High-resolution studies of the oldest cultivated soils in the southern Loess Plateau of China |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeş-Bolyai University, Treboniu Laurian 42, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;2. Institute “Emil G. Racoviță” for research on extreme life conditions, Babeş-Bolyai University, Treboniu Laurian 42, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;3. Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 550 North Park ST, Madison, WI 53706, USA;4. Romanian Academy, Institute of Speleology, Clinicilor 5, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;5. BayCEER & Chair of Geomorphology, University of Bayreuth, 94450 Bayreuth, Germany;6. Physics Faculty, University of Bucharest, Bălcescu 1, 010041 Bucharest, Romania;7. LIAG, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics, Stilleweg 2, Hannover 30655, Germany;8. Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Department of Geography, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;9. Laboratory for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia;10. Earth Sciences and Geomorphology Department, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Glushkova Prospect 2a, 03127 Kiev, Ukraine;11. Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, Fântânele 30, 400327 Cluj-Napoca, Romania |
| |
| Abstract: | The Holocene loess–soil sequence on the Chinese Loess Plateau constitutes an excellent record of evolution of soil formation, monsoonal climate, eolian dust accumulation and influences of arable farming of over 8000 years. A high-resolution soil profile on the Zhouyuan loess tableland to the west of Xi'an was studied using particle-size analysis, measurement of magnetic susceptibility, total Fe, TOC and CaCO3. The results provide new insights into the roles of eolian dust deposition and human impact of cultivation on soil development in this environmentally sensitive zone. Several loess layers are found interbedded with cinnamon soils in the profile. This has been caused by changes in rainfall and intensity of dust deposition that is forced by changes in balance between the northwest continental monsoon and southeast maritime monsoon of East Asia during the Holocene. The processes of soil formation were interrupted several times by intensified dust-fall and climatic aridity in the last 11,500 years. The initial clearance of forest for arable farming occurred at ca. 7500 years BP on the loess tableland. It was contemporaneous with the arrival of the wetter and warmer climate of the Holocene Megathermal (8500–3100 years BP). Thereafter, arable farming has been maintained during both the time of soil formation and that of intensified dust accumulation, though there could be temporary cessation or reduced intensity of cultivation in the drier intervals because of lack of rainfall and soil moisture. Increased intensity of dust accumulation has been ongoing since ca. 3100 years BP in the Loess Plateau. A loess deposit of 40–80 cm has overlaid the Multiple or single-welded cinnamon soils on the flat land over the plateau. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
