Temperature and Climatic Seasonality Affecting C3 Versus C4 Plants Since the Last Deglacial on the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

• Published in: Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems : G3 Vol. 24; no. 4
• Main Authors: Ma, Xueyun, Wei, Zhifu, Wang, Yongli, Wang, Gen, Zhang, Ting, Ma, He, He, Wei, Yu, Xiaoli, Zhang, Pengyuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.04.2023; Wiley
• Subjects: Alkanes; C4 plants; Climate change; Climatic conditions; Climatic evolution; compound‐specific carbon isotope; East Asian monsoon; Ecological distribution; Evolution; Global climate; Isotopes; lacustrine sediments; Lakes; n‐alkanes; Paleoclimate; Plants; Plateaus; Precipitation; Radiation; Seasonal variation; Seasonal variations; Seasonality; Solar radiation; Temperature; Temperature effects; Vegetation; Tibetan Plateau
• ISSN: 1525-2027; 1525-2027
• DOI: 10.1029/2022GC010847

The climate reconstruction of the Tibetan Plateau, which was called the Third Pole Environment, has been a research hotspot in recent years. However, there are few studies on C3 and C4 plants evolution and it is an area of active debate on whether there are C4 plants existing on the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, the paleoclimate of the Hurleg Lake on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau is reconstructed based on n‐alkane‐induced indicators, while the C4 plant evolution history is established by compound‐specific isotope of long‐chain n‐alkanes since 14.1 cal kyr BP. The response of C4 plant evolution history to climate change on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau demonstrated that C3 and C4 plants were sensitive to local and global climate change. Solar radiation in summer, insolation‐affected East Asian monsoon, and seasonal climate (including seasonal variation of the solar radiation, temperature, and precipitation) had significant effects on the long‐term growth of C4. On the other hand, factors such as temperature, precipitation, and other potential factors affected the detailed variation of C4 plants in a relatively short‐term. Our finding maintained the existence of C4 plants in the high‐altitude region and indicated that the abundance of C4 plants might increase significantly and the ecological pattern of vegetation on the Tibetan Plateau will change distinctly in the coming warmer climate conditions. Key Points Paleoclimate and C4 plant evolution on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau since the Last Deglacial were revealed C4 plants on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau were relatively abundant during the Younger Dryas period Insolation, temperature, East Asian monsoon, and seasonal differences play significant roles in the evolution of C4 plants