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Sediment geochemical records of environmental change in Lake Wuliangsu, Yellow River Basin, north China

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Abstract

We present a paleolimnological record from shallow Lake Wuliangsu in the Yellow River Basin, north China, using a short (56 cm) sediment core. Our objective was to investigate environmental changes in this semi-arid region over the past ~150 years. The sediment core was dated using 137Cs and 210Pb. We examined stratigraphic trends in core lithology, nutrients, stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and trace element concentrations in the Lake Wuliangsu core to discern between natural sediments and those affected by human agency. A lithologic transition from yellow, coarse-grained sediment to grey, fined-grained sediment marked the lake’s formation about 1860. Until ~1950, sediments displayed relatively low and constant heavy metal concentrations, indicating little human influence. In the 1950s, enrichment factors (EFs) increased, reflecting greater impact of human activities. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in organic matter (OM), along with heavy metal concentrations, were used to infer past shifts in trophic state and identify pollutants that came from agriculture, industry and urbanization. In the late 1950s, the first evidence for environmental change is recorded by increases in total organic carbon (TOC), total organic nitrogen (TN), TOC/TN, EFs, δ13C and a decrease in δ15N. After about year 2000, a more rapid increase in trophic status occurred, as indicated by greater total phosphorus (TP), EFs, δ15N and lower δ13C values. Changes in isotope and TOC/TN values in the lake sediments may reflect a shift in lake ecology during this period. The first increase in trophic status during the late 1950s was mainly a result of agricultural development in the catchment. In contrast, the change after ca. AD 2000 was driven largely by urban and industrial development. Agreement between paleolimnologic data from Lake Wuliangsu, and both instrumental and written records, indicates that the lake sediments provide a reliable archive for investigating the formation and environmental history of the lake.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jason Curtis, Xia Weilan and Zhu Xuexin for laboratory assistance. Thanks are also due to Mark Brenner for his helpful comments, valuable suggestions and revision of the text and the journal reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions that improved the manuscript. This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2011CB403301; 2012CB956100), and NSFC, NIGLAS (U1138301; 2010SKL006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Jinglu Wu, Haiao Zeng & Wen Liu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, People’s Republic of China

    Long Ma & Jilili Abuduwaili

  3. Institute of Meteorology, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 211101, People’s Republic of China

    Hong Yu

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  1. Jinglu Wu
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Correspondence to Jinglu Wu.

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Wu, J., Ma, L., Yu, H. et al. Sediment geochemical records of environmental change in Lake Wuliangsu, Yellow River Basin, north China. J Paleolimnol 50, 245–255 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-013-9718-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-013-9718-6

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