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Fluctuation of Picea timber-line and paleo-environment on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains during the late Holocene

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

As a good indicator of Holocene climate, the fluctuation of alpine timberline is a synthetical result of impacts of many environmental factors during geological and historical periods and modern times. As the dominant tree species of mountainous conifer forests on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in **njiang, the distribution of Picea schrenkiana and its population size are sensitive to climatic change. The typical natural profile of Huashuwozi and the nearby **aoxigou archaeological profile, located in Quanzijie Township, Jimusaer County in **njiang, were chosen to analyze and compare the relative high-resolution pollen records, and to measure 14C dating and SEM (scanning electron microscope) microstructure for charcoal fragments contained in **aoxigou profile’s cultural layers. The results show that in these two profiles, the high percentages of Picea (more than 20% and 35%, respectively) appeared in the stratum of the same period (2000–1300 a BP), which corresponds to the charcoal fragment’s age of Picea schrenkiana contained in **aoxigou cultural layers. These results convincingly revealed that during the period of 2000–1300 a BP, the timberline for Picea schrenkiana on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in **njiang declined by about 330m compared with the present.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100093, China

    Zhang Yun, Kong Zhaochen, Yang Zhen**g & Ni Jian

  2. **njiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ürümqi, 830011, China

    Yan Shun

  3. Institute of Hydrologic and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Zhengding, 050803, China

    Yang Zhen**g

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  1. Zhang Yun
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  2. Kong Zhaochen
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  3. Yan Shun
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  4. Yang Zhen**g
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  5. Ni Jian
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Correspondence to Zhang Yun.

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Zhang, Y., Kong, Z., Yan, S. et al. Fluctuation of Picea timber-line and paleo-environment on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains during the late Holocene. CHINESE SCI BULL 51, 1747–1756 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-006-2029-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-006-2029-9

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