Article (Scientific journals)
C4 plants decline in the Himalayan basin since the Last Glacial Maximum
Galy, Valier; François, Louis; France-Lanord, Christian et al.
2008In Quaternary Science Reviews, 27 (13-14), p. 1396-1409
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Abstract :
[en] The Bengal Fan turbiditic system, supplied by the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system, provides an integrated record of Himalayan system erosion. Thanks to minor inputs of marine organic matter and almost complete preservation of riverine organic carbon, organic matter buried in Bengal Fan sediments is a proxy of Himalayan basin paleo-vegetation. The active channel-levee system of the middle fan documents the last 19 ka and allows the reconstruction of vegetation change in the Himalayan basin since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We measured delta C-13 of organic carbon (C-org) in order to track changes in the proportions of C3 and C4 plants in the Himalayan basin. From LGM to mid-Holocene, delta C-13 of bulk C-org shifts of 3-4%. towards more negative values. Relative abundance of individual n-alkanes reveals that terrestrial higher plant inputs represent a dominant fraction of C-org buried in Bengal Fan sediments. delta C-13 of higher plants biomarkers mimic that of bulk C-org showing that the later can be used as continental paleo-vegetation proxy. delta C-13 negative shift from LGM to mid-Holocene, mostly indicates the transition from a dominant input of C4 plants to a dominant input of C3 plants and therefore reveals that C4 plants were more abundant in the basin under glacial conditions. Vegetation repartition in the basin simulated using the CARAIB dynamic vegetation model is consistent with C-org data. The model indicates a dominance of C4 plants in the Gangetic plain during the LGM while eastern part of the basin remains dominated by C3 plants. The comparison between our data and proxies of regional paleo-climate suggests that the large decline of C4 plants after the LGM was due to combined increase of atmospheric CO2 and humidity levels. Integrated record of Himalayan basin paleo-vegetation suggests more and conditions during the LGM than during the mid-Holocene and agrees with reconstructions of the monsoon indicating stronger SW monsoon during interglacial and stronger NE monsoon during glacial periods. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
Galy, Valier;  CNRS/INSU, Nancy Université > CRPG
François, Louis  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Modélisation du climat et des cycles biogéochimiques
France-Lanord, Christian;  CNRS/INSU, Nancy Université > CRPG
Faure, Pierre;  CNRS/INSU, Nancy Université > G2R
Kudrass, Hermann;  Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), 30655 Hannover, Germany
Palhol, Fabien;  CNRS/INSU, Nancy Université > CRPG
Singh, Sunil K;  Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009, India
Language :
English
Title :
C4 plants decline in the Himalayan basin since the Last Glacial Maximum
Publication date :
2008
Journal title :
Quaternary Science Reviews
ISSN :
0277-3791
eISSN :
1873-457X
Publisher :
Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science, Oxford, United Kingdom
Volume :
27
Issue :
13-14
Pages :
1396-1409
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 04 May 2010

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