首页|The δ15N values of foxtail millet(Setaria italica)and common millet(Panicum miliaceum)are reliable indicators of manuring practices

The δ15N values of foxtail millet(Setaria italica)and common millet(Panicum miliaceum)are reliable indicators of manuring practices

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Millet agriculture,which originated in northern China,alongside rice agriculture,have nurtured the Chinese civilization.Prehistoric manuring practices likely promoted and maintained sustainable millet agricultural production in the loess area of northern China.However,ongoing controversy exists regarding the indicators of prehistoric manuring intensity of foxtail millet(Setaria italica)and common millet(Panicum miliaceum).Here,we present the results of pot and field fertilization experiments on two millet types.Our findings suggest that manuring can significantly increase the δ15N values of foxtail millet,and its δ15N values increase with increasing manuring levels.The δ15N values of foxtail millet leaves are systematically greater than those of grains by approximately 1.6‰.Manuring could have a long-term residual impact on increasing the δ15N values of soil and millet crops.Combined with previous crop fertilization experiment results,we propose that the impact of manuring on the δ15N values of non-nitrogen-fixing crops is roughly consistent.The δ15N value and amount of manure are key factors determining the extent of change in plant δ15N values.The millet grain δ15N values can serve as reliable indicators of manuring practices.Finally,we provide an interpretive framework for assessing the correlation between manuring levels and the δ15N values of archaeological millet remains.The δ15N values of ancient millet grains suggest widespread and intensive manuring practices in prehistoric millet agriculture in northern China,spanning from the early Yangshao period to the Longshan period.

Millet farmingManuring experimentFarming systemArchaeobotanyNorth China

Jishuai YANG、Xiaoyan YANG、Ting YOU、Fahu CHEN

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Key Scientific Research Base of Bioarchaeology in Cold and Arid Regions(National Cultural Heritage Administration),Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems(Ministry of Education),College of Earth and Environmental Sciences,Lanzhou University,Lanzhou 730000,China

Group of Alpine Paleoecology and Human Adaptation(ALPHA),State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System,Resources and Environment(TPESRE),Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100101,China

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2024

中国科学:地球科学(英文版)
中国科学院

中国科学:地球科学(英文版)

影响因子:1.002
ISSN:1674-7313
年,卷(期):2024.67(9)