Carbon isotopic composition and its implications on paleoclimate of the underground ancient forest ecosystem in Sihui,Guangdong

We present the carbon isotopic composition of the total organic carbon (TOC) and fine roots in the sedimentary profile from the underground ancient forest in Sihui to study the climatic and environmental changes from 4.5 ka BP to 0.6 ka BP. Results show that C₃ plant was the main vegetation from 4.5 ka BP to 0.6 ka BP in this region. The ancient forest began to develop in the wetland at around 4 ka BP and disappeared together with the wetland at about 3.0 ka BP, implying that the climate had changed greatly at around 3.0 ka BP. As indicated by the simulation results, the content of atmospheric CO₂ increased slightly during 3.5 ka BP to 3.0 ka BP, implying climate warming during that period. The interval of radiocarbon age between 3.0 ka BP to 1.2 ka BP was possibly caused by the strong erosion when the block was lifted in the neotectonic movement. From 1.2 ka BP to 0.6 ka BP, the region remained in terrestrial sedimentary environment, and the surface plant biomass declined gradually. Drought caused by the climate change was the likely cause for the disappearance of the ancient forest. South transition of Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) was probably the main mechanism for the climate change. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40231015 and 40473002), National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2005CB422004), the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KSCX2-SW-133) and Open Funds of State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry (Grant No. OGL-200607)