IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i8p6480-d1120792.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determination of Paleoenvironmental Changes by Using δ 13 C, 14 C Dating and Rb/Sr Ratio in Critical Karst Area of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Southwestern China

Author

Listed:
  • Howard Omar Beckford

    (School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Cheng Chang

    (School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Hongbing Ji

    (School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
    State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China)

Abstract

Paleosols preserve archives of vegetation history, environmental changes, and sedimentary systems. The changes in vegetation history and environmental conditions in karst areas of the Yunnan–Guizhou plateau of southwestern China since the late Pleistocene were analyzed using δ 13 C, 14 C and the Rb/Sr ratio. Our δ 13 C results reveal the coexistence of C3 and C4 plants (−10.91 to −30.45‰) in soil organic matter, something that is consistent with the present field vegetation assessment. The large vertical difference in the δ 13 C value (>4‰) is related to the cultivation of agricultural crops and to changes in environmental conditions. Furthermore, the variation in δ 13 C values was influenced by the summer monsoon climate of the Indian Ocean and east Asia. We found that total organic carbon (TOC) concentration decreased exponentially with soil depth, indicating high carbon loss. In addition, 14 C apparent age of the soil profiles ranged from modern times to 20,605 (±63) years before the present (yrs. BP) and is positively correlated with soil depth. The combined results indicate that, since the late Pleistocene era, environmental conditions in the study area have changed intermittently on a scale of millennia from hot-humid to cold-dry conditions. We speculate that there may have been extreme climate events in the study area 14,750 years BP, which are marked by a drastic change in δ 13 C and in the Rb/Sr ratio.

Suggested Citation

  • Howard Omar Beckford & Cheng Chang & Hongbing Ji, 2023. "Determination of Paleoenvironmental Changes by Using δ 13 C, 14 C Dating and Rb/Sr Ratio in Critical Karst Area of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Southwestern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6480-:d:1120792
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6480/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6480/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cheng Chang & Howard Omar Beckford & Hongbing Ji, 2022. "Indication of Sr Isotopes on Weathering Process of Carbonate Rocks in Karst Area of Southwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-16, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6480-:d:1120792. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.