Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess Plateau
Abstract Microcharcoal morphology, which changes with biofuel type in the wildfire, can be used as an index for wildfire history and vegetation evolution. Here, five loess sites across the Chinese Loess Plateau were used to establish the biofuel history of the region during the Holocene based on mic...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103637 |
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| author | Zisha Wang Yunfa Miao Yaguo Zou Yongtao Zhao Wenxia Han Hongliang Zhang Zhigao Zhang Changhai Gao Ziyue Zhang Yin Lu |
| author_facet | Zisha Wang Yunfa Miao Yaguo Zou Yongtao Zhao Wenxia Han Hongliang Zhang Zhigao Zhang Changhai Gao Ziyue Zhang Yin Lu |
| author_sort | Zisha Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Microcharcoal morphology, which changes with biofuel type in the wildfire, can be used as an index for wildfire history and vegetation evolution. Here, five loess sites across the Chinese Loess Plateau were used to establish the biofuel history of the region during the Holocene based on microcharcoal morphological records. The results suggested that consistently increasing grass biofuel dominated the mid‐Holocene (∼7,500–3,000 yr BP), and the grassland or steppe expanded in the same interval. Since the climate conditions with simultaneous high precipitation and temperature of the mid‐Holocene are the most recent paleoclimate analog for future warming, we argue that the humid and warm conditions expected under future global warming on the Loess Plateau might lead to an increase in the grass rather than trees. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-17b52ae8f91447b89ac2f7dfdd67c1b9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-17b52ae8f91447b89ac2f7dfdd67c1b92025-08-20T03:06:04ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072023-09-015017n/an/a10.1029/2023GL103637Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess PlateauZisha Wang0Yunfa Miao1Yaguo Zou2Yongtao Zhao3Wenxia Han4Hongliang Zhang5Zhigao Zhang6Changhai Gao7Ziyue Zhang8Yin Lu9Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands Northwest Institute of Eco‐Environment and Resources Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands Northwest Institute of Eco‐Environment and Resources Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands Northwest Institute of Eco‐Environment and Resources Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands Northwest Institute of Eco‐Environment and Resources Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water and Soil Conservation and Environmental Protection College of Resources and Environment Sciences Linyi University Linyi ChinaSchool of Resources Environment and Tourism Anyang Normal University Anyang ChinaSchool of Resources Environment and Tourism Anyang Normal University Anyang ChinaSchool of Resources Environment and Tourism Anyang Normal University Anyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands Northwest Institute of Eco‐Environment and Resources Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou ChinaState Key Laboratory of Marine Geology Tongji University Shanghai ChinaAbstract Microcharcoal morphology, which changes with biofuel type in the wildfire, can be used as an index for wildfire history and vegetation evolution. Here, five loess sites across the Chinese Loess Plateau were used to establish the biofuel history of the region during the Holocene based on microcharcoal morphological records. The results suggested that consistently increasing grass biofuel dominated the mid‐Holocene (∼7,500–3,000 yr BP), and the grassland or steppe expanded in the same interval. Since the climate conditions with simultaneous high precipitation and temperature of the mid‐Holocene are the most recent paleoclimate analog for future warming, we argue that the humid and warm conditions expected under future global warming on the Loess Plateau might lead to an increase in the grass rather than trees.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103637vegetation typemid‐Holocenemicrocharcoal morphologyglobal warmingChinese Loess Plateau |
| spellingShingle | Zisha Wang Yunfa Miao Yaguo Zou Yongtao Zhao Wenxia Han Hongliang Zhang Zhigao Zhang Changhai Gao Ziyue Zhang Yin Lu Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess Plateau Geophysical Research Letters vegetation type mid‐Holocene microcharcoal morphology global warming Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title | Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_full | Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_short | Microcharcoals Reveal More Grass Than Trees During the Mid‐Holocene Optimum on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_sort | microcharcoals reveal more grass than trees during the mid holocene optimum on the chinese loess plateau |
| topic | vegetation type mid‐Holocene microcharcoal morphology global warming Chinese Loess Plateau |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103637 |
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