Abstract
CARBON isotopes from soil carbonate1–4 and soil organic matter5,6 yield palaeoecological information because the carbon in the soil carbonate forms in isotopic equilibrium with local soil CO2 (refs 1, 7), the isotopic composition of which is in turn determined by local plant cover. Siwalik Group sediments in northern Pakistan contain a well exposed palaeosol record spanning the past 18 Myr. Here we report on stable-carbon-isotope results from associated pedogenic carbonate which indicate a dramatic ecological shift from to dominated floodplain biomass beginning ∼7.4–7.0 Myr ago. The earlier C3 floodplain biomasses were probably mainly composed of trees and shrubs, whereas C4 grasslands dominated in the Plio-Pleistocene. Oxygen isotopes also exhibit a shift in the latest Miocene, probably corresponding to a major climate change which may have induced the forest-to-grassland transition. This dramatic ecological shift in the latest Miocene may mark the inception or a marked strengthening of the Asian monsoon system.
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Quade, J., Cerling, T. & Bowman, J. Development of Asian monsoon revealed by marked ecological shift during the latest Miocene in northern Pakistan. Nature 342, 163–166 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342163a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/342163a0
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