Initiation and variation of the dune fields in semi-arid China – with a special reference to the Hunshandake Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia

Yang, Xiaoping; Wang, Xulong; Liu, Ziting; Li, Hongwei; Ren, Xiaozun; Zhang, Deguo; Ma, Zhuguo; Rioual, Patrick; Jin, Xigao; Scuderi, L. A.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.02.006

Cited by 90 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The vegetation in deserts strongly controls dune form and desertification by protecting the dunes from intensive deflation [Yang et al, 2013] and soil loss [Wolfe and Nickling, 1993;Castillo et al, 1997]. Episodes of weakened monsoonal circulation would have reduced moisture availability and consequently vegetation cover, resulting in the expansion of broad dune fields and desert [Lu et al, 2005;Qiang et al, 2013].…”

Section: Reconstruction Of the Distribution Of Mid-holocene Vegetatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are several reconstructions of the desert distribution in China during the mid-Holocene [i.e., Dong et al, 1997;Sun et al, 1998;Jin et al, 2001;Lu et al, 2013;Yang et al, 2013], and they generally agree that the deserts underwent a sharp contraction during the mid-Holocene compared to the present day. However, because most of this work is confined to certain regions with limited availability of sedimentary records and accurate dates, the distribution of desert boundaries varies between different studies, and this needs to be more thoroughly investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution and vegetation reconstruction of the deserts of northern China during the mid‐Holocene

Qin

Guo

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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Desertification is potentially a serious threat to society, and therefore, it is critical to understand how deserts may respond to future climate change. The mid-Holocene (6 ± 0.5 14 C ka) was warmer than present, and the distribution of deserts at this time may have implications for understanding their response to future warming. Here we reconstruct the distribution of deserts in northern China during the mid-Holocene by combining data on vegetation type and the sedimentary facies of aeolian deposits. The results demonstrate that during the mid-Holocene, the deserts retreated northwestward to the location of the modern 300 mm isohyet. Most of the Eastern Desert was stabilized with steppe or forest-steppe vegetation, whereas the Western Desert exhibited no significant change and remained mobile, occupied by desert vegetation. The deserts in northern China were greatly reduced during the mid-Holocene because of the enhancement of the East Asian summer monsoon in a warmer climate than today.

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Section: Reconstruction Of the Distribution Of Mid-holocene Vegetatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and vegetation reconstruction of the deserts of northern China during the mid‐Holocene

Qin

Guo

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…5,000 and 3,000 y (years) ago (6). However, variations in the timing of this transition (9,10) suggest local/regional thresholds or possibly environmental tipping by stochastic fluctuations.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In the early and middle Holocene, northern China's eastern deserts, including much of the currently sparsely vegetated and semistabilized Hunshandake (Figs. 1 and 2), were covered by forests (8), reflecting significantly wetter climate associated with intensification of monsoon precipitation by up to 50% (6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwater sapping as the cause of irreversible desertification of Hunshandake Sandy Lands, Inner Mongolia, northern China

Yang

Scuderi

Wang

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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133

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In the middle-to-late Holocene, Earth’s monsoonal regions experienced catastrophic precipitation decreases that produced green to desert state shifts. Resulting hydrologic regime change negatively impacted water availability and Neolithic cultures. Whereas mid-Holocene drying is commonly attributed to slow insolation reduction and subsequent nonlinear vegetation–atmosphere feedbacks that produce threshold conditions, evidence of trigger events initiating state switching has remained elusive. Here we document a threshold event ca. 4,200 years ago in the Hunshandake Sandy Lands of Inner Mongolia, northern China, associated with groundwater capture by the Xilamulun River. This process initiated a sudden and irreversible region-wide hydrologic event that exacerbated the desertification of the Hunshandake, resulting in post-Humid Period mass migration of northern China’s Neolithic cultures. The Hunshandake remains arid and is unlikely, even with massive rehabilitation efforts, to revert back to green conditions.

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“…1). The predominant wind directions today are from the west and result from the Westerly Jet Stream (Yang et al, 2013) but these are affected by seasonal influences from southern monsoon currents (Cour et al, 1999). The principal factor determining the climatic regimes of the Tian Shan Mountains is the interaction between the southwestern branch of the Siberian anticyclonic circulation and cyclonic activity from the west (Aizen et al, 1997).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and subsistence at the Mesolithic and Bronze Age site of Aigyrzhal-2, Naryn valley, Kyrgyzstan

Matuzevičiūtė

Preece

Wang

et al. 2017

Quaternary International

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River valleys in the Tien Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan have served as corridors for human dispersal since the Palaeolithic but little information exists on the history of human occupation in this remote and inaccessible region. Here, we report the results of a multidisciplinary study of Airgyrzhal-2, a high elevation (2005 m) site in the Naryn valley in central Kyrgyzstan. Two main occupation horizons were recognized, the earliest belonging to the Mesolithic (12th millennium cal. BC) and a later one dating from the Bronze Age (first half of the 2nd millennium cal. BC). Land snail analyses from the two horizons yielded almost identical assemblages of species of dry, open environments. Archaeobotanical data, however, revealed marked differences. The greater representation of willow/poplar (Salix/Populus) in the charcoal from the Mesolithic suggests more focused activity along the river, which might have been closer to the site at this time. The occurrence of spruce (Picea) and other species in the Bronze Age charcoal indicates exploitation of resources from more distant upland locations. The occurrence of the remains of cereals, including both grains and chaff, provides unexpected evidence for both consumption and cultivation of wheat and barley at this high elevation during the Bronze Age.

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Initiation and variation of the dune fields in semi-arid China – with a special reference to the Hunshandake Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia

Cited by 90 publications

References 47 publications

Distribution and vegetation reconstruction of the deserts of northern China during the mid‐Holocene

Distribution and vegetation reconstruction of the deserts of northern China during the mid‐Holocene

Groundwater sapping as the cause of irreversible desertification of Hunshandake Sandy Lands, Inner Mongolia, northern China

Ecology and subsistence at the Mesolithic and Bronze Age site of Aigyrzhal-2, Naryn valley, Kyrgyzstan

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