Summer temperature variations over the past 20,000 years and their influence on carbon burial in a wetland on the NE Tibetan plateau

Date

2026-06-01

Author

Li, Yuan
Zhang, Hui
Jiang, Gaolei
Wang, Wenjia
Wang, Tao
Zhang, Jun
Xiang, Lixiong
Sun, Mingjie
Jeppesen, Erik
Song, Lei
Huang, Xiaozhong

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Carbon burial in wetlands of the Tibetan Plateau is a critical component of the global carbon cycle, yet its response to global warming remains poorly understood. We investigated how summer temperature variations over the past 20,000 years have influenced carbon burial by analyzing cladoceran microfossils, total organic carbon (TOC), and X-ray-fluorescence (XRF)-Ca intensity in a sediment core from a wetland on the NE Tibetan Plateau. Contemporary surveys of cladoceran communities in the wetland and 60 other wetlands across China reveal that summer temperature is the primary driver of cladoceran assemblages. Furthermore, an elevated ratio of Alona guttata + Alona affinis to Chydorus sphaericus (A/C) correlates positively with increasing summer temperature, suggesting that the A/C ratio can serve as a reliable proxy for summer temperature. Moreover, in the sediment core, high A/C ratios and total cladoceran abundances coincide with elevated TOC and XRF-Ca intensity during the early to mid-Holocene (11.3–3.8 cal ka BP) and the past century. This suggests that summer temperature is a critical driver of carbon burial, with warming conditions promoting both organic and inorganic carbon burial. Specifically, warming during these two periods likely promoted plant productivity and facilitates CaCO₃ precipitation, thereby amplifying carbon burial in the wetland. Our findings highlight the potential for ongoing global warming to significantly increase carbon sequestration in these high-altitude wetlands.

Subject Keywords

Carbon burial, Cladocera, Lake sediment, Palaeolimnology, Tibetan plateau

URI

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=105032219601&origin=inward
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118976

Collections

Department of Biology, Article