Detecting anthropogenic impact on forest succession from the perspective of wood exploitation on the northeast Tibetan Plateau during the late prehistoric period

Human activities are usually considered to have had impacts on forest degradation and/or changes of forest composition in the past. The Tibetan Plateau, an environmentally sensitive area, has witnessed a high intensity of human activities since the late Neolithic, but the evidence is still incomplete concerning how human activities affected the environment, especially vegetation changes. This may result, in part, from the fact that research on prehistoric wood utilization by humans in the northeast Tibetan Plateau (NETP) is scarce, especially from the perspective of charcoal analysis, which is an archaeological index directly related to human activities. To fill this gap, we report new data here concerning charcoal analysis from 24 archaeological sites dated 5200-2300 a BP in the NETP, where this period saw remarkable environmental and social changes. By coupling the results with published paleoenvironment records (especially pollen), we aim to explore the utilization of wood and its spatial-temporal changes, as well as the anthropogenic impacts on past forest dynamics in the NETP. The results suggest that the wood resources collected by humans were mainly needleleaf trees (Picea L. and Pinus L.), broadleaved trees (Populus L., Salix L., and Betula) as well as shrubs (Hippophae L. and Tamarix L.), and that these were distributed around the human habitation areas. There was a clear spatial difference in the woody assemblage collected by humans in the period 3600-2300 a BP. This was likely related to the diversity of natural environments in local areas, but there was an abnormal spatial pattern of forest composition with broadleaved trees dominant above 2500 masl caused not by climate change, but by the rapid increase of human settlement and wood collection in high altitude areas of the NETP since 3600 a BP.

Automated summary

The study reveals that in the prehistoric period of the northeast Tibetan Plateau, humans mainly collected needleleaf trees, broadleaved trees, and shrubs around their habitation areas. There was a clear spatial difference in the woody assemblage collected by humans from 3600 to 2300 BP, likely related to the diversity of natural environments in local areas.