Palaeoecological record revealed impacts of climate change and human activities on Lake Xingyicuo,southeastern Tibetan Plateau over the last 300 years
Tibetan Plateau is particularly sensitive to climate change and is a hotspot for studying ecosystem responses to global change.Currently,there is much controversy surrounding studies of aquatic biota response to climate change in this region,requi-ring further investigation.In our study,the evolution of the lake ecosystem over the last 300 years was investigated by paleolimno-logical methods in Lake Xingyicuo on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.The results showed that the lake and surrounding environ-ment had undergone limited changes before 1930.Since 1930,weathering and erosion had increased in the area leading to in-creased nutrient levels in the lake.Principal component analysis revealed significant ecological changes in rare diatom species after 1930,while the dominant species remained stable.Our study indicated that climate change was the primary cause of increased weathering and erosion in the Lake Xingyicuo watershed,with human grazing activities having a possible exacerbating effect.Al-though the current environmental changes have not yet caused significant changes in the aquatic ecosystems,our studies found rare species in the lakes responded quickly to climate changes since the 1930s.In the future,the lake ecosystems in this region may face a risk of rapid change if environmental pressures continue to increase.
万方数据
维普
