Abstract
Sporopollen, when recorded in the sedimentary record, is a characterization factor of vegetation over geological time of an area; the grain-size characteristics are direct reflection of the hydrodynamic conditions. Based on analyses of high-time resolution sporopollen and grain size of a 55-cm-long sediment core of Dongping Lake, it is shown that the sedimentary environment and hydrodynamic processes of Dongping Lake have seen significant changes over the past 150 years. From 1855 to 1865, the lake is in a hydrostatic depositional environment, where submerged plants were in great abundance, emergent and floating-leaved aquatic plants were comparatively fewer, and reworked sporopollen fossils were not observed. These indicate a weak and stable hydrodynamic condition during this stage. However, fluctuation of Mz, amounts of clay and silt were present, which may be due to high volumes of sediments around Dongping Lake basin transported into Dongping Lake via the Yellow River during the early lake-forming stages. From 1865 to 1922, the lake is in a backswamp depositional environment, where aquatic plants are nearly nonexistent, appearing occasionally in some layers with relatively low abundance. Fern spores show a twofold increase in occurrence and reworked sporopollen fossils are frequently identified. All of these indicate a strong hydrodynamic condition and frequent environmental change. Grain-size characteristics also support this interpretation. From 1922 to 1961, aquatic plants appeared at the upper layers of this zone at relatively low amounts, and reworked sporopollen fossils were frequently identified. Grain-size characteristics show an obvious change in grain-size distribution, indicating a strong hydrodynamic condition and unstable depositional environment. These relationships were attributed to a backswamp depositional environment. From 1961 to 2007, Dongping Lake is in a hydrostatic depositional environment, where the hydrodynamic condition is weak and stable. Evidence for this is shown by a remarkable increase in submerged plants, a rapid decrease in fern spores, and occasional appearances of reworked sporopollen fossils in the lower part of the zone. However, grain-size characteristics reveal that fluctuation of Mz, amounts of clay, silt and sand are noticeable and frequent, which may be mainly related to impacts of ever-enhancing human activities in recent years.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asikainen CA, Francus P, Brigham-Grette J (2007) Sedimentology, clay mineralogy and grain-size as indicators of 65 ka of climate change from El’gygytgyn Crater Lake, Northeastern Siberia. J Paleolimnol 37(1):105–122
Bao KS, Jia L, Lu XG, Wang GP (2010) Grain-size characteristics of sediment in Daniugou peatland in Changbai Mountains, Northeast China: implications for atmospheric dust deposition. Chin Geogra Sci 20(6):498–505
Chen SY, Wang SM, Chen YY et al (2009) Vertical distribution and chronological implication of 210Pb and 137Cs in sediments of Dongping Lake, Shandong Province. Quat Sci 29(5):981–987
Chen YY, Chen SY, Yao M, Liu JZ, Zhang J (2010) Sedimentary flux variation and environment of Dongping Lake during the last century. Acta Sedimentol Sin 28(4):783–789
Compiling Team for Annals of Dongping County Shandong Province (2006) Annals of Dongping County (1986–2003). Zhonghua Book Company, Beijing
Compiling Team for Dongping Lake (1993) Annals of Dongping Lake. Press of Shandong University, Jinan
Das BK, Gaye B, Malik MA (2010) Biogeochemistry and paleoclimate variability during the Holocene: a record from Mansar Lake, Lesser Himalaya. Environ Earth Sci 61:565–574
Faegri K, Iversen J (1989) Textbook of pollen analysis, 4th edn. Wiley, Chichester
He CY (1999) Investigation and conception on biological resources of Dongping County. Teach Biol 24(3):43–44
Peng YJ, Xiao JL, Nakamura T, Liu BL, Inouchi Y (2005) Holocene East Asian monsoonal precipitation pattern revealed by grain-size distribution of core sediments of Daihai Lake in Inner Mongolia of north-central China. Earth Planet Sci Lett 233(3–4):467–479
Sáez A, Valero-garcés BL, Moreno A et al (2007) Lacustrine sedimentation in active volcanic settings: the Late Quaternary depositional evolution of Lake Chungará (northern Chile). Sedimentology 54(5):1191–1222
Shi CX (1999) A study of sedimentary hazards in the lower Yellow River. J Catastrophol 14(4):40–44
Shi JH, Wang QD, Li XQ, Gao YF, Liu F (2011) Aquatic ecosystem changes and eutrophication assessment in Dongping Lake. J Yangtze Univ (Nat Sci Edit) 8(4):242–245
Wu YH, Andreas L, Bernd W, Li SJ, Wang SM (2007) Holocene climate change in the Central Tibetan Plateau inferred by lacustrine sediment geochemical records. Sci China Ser D Earth Sci 50(10):1548–1555
Ye QC (1994) Environmental impacts on the lower Yellow River breach. Yellow River 9:11–14
Acknowledgments
This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40772209, 41072258 and 40901275). The authors gratefully acknowledge Prof. Sumin Wang, Xiangdong Yang, Enlou Zhang and Dr. Rong Wang of Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences for their assistance with the field sampling. Thanks are expressed to Prof. Guobang Tong of the Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and Xiangdong Yang of Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences for their experimental analysis and constructive suggestions. We would like to thank Prof. Maodu Yan and Fuli Wu of Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Willy Rittase at the University of Kansas for their kind help in improving the English language. The authors also would like to thank the anonymous reviewers aided in the development and improvement of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, Y., Chen, S., Liu, J. et al. Environmental evolution and hydrodynamic process of Dongping Lake in Shandong Province, China, over the past 150 years. Environ Earth Sci 68, 69–75 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1716-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1716-x