Lake sediment records on climate change and human activities since the Holocene in Erhai catchment, Yunnan Province, China

摘要

According to high-resolution analyses on multi-proxy of sediment core from the Erhai Lake, Yunnan Province, the sequence of climatic and environmental change since the Holocene has been reconstructed based on accurate dating. The results show that climate had transited from cold-wet to warm-wet during ca. 12950—8399 aBP in this area, and the transition happened in ca. 10329 aBP. Due to the enhancing southwest Asian monsoon and increasing precipitation, the lake-level of the Erhai Lake began to rise after ca. 10329 a BP. Climate in the catchment was warm and wet during the mid-Holocene, and the warmest stage appeared in ca. 8399—6371 a BP. The lake-level descended in the mid-Holocene because of the decrease of effective moisture in the basin. Human activities appeared in ca. 6371 a BP, and the initial manner mainly focused on deforestation. Up to ca. 2139 a BP, due to the amount of immigration into this area, the cultivation was developed widely, which was followed by mining (coal mine).