TY - JOUR AU - Yao, Yuan AU - Zhang, Enlou AU - Kuhn, Nikolaus AU - Jones, Richard AU - Langdon, Peter AU - Shen, Ji AU - Greenwood, Philip PY - 2013/09/03 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Sediment provenance in the Shudu Lake basin, northwest Yunnan Province, China, as revealed by composite fingerprinting JF - DIE ERDE – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin JA - DIE ERDE VL - 144 IS - 1 SE - Research articles DO - 10.12854/erde-144-2 UR - https://www.die-erde.org/index.php/die-erde/article/view/2 SP - 17-29 AB - Composite fingerprinting represents an effective method of reconstructing sediment-source changes in remote areas where<br />long-term hydrological and sediment accretion records do not exist. A ca. 50-year record of sediment deposition was determined<br />for a small catchment at Shudu, situated in northwest Yunnan Province, China. Woodland, pasture, shrubland and<br />channel bank material are identified as the most likely sediment sources and this was confirmed using a composite sediment<br />fingerprinting approach. Based on the findings of the fingerprinting technique, variations in the geochemical signature associated<br />with lacustrine sediment deposits indicate that 49.2 % of the total catchment sediment yield over an approximate<br />50-year period originated from channel banks. In contrast, 19.2 % originated from pasture, 18.6 % originated from shrubland,<br />and 13 % from woodland. The relative contributions of eroded sediment from both woodland and shrubland have generally<br />remained stable over the period investigated, whereas the contribution of material from pasture has increased over recent<br />decades. This is tentatively attributed to increased grazing pressure, which is probably due to increased stocking densities<br />which have gradually exceeded the carrying capacity and regenerative capabilities of the available grassland. ER -