Environmental change and cultural response between 8000 and 4000 cal. yr BP in the western Loess Plateau, northwest China

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 529-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
ChengBang An ◽  
Zhaodong Feng ◽  
Lingyu Tang
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Western Loess Plateau

scholarly journals HUMAN RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE LATE PREHISTORIC WESTERN LOESS PLATEAU, NORTHWEST CHINA

Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1193-1207
Author(s):  
Tingting Chen ◽  
Menghan Qiu ◽  
Ruiliang Liu ◽  
Haiming Li ◽  
Hongwei Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Plant Seeds ◽  
Cold Tolerant ◽  
Majiayao Culture ◽  
Paleoclimate Records ◽  
Western Loess Plateau

ABSTRACTIn order to assess late prehistoric human responses to climate change in the Western Loess Plateau (WLP), we investigated 13,567 charred plant seeds and 19 radiocarbon (14C) dates obtained from 41 late prehistoric sites in the upper Wei River valley. Based on these new dating results as well as their cultural attributes, these sites could be confidently divided into four chronological phases (Phase 1: Late Yangshao and Majiayao culture; Phase 2: Qijia culture; Phases 3 and 4: Siwa culture) but a significant gap was identified at ca. 3600–3000 cal yr BP in this region. Comparison of this interval to high-resolution paleoclimate records from Tianchi Lake suggests it could be attributed to the dramatic drop in temperature at this time. Accordingly, archaeobotanical evidence with a refined chronology shows the adoption of cold-tolerant subsistence cereal grains such as barley on the NETP (Northeast Tibetan Plateau). Drawing from various lines of knowledge (chronology, palaeoclimate, archaeobotany, and archaeology), it is reasonable to conclude that, even when confronting a similar magnitude of climate change, local human societies could vary tremendously. Different subsistence strategies were brought in by the trans-Eurasia culture exchange of prehistoric times.

Climate change and cultural response around 4000 cal yr B.P. in the western part of Chinese Loess Plateau

2005 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Bang An ◽  
Lingyu Tang ◽  
Loukas Barton ◽  
Fa-Hu Chen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Human Demography ◽  
Climatic Transition ◽  
Western Loess Plateau ◽  
Sudden Reduction

New data suggest that dramatic environmental change in the Western Loess Plateau of China corresponded with substantial changes in human demography ca. 4000 cal yr B.P. These data demonstrate that a rapid climatic transition from wet to dry led to an ecologically devastated period between 4090 and 3600 cal yr B.P. The sudden reduction in the number of archaeological sites during this period, namely a reduction in the total number of sites and a contraction of the areal distribution of sites, points to declining agricultural productivity associated with widespread aridification beginning at 4000 cal yr B.P.

Effects of Lucerne Removal Time on Soil Water and Productivity in a Lucerne- Wheat Rotation on the Western Loess Plateau

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 686-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling-Ling LI ◽  
Gao-Bao HUANG ◽  
Ren-Zhi ZHANG ◽  
Li-Qun CAI ◽  
Zhu-Zhu LUO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Removal Time ◽  
Western Loess Plateau

Plant diversity of the Tianshui Basin in the western Loess Plateau during the mid-Holocene – Charcoal records from archaeological sites

2013 ◽  
Vol 308-309 ◽  
pp. 27-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Sun ◽  
Xiaoqiang Li ◽  
John Dodson ◽  
Xinying Zhou ◽  
Keliang Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Tianshui Basin ◽  
Western Loess Plateau

scholarly journals The effects of clouds and aerosols on net ecosystem CO<sub>2</sub> exchange over semi-arid Loess Plateau of Northwest China

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 13337-13372
Author(s):  
X. Jing ◽  
J. Huang ◽  
G. Wang ◽  
K. Higuchi ◽  
J. Bi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Light Use Efficiency ◽  
Clearness Index ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. The impacts of clouds and atmospheric aerosols on the terrestrial carbon cycle at semi-arid Loess Plateau in Northwest China are investigated, by using the observation data obtained at the SACOL (Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University) site. Daytime (solar elevation angles of larger than 50°) NEE of CO2 obtained during the midgrowing season (July–August) are analyzed with respect to variations in the diffuse radiation, cloud cover and aerosol optical depth (AOD). Results show a significant impact by clouds and aerosols on the CO2 uptake by the grassland (with smaller LAI values) located in a semi-arid region, quite different from areas covered by forests and crops. The light saturation levels in canopy are lower, with a value of about 434.8 W m−2. Thus, under overcast conditions of optically thick clouds, the CO2 uptake increases with increasing clearness index, and a maximum CO2 uptake and light use efficiency of vegetation occur with the clearness index of about 0.37 and lower air temperature. Under other sky conditions the CO2 uptake decreases with the cloudiness but the light use efficiency is enhanced, due to increase in the fraction of diffuse PAR. Additionally, under cloudy conditions, changes in the NEE of CO2 also result from the interactions of many environmental factors, especially the air temperature. In contrast to its response to changes in solar radiation, the carbon uptake shows a negative response to increased AOD. The reason for the difference in the response of the semi-arid grassland from that of the forest and crop lands may be due to the difference in the canopy's architectural structure.

scholarly journals Characteristic analysis of large-scale loess landslides: a case study in Baoji City of Loess Plateau of Northwest China

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1829-1837 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. Wang ◽  
B. Zhou ◽  
S. R. Wu ◽  
J. S. Shi ◽  
B. Li
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Landslide Inventory ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Land Utilization ◽  
Characteristic Analysis ◽  
Landslide Inventory Map ◽  
Loess Landslides ◽  
Inventory Map

Abstract. Landslides are one of the most common geologic hazards in the Loess Plateau of northwest China, especially with some of the highest landslide densities found in Shaanxi and adjacent provinces. Prior to assessing the landslide hazard, a detailed landslide inventory map is fundamental. This study documents the landslides on the northwest Loess Plateau with high accuracy using high-resolution Quickbird imagery for landslide inventory mapping in the Changshou valley of Baoji city. By far the majority of landslides are in loess, representing small-scale planar sliding. Most of the large-scale landslides involve loess and bedrock, and the failure planes occurred either along the contacts between fluvial deposits and Neogene argillites, or partially within the bedrock. In the sliding zones of a large scale landslide, linear striations and fractures of the soils were clearly developed, clay minerals were oriented in the same direction and microorganism growths were present. From the analysis of microstructure of sliding soils, it is concluded that the Zhuyuan landslide can be reactivated if either new or recurring water seepage is caused in the sliding surface. It can be concluded that most landslides are attributed to the undercutting of the slope associated with gullying, and numerous ancillary factors including bedrock-loess interface, slope steepness, vegetation cover and land utilization.

scholarly journals Stratigraphic Division of Holocene Loess in China

Radiocarbon ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijian Zhou ◽  
Zhisheng An ◽  
M. J. Head
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Engineering Geology ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
South West ◽  
Stratigraphic Division ◽  
History Of ◽  
Loess Deposition

Loess deposition within the Loess Plateau of China records the history of environmental change over the last 2.5 Myr. Loess-paleosol sequences of the last 10 ka, which have preserved information of global climate change, relate closely to human occupation of the area. Hence, studies of the deposition and development of Holocene loess are significant for studying environmental change and problems associated with engineering geology. We present here stratigraphic relations among four profiles from the south, west and center of the Loess Plateau. On the basis of 14C radiometric and AMS dates of organic material extracted from the paleosols, together with magnetic susceptibility measurements down each profile, we discuss Holocene stratigraphic divisions within the Loess Plateau, and suggest that the Holocene optimum, characterized by paleosol complexes, occurred between 10 and 5 ka bp. From 5 ka BP to the present, neoglacial activity is characterized by recently deposited loess.

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