reversal to post-depositional disturbance, which may result from the filling of cracks, e.g., by precipitation-induced surface runoff. After excluding the disturbance of the younger component using a finite mixture model, a consistent chronological framework could be built, suggesting that the LWL handaxes were buried at ∼140–110 ka, which corresponds to Marine Isotope Stage 6 and 5. Our findings demonstrate that the combination of single-grain techniques and relevant statistical models can provide a reliable age constraint for archaeological sites with complex depositional contexts. In addition, the chronological framework of Chinese handaxes is mainly concentrated in the time intervals of ∼0.8 Ma and ∼210–50 ka (the LWL site falls within the latter range).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109194"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143158965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Glacial hazards change in Xinjiang over the past seven decades: Spatiotemporal patterns and trends","authors":"Meixia Wang ,&nbsp;Donghui Shangguan ,&nbsp;Da Li ,&nbsp;Yaojun Li ,&nbsp;Rongjun Wang ,&nbsp;Rui He ,&nbsp;Asim Qayyum Butt","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Glacier hazards caused by global warming and glacier retreat have disastrous consequences for communities in high mountain regions. Research on the distribution patterns and development trends of glacier hazards is essential for improving the understanding of glacier hazards and mitigating disaster risks in high mountains. This study systematically analyses the types, spatial, and temporal variations of glacier hazards attributed to the impacts of climate change and glacier retreat in the Tianshan, Pamir, Karakoram and Kunlun Mountain ranges in Xinjiang between 1950 and 2020. Climatic conditions and glacier surveys (including glacier fronts and mass balance measurements) are used as drivers to analyse spatial and temporal patterns of glacier hazards. The results indicate that 330 glacial hazards occurred in Xinjiang, the majority of which were in the Tianshan and Karakoram regions. Glacial hazard numbers decelerated, while temperature rise accelerated over the past seven decades. From 1950 to 2000, glacier hazards increased at an average rate of 0.74 each year, whereas, after 2000, they decreased at an average rate of 0.82 per year. Glacier surges have increased since 1990 in the Pamir-Karakoram Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains. Glacier surges in the Pamir-Karakoram Mountains exhibited the highest activity from 1990 to 1999 and 2000 to 2009. The annual occurrence of glacier outburst floods has decreased since the early 2000s, while the flood peak discharges of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) has intensified in Tianshan. Glacier debris flows in the Pamir and Tianshan mountain regions increased after 2010, frequently occurring on the Tianshan Highway and the China-Pakistan Karakoram Highway during the summer months. Glacier debris flows originated above 4,500m above sea level (a.s.l.), but most hazards occurred between 2000 and 3,000m a.s.l. In Xinjiang, glacier debris flows pose the greatest threat in the central and high mountain regions and require close attention. Temperature is the primary influencing factor driving trend changes and spatiotemporal patterns of glacial hazards. The hazard occurrence rates are uncorrelated with rainfall and glacier dynamics. Therefore, in adapting to climate change, it is crucial to consider the spatiotemporal variation of glacial hazards and their influencing factors in high mountain regions to provide a scientific basis for exploring the predictability, prevention, and mitigation of disasters.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109183"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moisture availability versus grazing and burning as drivers of Holocene forest-grassland coexistence in Europe: A case study from open ecosystems of southeastern Romania","authors":"Angelica Feurdean ,&nbsp;Diana Hanganu ,&nbsp;Adrian Bălășescu ,&nbsp;Andrei Diaconu ,&nbsp;Mirjam Pfeiffer ,&nbsp;Dan Warren ,&nbsp;Mariusz Galka ,&nbsp;Roxana Grindean ,&nbsp;Simon M. Hutchinson ,&nbsp;Irene Marzolff ,&nbsp;Aurel Persoiu ,&nbsp;Eszter Ruprecht ,&nbsp;Ioan Tantau","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Southeastern Europe is home to remnants of highly diverse open ecosystems, including grasslands and forest-steppe. To understand the impacts of climate changes, fire disturbance, and herbivory on forest-grassland coexistence in this region, we integrated new and published paleoecological data from two sedimentary records in southeastern Romania with information on herbivore population dynamics and dietary habits. Our findings indicate that fluctuations in forest-grassland cover closely mirrored changes in regional growing season moisture availability in the Black Sea region. During periods with increased moisture availability (e.g. 6000–3800 cal yr BP), diverse broadleaved forest dominated by <em>Quercus</em> expanded. Conversely, more drought-tolerant herbaceous cover increased during drier intervals (7200-6800 and 3800-2000 cal yr BP). We identified a critical tree cover of 25–40% at Mangalia Herghelie and 25–55% at Lake Oltina where neither forest nor grassland dominated. Stable forest states emerged above 40% tree cover and 55% respectively, while grassland-dominated states had tree cover below 25%.</div><div>Disturbances by fire and herbivores fluctuated over time, and were further influenced by human activity, which along with deforestation, altered the composition and extent of steppe and forest-steppe vegetation. High fire severity occurred during intermediate moisture conditions and tree cover (6800–5500, 3800–2800 cal yr BP), while low fire severity was observed when herbaceous biomass dominated (7200–7000, 2800–2000 cal yr BP) or under greater tree cover (5500–3800 cal yr BP). Herbivore dynamics shifted from large-bodied grazers in the Neolithic and early Eneolithic (7650–6550 cal yr BP; Prehamangia and Hamangia cultures) to a more diverse array of feeding types involving smaller domestic and wild herbivores along with sedentary agriculture during the flourishing Eneolithic (6550-5850 cal yr BP; Gumelnita culture), before returning to larger domestic grazers as well as omnivores in the Bronze and Iron Ages (3500–2000 cal yr BP). Large-bodied herbivores with selective diets (primarily grazers) had a more substantial effect on grasses compared to mixed feeders with bulk diets, whereas domestic herbivory was associated with increased apophyte abundance and diversity. Our findings underscore the essential factors for sustainable management of forest-grassland mosaics under changing climate conditions with projected accelerating aridification. They also highlight the need for continued research to enhance our understanding of these biodiverse, sensitive open ecosystems to inform effective management strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109153"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lateglacial and Holocene hydroclimatic variability documented by Cladocera of Tolbo Lake in the Altai Mountains, western Mongolia","authors":"Yuan Li ,&nbsp;Xingxing Liu ,&nbsp;Wenjia Wang ,&nbsp;Lixiong Xiang ,&nbsp;Yu Hu ,&nbsp;Erik Jeppesen ,&nbsp;Otgonbayar Demberel ,&nbsp;Jargalsaikhan Zolbayar ,&nbsp;Xiaozhong Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109186","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109186","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Altai Mountains contain rivers, lakes, and glaciers critical for the survival of both social and ecological systems. Reconstructing past hydroclimatic changes is crucial for understanding human-environment interactions and predicting future hydroclimatic dynamics in this region. We reconstructed the water level fluctuations of Tolbo Lake in the Altai Mountains over the past 13.7 kyr using the sedimentary cladoceran fossils. The results show that a rising trend of the Holocene lake level resulted mainly from intensification of westerlies-driven precipitation. The results further reveal that the centennial timescale lake-level fluctuations during the mid–late Holocene was mainly modified by temperature-controlled meltwater input, resulting in low lake levels during the cold, glacier-advance periods and high lake levels during the warm, glacier-retreat periods. The intensification of westerlies-driven precipitation at ∼6 cal ka BP initiated a humid environment and facilitated the Neolithic <em>trans</em>-Eurasian spread of livestock and crops (i.e. barley, wheat, and sheep). Subsequently, occasional increases in glacial meltwater during the warm phase further boosted grassland growth and animal husbandry, likely contributing to the expansion of major nomadic empires such as the Huns (∼2.4–1.8 cal ka BP) and the Mongols (∼0.8 cal ka BP). Additionally, the depletion of alpine glaciers due to the current anthropogenic warming may eventually result in significant shrinkage of the lakes and severe crises for ecosystems and the human communities that rely on these lakes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109186"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prehistoric archaeological site changes and their causes with paleofloods in Southern Shanxi Province, China","authors":"Yuming Su ,&nbsp;Yangyang Zhang ,&nbsp;Qiumin Zhai ,&nbsp;Tianyu Shi ,&nbsp;Songna Wang ,&nbsp;Peng Chen ,&nbsp;Xin Liu ,&nbsp;Laiying Jin ,&nbsp;Xiaodong Miao","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109182","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109182","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Southern Shanxi province is renowned for its abundant prehistoric human activities (from paleolithic to Zhou dynasty), and thus holds significance in the study of the origins of Chinese civilization. Exploring shifts in human activity can offer insights into civilization development. Yet, there's a notable gap in research on how climate affects ancient human societies and their adaptive responses, especially concerning extreme weather events. This study investigated spatiotemporal characteristics of prehistoric settlement distribution of archaeological sites of southern Shanxi province, and then analyzed a natural geological profile, Songcungou (SCG), located about 2 km west of a famous Taosi archaeological site. SCG profile is primarily composed of eolian loess-paleosol, punctuated with layers of embedded fluvial gravel, and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dates, grain sizes and geochemical elements were used to investigate the influences of climate changes on settlement distribution. The results of spatiotemporal distribution of settlements showed that archaeological sites of the early Yangshao (∼7–6 ka; ka is 1000 years ago) period were mainly distributed in loess platforms under the influenced of mountain torrents. Archaeological sites near the Fenhe River first increased during the mid-term Yangshao (∼6–5.5 ka), then decreased in the late Yangshao (∼5.5–5 ka) period when the climate becomes cold and dry, Rised again in the Longshan (∼5–3.9 ka) period. However, climate shifts and floods in late Longshan (∼4.4–3.9 ka) likely caused a decline in settlements, paving the way for Xia (∼3.9–3.5 ka) culture in southern Shanxi, with political and societal factors overtaking climate as the main influence on human settlement patterns by the Shang and Zhou dynasties (∼3.5–2.3 ka). Furthermore, stratigraphic observation and OSL dating revealed two flood events in the Taosi region, which occurred at about ∼14.5–12.5 ka and ∼6.8–6.3 ka. The mountain torrents documented in Gravel Zones I and II were predominantly triggered by intense, short-duration precipitation events, compounded by factors such as saturated soil conditions, limited surface vegetation, and steep geomorphic features.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109182"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climatic changes control the net carbon sequestration rates of Carex-dominated peatlands in Northeast Asia","authors":"Mingming Zhang ,&nbsp;John P. Smol ,&nbsp;Wenkai Liu ,&nbsp;Li Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109184","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109184","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carex-dominated peatlands, which are widely developed in Northeast Asia, are one of the planet's most important carbon sinks, playing a key role in controlling the global carbon cycle. However, our understanding of how net carbon sequestration processes are linked to climatic changes for the modern tussock stage (MTS) and the under tussock stage (UTS) of <em>Carex-</em>dominated peatlands remain unclear. In this study, we systematically investigated the carbon sequestration history and its climatic factors potentially driving these changes in the Xinqing peatland from the Lesser Khingan mountains of Northeast Asia. Results suggest that this peatland initiated development prior to 1348 cal yr BP and then evolved into the modern tussock. The average apparent carbon accumulation rate (ACAR) and the net carbon accumulation rate (NCAR) of the MTS was 261.57 g C/m² yr and 8.58 g C/m² yr, while the average ACAR and NCAR of the UTS was 16.90 g C/m² yr and −0.43 g C/m² yr, respectively. Furthermore, the high efficient net carbon sequestration modes of these two stages can be identified as follows: The first mode was a precipitation-controlled mode. The nutrient input linked to precipitation was the major driving factor for the highly efficient net carbon sequestration of the UTS. Precipitation increased the nutrient input, promoting the increase in productivity of the <em>Carex</em> community, resulting in the high NCAR of the UTS. The second mode was a temperature-controlled mode. With total solar irradiance being the major driving factor for the high efficient net carbon sequestration of the MTS, the increased temperature contributed to the high productivity of the <em>Carex</em> community, resulting in the high NCAR of the MTS. These results add to our understandings of the connections between climatic changes and net carbon sequestration abilities of <em>Carex</em>-dominated peatlands, which may provide an important foundation for future predictions on the carbon sequestration potential of these types of peatlands world-wide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 109184"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143159950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}