Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern China
To understand the past carbon accumulation of forest–steppe ecotone and to identify the main drivers of the long-term carbon dynamics, we selected Huangqihai Lake and analyzed the sediment records. We measured the organic carbon content (TOC; %) of sedimentary samples and quantified the carbon accum...
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doaj-2059e5393f84482292dc08e59d8d2a332021-06-01T01:30:23ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-05-011269669610.3390/f12060696Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern ChinaQian Hao0Shilei Yang1Zhaoliang Song2Zhengang Wang3Changxun Yu4Hailong Wang5School of Earth System Science, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaSchool of Earth System Science, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaSchool of Earth System Science, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaSchool of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, ChinaDepartment of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, SE-39182 Kalmar, SwedenSchool of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, ChinaTo understand the past carbon accumulation of forest–steppe ecotone and to identify the main drivers of the long-term carbon dynamics, we selected Huangqihai Lake and analyzed the sediment records. We measured the organic carbon content (TOC; %) of sedimentary samples and quantified the carbon accumulation rate (CAR; g C m<sup>−</sup><sup>2</sup> yr<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>). Furthermore, the climate, soil erosion, and vegetation development of the past 6800 years were reconstructed using physicochemical parameters and pollen records. Human activities were also obtained from a 2200-year history record. Our results showed that the CAR was high during 5800~4100 cal yr BP (40~60 g C m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>), which is mainly attributed to the high sediment accumulation rate (SAR) during this period. Pearson’s correlation, redundancy analysis and hierarchical variation partitioning analyses suggested that the CAR was influenced by the SAR and TOC, while vegetation dynamics (broadleaved tree percentage and vegetation coverage) and local soil erosion were the main drivers of the TOC and SAR. Especially when the vegetation was dominated by broadleaved forests, the CAR was significantly high due to the high gross primary productivity and carbon density of forest compared with steppe. Our study highlights the direct influence of local vegetation and soil erosion on the CAR, whereas climate might influence indirectly by changing local vegetation and soil conditions. Moreover, our results showed that human activities had positive influences on the carbon accumulation dynamics in this region since 2200 cal yr BP by influencing the SAR.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/696carbon accumulation rate (CAR)Huangqihai Lakeclimate changevegetation coveragebroadleaved forestHolocene |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Qian Hao Shilei Yang Zhaoliang Song Zhengang Wang Changxun Yu Hailong Wang |
spellingShingle |
Qian Hao Shilei Yang Zhaoliang Song Zhengang Wang Changxun Yu Hailong Wang Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern China Forests carbon accumulation rate (CAR) Huangqihai Lake climate change vegetation coverage broadleaved forest Holocene |
author_facet |
Qian Hao Shilei Yang Zhaoliang Song Zhengang Wang Changxun Yu Hailong Wang |
author_sort |
Qian Hao |
title |
Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern China |
title_short |
Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern China |
title_full |
Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern China |
title_fullStr |
Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Vegetation Determines Lake Sediment Carbon Accumulation during Holocene in the Forest–Steppe Ecotone in Northern China |
title_sort |
vegetation determines lake sediment carbon accumulation during holocene in the forest–steppe ecotone in northern china |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Forests |
issn |
1999-4907 |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
To understand the past carbon accumulation of forest–steppe ecotone and to identify the main drivers of the long-term carbon dynamics, we selected Huangqihai Lake and analyzed the sediment records. We measured the organic carbon content (TOC; %) of sedimentary samples and quantified the carbon accumulation rate (CAR; g C m<sup>−</sup><sup>2</sup> yr<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>). Furthermore, the climate, soil erosion, and vegetation development of the past 6800 years were reconstructed using physicochemical parameters and pollen records. Human activities were also obtained from a 2200-year history record. Our results showed that the CAR was high during 5800~4100 cal yr BP (40~60 g C m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>), which is mainly attributed to the high sediment accumulation rate (SAR) during this period. Pearson’s correlation, redundancy analysis and hierarchical variation partitioning analyses suggested that the CAR was influenced by the SAR and TOC, while vegetation dynamics (broadleaved tree percentage and vegetation coverage) and local soil erosion were the main drivers of the TOC and SAR. Especially when the vegetation was dominated by broadleaved forests, the CAR was significantly high due to the high gross primary productivity and carbon density of forest compared with steppe. Our study highlights the direct influence of local vegetation and soil erosion on the CAR, whereas climate might influence indirectly by changing local vegetation and soil conditions. Moreover, our results showed that human activities had positive influences on the carbon accumulation dynamics in this region since 2200 cal yr BP by influencing the SAR. |
topic |
carbon accumulation rate (CAR) Huangqihai Lake climate change vegetation coverage broadleaved forest Holocene |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/696 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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