@article{TianQinZhangetal.2022,
  author    = {Tian, Fang and Qin, Wen and Zhang, Ran and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Ni, Jian and Zhang, Chengjun and Mischke, Steffen and Cao, Xianyong},
  title     = {Palynological evidence for the temporal stability of the plant community in the Yellow River Source Area over the last 7,400 years},
  series = {Vegetation history and archaeobotany},
  volume    = {31},
  journal   = {Vegetation history and archaeobotany},
  number    = {6},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {New York},
  issn      = {0939-6314},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00334-022-00870-5},
  pages     = {549 -- 558},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {The terrestrial ecosystem in the Yellow River Source Area (YRSA) is sensitive to climate change and human impacts, although past vegetation change and the degree of human disturbance are still largely unknown. A 170-cm-long sediment core covering the last 7,400 years was collected from Lake Xingxinghai (XXH) in the YRSA. Pollen, together with a series of other environmental proxies (including grain size, total organic carbon (TOC) and carbonate content), were analysed to explore past vegetation and environmental changes for the YRSA. Dominant and common pollen components-Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae-are stable throughout the last 7,400 years. Slight vegetation change is inferred from an increasing trend of Cyperaceae and decreasing trend of Poaceae, suggesting that alpine steppe was replaced by alpine meadow at ca. 3.5 ka cal bp. The vegetation transformation indicates a generally wetter climate during the middle and late Holocene, which is supported by increased amounts of TOC and Pediastrum (representing high water-level) and is consistent with previous past climate records from the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results find no evidence of human impact on the regional vegetation surrounding XXH, hence we conclude the vegetation change likely reflects the regional climate signal.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{TianHerzschuhDallmeyeretal.2013,
  author    = {Tian, Fang and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Dallmeyer, Anne and Xu, Qinghai and Mischke, Steffen and Biskaborn, Boris},
  title     = {Environmental variability in the monsoon-westerlies transition zone during the last 1200 years - lake sediment analyses from central Mongolia and supra-regional synthesis},
  series = {Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal},
  volume    = {73},
  journal   = {Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0277-3791},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.05.005},
  pages     = {31 -- 47},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {A high resolution multi proxy (pollen, grain size, total organic carbon) record from a small mountain lake (Lake Khuisiin; 46.6 degrees N, 101.8 degrees E; 2270 m a.s.l.) in the south eastern Khangai Mountains of central Mongolia has been used to explore changes in vegetation and climate over the last 1200 years. The pollen data indicates that the vegetation changed from dry steppe dominated by Poaceae and Artemisia (ca AD 760-950), to Larix forest steppe (ca AD 950-1170), Larix Betula forest steppe (ca AD 1170-1380), meadow dominated by Cyperaceae and Poaceae (ca AD 1380-1830), and Larix Betula forest steppe (after similar to AD 1830). The cold-wet period between AD 1380 and 1830 may relate to the Little Ice Age. Environmental changes were generally subtle and climate change seems to have been the major driver of variations in vegetation until at least the early part of the 20th century, suggesting that either the level of human activity was generally low, or the relationship between human activity and vegetation did not alter substantially between AD 760 and 1830. A review of centennial scale moisture records from China and Mongolia revealed that most areas experienced major changes at ca AD 1500 and AD 1900. However, the moisture availability since AD 1500 varied between sites, with no clear regional pattern or relationship to present day conditions. Both the reconstructions and the moisture levels simulation on a millennium scale performed in the MPI Earth System Model indicate that the monsoon-westerlies transition area shows a greater climate variability than those areas influenced by the westerlies, or by the summer monsoon only.},
  language  = {en}
}