Abstract
Field works show that the wetland/swamp layers were distributed ubiquitously in the western part of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Universality of the wetland/swampy layer and the consistency of the age reveal that the layer was developed under the humid climatic condition. Dated between 9 and 3.8 kaBP, the wetland/swampy layer is full of aquatic mollusks and has the highest tree and shrub pollen, indicating a humid mid-Holocene. Variations of grain size suggest that winter monsoon weakened during 9-3.8 kaBP while climate change to humid and vegetation cover increased from 9 kaBP onward. After 5.9 kaBP, the humidity declined gradually. In 3.8 kaBP, summer monsoon sharply retreated, and the climate changed to dry.
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An, C., Feng, Z. & Tang, L. Evidence of a humid mid-Holocene in the western part of Chinese Loess Plateau. Chin.Sci.Bull. 48, 2472–2479 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1360/03wd0042
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1360/03wd0042