Johanna Menges, Niels Hovius, Christoff Andermann, Michael Dietze, Charlie Swoboda, Kristen L. Cook, Basanta R. Adhikari, Andrea Vieth-Hillebrand, Stephane Bonnet, Tony Reimann, Andreas Koutsodendris, Dirk Sachse
- Soil degradation is a severe and growing threat to ecosystem services globally. Soil loss is often nonlinear, involving a rapid deterioration from a stable eco-geomorphic state once a tipping point is reached. Soil loss thresholds have been studied at plot scale, but for landscapes, quantitative constraints on the necessary and sufficient conditions for tipping points are rare. Here, we document a landscape-wide eco-geomorphic tipping point at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and quantify its drivers and erosional consequences. We show that in the upper Kali Gandaki valley, Nepal, soil formation prevailed under wetter conditions during much of the Holocene. Our data suggest that after a period of human pressure and declining vegetation cover, a 20% reduction of relative humidity and precipitation below 200 mm/year halted soil formation after 1.6 ka and promoted widespread gullying and rapid soil loss, with irreversible consequences for ecosystem services.
MetadatenAuthor details: | Johanna MengesORCiD, Niels HoviusORCiDGND, Christoff AndermannORCiDGND, Michael DietzeORCiD, Charlie Swoboda, Kristen L. CookORCiD, Basanta R. Adhikari, Andrea Vieth-HillebrandORCiD, Stephane Bonnet, Tony Reimann, Andreas KoutsodendrisORCiD, Dirk SachseORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084192 |
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ISSN: | 0094-8276 |
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ISSN: | 1944-8007 |
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Title of parent work (English): | Geophysical research letters |
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Subtitle (German): | human impact and aridification |
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Publisher: | American Geophysical Union |
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Place of publishing: | Washington |
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Publication type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
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Year of first publication: | 2019 |
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Publication year: | 2019 |
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Release date: | 2020/09/14 |
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Tag: | Tibetan plateau; geomorphology; human activity; late Holocene; paleoclimate |
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Volume: | 46 |
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Issue: | 23 |
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Number of pages: | 11 |
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First page: | 13814 |
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Last Page: | 13824 |
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Funding institution: | Helmholtz Impuls und Vernetzungs Fond |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften |
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DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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Publishing method: | Open Access |
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| Open Access / Hybrid Open-Access |
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